Bibliographic
Information
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. New York, NY:
Scholastic Press. 2012.
Price: $18.99 for hardcover
Pages: 409
Plot Summary
When Blue's mother, relatives, and friends,
all of whom are psychic, tell her that her true love will die if she kisses
him, Blue creates two rules. First, never kiss boys and second, make sure to
stay away from the wild, private school boys dubbed The Raven Boys. While she
is able to keep her first rule easily enough she finds that she cannot keep her
second when on a chilly St. Mark's eve she sees the spirit of prep student Dick
Gansey, a sign that he will die within the year. There are only two reasons why
a non-seer would see a spirit, her aunt explains. Either he is your true love
or you are going to kill him. Haunted by the sight of Gansey, Blue is
determined to seek out the living, breathing version of him and save him from
his fate.
Fortunately, she doesn't have to search very
long for him as he schedules a reading with her psychic mother. Blue quickly
realizes that there is more to Gansey--and his friends--than meets the eye.
Gansey is on an all-consuming quest to find an undead king and happily takes
his friends, taciturn Noah, rebellious Ronan, and strong Adam along for the
ride. But while Gansey focuses on his quest each of his friends embarks on
journeys of their own. Silent Noah carries a dark secret that must eventually
see the light, Ronan struggles with his father's death, and Adam must decide
whether or not he can make his way in the world despite having an abusive,
alcoholic father.
As Blue becomes entrenched in each of the
boys' lives and journeys she must decide how to best help them while avoiding
her own awful fate.
Critical Analysis
The Raven Boys is one of those books that you find yourself
thinking about long after you finish it. Its suburb characterization, mysterious
plot line, and applicable themes will leave the reader wanting more. While most
of the elements of Stiefvater's novel are commendable it is her complicated yet
relatable themes that truly stand out. Much of the novel addresses various
family situations--the struggle of a single mother raising a gifted daughter, a
son who shuns the privilege he was born into, a younger brother who loathes his
older brother after the mysterious death of their father, and a son who must
decide how to best handle his abusive father. While family relationships are
explored in-depth they are certainly not the only relationships present.
Stiefvater asks readers to examine their own definitions of both brotherly and
sacrificial love by posing difficult questions such as "Is it possible to
love someone you murder?" and "How does one recognize true
love?"
The book also contains many useful
bibliotherapeutic elements including the disparity between the wealthy and the
poor, atonement, loss, grief, loneliness and pride. This novel could be highly
useful for those looking to remedy low self-esteem as well as those trapped in
abusive home lives.
While The Raven Boys contains
wonderfully deep characters and intriguing themes it is not a perfect novel. At
times the pace can be slow, particularly when one is listening to the audio
book, and there are many questions that are left unanswered. While unanswered
questions are to be expected in a novel that is only the first in a series, the
book almost felt like it was simply laying the groundwork for the novels to
come. Stiefvater gives very few answers to readers leaving all to ponder what
the secret is that Ronan carries about his father's death, how Noah is able to
live at Monmouth Manufacturing, and what it is that Adam eventually turns into.
Of course, these questions are only a small sampling of the ones left for
readers to ponder.
Overall, however, Stiefvater has created
another wonderful masterpiece filled with quiet moments where one is left to
reflect on one's own life and beliefs. Stiefvater has a true knack for teasing
out thoughts buried deep inside ourselves only to be revealed in a brilliant
"Aha!" moment by one of her lines of prose.
Favorite Quotes
“Adam felt the
familiar pang. Not jealousy, just wanting. One day, he'd have enough
money to have a place like this. A place that looked on the outside like Adam
looked on the inside" (p. 41)
"There was
no way of knowing, either, if the trees were good or bad, if they loved or
hated humans, if they had principles or compassion...If I were a tree, I
would have no reason to love a human" (p. 250).
Reader’s
Annotation
Although Blue has sworn off boys due to a curse she finds
herself involved with four boys and their quest to find an undead king.
