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Monday, September 8, 2014

Why I Like The Raven Cycle Books


(Note: This is the second time I have submitted this, because I almost completely changed it. Sorry for any inconvenience. Please count this as my one entry. Sorry.)

Recently Maggie Stiefvater posted on her Tumblr a Rafflecopter competition to win an Advanced Reader's Copy of Blue Lily, Lily Blue- the third book in the Raven Cycle series, coming out this fall.

The task was to write a post on whichever blog we may run explaining why we like the Raven Cycle series.

I must admit, I was a little daunted by this prospect; explaining the sheer delight I felt at reading The Raven Boys and then its sequel, The Dream Thieves, for the first time seemed as impossible as completing the twelve tasks Hera set for Hercules. But after an hour or so of contemplation, I have formed an answer (below) and wait with fingers crossed for what might perhaps be the best day of my life.

Before I answer, though, I feel obligated to point out that:

Many an hour I have spent walking the ley lines of Seattle with my EMP detector, which I bought off Amazon sorely because Stiefvater has inspired me to tap into the mystical and magical surrounding us every day. I've seen unexplained power outages on these trips, flashes of light when there were no cars or light sources around, extreme temperature changes- and once, memorably, a little girl wearing a blue frock. I could see straight through her to the wall beyond. These trips are all thrilling and unforgettable, and without the Raven Boys as my "guide," my inspiration, I never would have thought to even go.

And now:

I love the Raven Cycle books for a million reasons, but first and foremost, I must speak about one.

The characters.

Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Noah, and Adam. Maura, Calla, and Persephone. The Grey Man. Kavinsky. Artemus, although he has not yet been introduced.

Each one is completely different; unique in the way their glimmering, golden threads bind together into one woven tapestry. The sheer magnificence of the way their fires burn, akin to those of Jay Gatsby and Leonard Peacock; their inner strength, even in times of peril; their anger and passion, fighting for their lives and the things, the people, they love.

They burn, as brightly as the sun, shining and blazing through the paper and ink Stiefvater uses to weave her worlds that, though they came from her head, are as real as any other.

Blue, cursed, brilliant Blue, with her eccentric, inquisitive nature; Gansey, the boy with two faces- one of the polished Aglionby nobility, and the other, a hopelessly lost, yearning soul, searching for something that no others have found; Adam, the silently screaming, passionate individual with a past he can't erase; Ronan, the reckless, impulsive, powerful and strong fighter with the heart maybe a smidge more golden than he lets on; and Noah, the ghost of a boy who once was, the silent watcher.

These five teenagers form the spine, the backbone, of the Raven Cycle series. I identified with them immediately and even, in all their faults, with all their brilliance, found something to love.

Side note: My favorite character is Kavinsky. Despite the drugs and the liquor, something about his savage, violent nature I find appealing. Or possibly Ronan. More likely Ronan.

Camaros, high school, street racing, caves and dream thieves. Drugs, assassins, dragons, and psychics. Adventure and romance. I am at a loss for words at how to praise the author for a work of art as compelling and thought-provoking as the one she has spun from straw, making it gold before the end of the first chapters.

The truth is, I love the Raven Cycle series because I feel connected to it. Connected to the characters, the story, even the lost king and the mystery surrounding his final resting place. It just rings true inside me. I've found very few other books that do that.

And so I end with this parting note to Maggie Stiefvater, should she ever read this:

It doesn't matter if I win the ARC or not. Because in the end, it is enough to know that the story will go on. I will carry Blue, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, Noah, and Henrietta with me forever.

Thank you.

Thank you for giving me a new home, so compelling, within the pages of these books. Thank you for inspiring me and giving me hope and new friends that hide in ink and paper, but are forever in my mind.

Thank you for allowing me to dream.

(But- erm- I died at the last cliffhanger. Just saying.)



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