About the
Author
Maggie Stiefvater is certainly eclectic both as an author
and a person. To date, she has written about undead kings, werewolves, faeries,
and a small, non-existent island. When not writing she enjoys drawing with colored
pencils and playing the bagpipes. Although she is arguably best known for her Wolves
of Mercy Falls trilogy she won a Printz honor for The Scorpio Races.
Her name is pronounced: Maggie STEEF-vater (rhymes with
water)
To learn more about her visit her website at here
Genre
Spiritual fantasy; Romance; School story
Readalikes
The Diviners by
Libba Bray
·
Also about a girl with paranormal abilities
Daughter of Smoke &
Bone by Laini Taylor
·
Also about a girl being dragged into the
paranormal world; also a paranormal romance
Wolves of Mercy
Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater
·
Similar writing style; by same author
Tags
Paranormal romance, ravens, boys’ school, private school,
pizza parlor, physics, tarot cards, undead, abusive father, single mother,
mother-daughter relationship, aunt, death, life purpose, 16 year old, ghosts,
dreams, murder
Awards
Won/Lists On
According to the novel’s website it has also been
included on various lists including:
TIME Magazine’s Most Anticipated Reads
Junior Library Guild Selections
Autumn 2012 Kids’ Indie Next List Picks
Audiofile’s Best Audiobooks for the Year for 2012
BCCB Blue Ribbons 2012
Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2012
Amazon Books Editors’ Selections: Fall Favorites
Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award
Indigo Top 25 of 2012
Retrieved from: http://maggiestiefvater.com/the-raven-boys/the-raven-boys/
Professional
Reviews
At its time of publication this book generated a lot of
hype partially because Stiefvater won a Printz honor for her novel The Scorpio Races in 2012. As a result, The Raven Boys has been reviewed many
times by reputable sources including but not limited to:
Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal by Karyn Silverman (note that this was for the Printz blog)
Booktalk Ideas
Depending on the audience you could focus your booktalk
on:
·
The Love Story
o Who
is Blue’s true love?
o Does
she love Adam or Gansey or neither?
o Focus
on pages 2-4 and possibly the scene with the tree (227-29)
·
The Quest
o Gansey’s
backstory (269-271)
o Relate
Gansey’s quest to some that we might have
·
The Family Relationships
o Adam’s
choice to stay or leave
o Ronan’s
choice to get along with his brother
o How
did Ronan’s father die?
Bibliotherapeutic
Usefulness
This could be useful to teenagers living in a single
parent household, specifically a single mother household as well as teens with
few positive male role models in their lives. It could also be used to explore
the meaning of life, how to cope with the death of a parent, and how to live in
a household with a physically abusive, drunk parent.
Reading
Level/Interest Level
Reading Level: 5th grade
Interest Level: 9th-12th graders
These levels are according to AR Bookfinder
Challenge
Issues
This book includes the following potentially
controversial elements:
·
Teen smoking
·
Teen drinking
·
Spiritual elements
o Tarot
readings
o Scrying
o Lay
lines & dousing rods
o An
undead king
o Ghosts
& talking to the soon-to-be dead
o General
fortunetelling
o Psychics
o Ghosts
·
Disobeying parents & disrespecting authority
·
Absent/overly permissive parents
·
Single mother household
·
Abusive, drunk father
·
Attempted murder
·
Abuse of authority
Librarians can point out that The Raven Boys is useful for parents wishing to discuss parent-child
relationships. It can also be used to start conversations on spiritual
practices as well as the privileges and responsibilities of authority. For example,
should Ronan respect his older brother simply because of his age? What is
Barrington Whelk’s responsibility towards himself and his students? In fact,
this book is chock full of difficult and wonderfully deep questions.
Why Was This
Included?
I decided to include this title for three reasons.
Firstly, because I read The Scorpio Races
and was quite impressed with Maggie Stiefvater’s writing. Secondly, because
I had heard that this book could potentially win the 2013 Printz or Printz
Honor. Thirdly, because I wanted to read books that contained controversial
spiritual elements since this is one of the thematic issues that makes me most
uncomfortable.
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