The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) in Random Readalongs

Feb 13, 2013 Fernanda Ceballos rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This book is unique, compelling, strange, and As safe as life itself and it's definitely deserving of the hype.

I know I'm late to the party (and quite happy about it because I don't have to wait **does a little dance** for the other books to come out) but I will ramble a little bit.

I have to say that I felt quite in sync with the boys, all of them. The way Gansey felt about his quest, his yearnings, his education and the loyalty he shows I think made him my favorite character so far, I just ...more

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Nov 06, 2014 Maria Angelica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lido-2015, fav2015, tenho

Amei a atmosfera do livro e o mundo que a Maggie Stiefvater criou. Adorei todos os personagens, só gostaria de ter conhecido mais dos dois principais. O Gansey ainda é um mistério e a Blue ainda é só espectadora.
Assim como a mãe da Blue, a Maggie não é específica em quase nada no livro, o que me deixou um pouco confusa sobre como as coisas funcionam.
Mas mesmo com estes problemas eu estou muito interessada em saber o que acontece depois.
Relido em Agosto de 2015 e aumentei a avaliação para 4.5

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Jun 01, 2012 Liz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Best paranormal book I've read this fall! Full review soon. ...more

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Apr 28, 2014 Rose rated it really liked it

I had a lot of trouble getting into The Raven Boys, but once I hit 40-45% it was SO WORTH IT.

The beginning of The Raven Boys is pretty boring, to tell you the truth. As the first book in the quartet, it has a lot of exposition to get through before it arrives at the action. I found myself longing for the chapters revolving around Gansey and Adam while I read Blue’s chapters as quickly as possible (so that they would be over quickly). I was really surprised by this because, in theory, I should lo I had a lot of trouble getting into The Raven Boys, but once I hit 40-45% it was SO WORTH IT.

The beginning of The Raven Boys is pretty boring, to tell you the truth. As the first book in the quartet, it has a lot of exposition to get through before it arrives at the action. I found myself longing for the chapters revolving around Gansey and Adam while I read Blue’s chapters as quickly as possible (so that they would be over quickly). I was really surprised by this because, in theory, I should love Blue’s household. She lives with an all-female pack of psychics (side note: what do you call a large group of psychics? They aren’t witches, so they wouldn’t be a coven right?). What isn’t to love? Unfortunately I found Blue’s chapters kind of confusing. I couldn’t keep all of the women straight! I still don’t know who exactly Calla and Persephone are, or what their relation to Blue is. Are they just women who work with/live with Blue’s mother, or are they blood relatives? I can’t tell. I also (mistakenly) spent a large chunk of the novel believing that Neeve (whose name I really wish was spelled Niamh) was Blue’s grandmother rather than her aunt. It was rather disorienting.

That said, these weren’t problems with the book itself. They were my personal issues. The Raven Boys does have a lot of lovely assets going for it:
1. The boys themselves – Gansey and Adam and Ronan and Noah made this book for me. As someone who rarely likes the guys in YA books (the ones other readers swoon over), I was really pleased with this group of young men. They were all so different and interesting and well developed. They aren’t just characters – they are people who feel like they could step out of the pages and into the real world without difficulty. Adam was definitely the weak link of the bunch, but his flaws made sense, which is ever so important to me.
2. The writing – This is my first Stiefvater book, but I can now say that I am a big fan of her writing. I heard about her way with words long before these books came out, when she was popular for her Shiver series. I was somewhat interested, but I also heard that the books were full of purple prose and I’ve never been particularly keen on werewolf books. However, I found her writing really hit the mark in The Raven Boys. It wasn’t superfluous, as I’d worried, but brought the story to life in a way that it so rare in this genre (I have encountered a lot of poor writing in paranormal stories). I’ll definitely be on the lookout for The Scorpio Races and The Dream Thieves at the library.
3. The plot – Although the beginning dragged, once the plot got going I was hooked. I’m pretty sure I read the latter 50% in a single night (I may have been up until about 4am, but whatever. Who needs sleep when there are good books to read?). There was a great balance between plot and character, and it never felt like anyone was acting merely as a plot device. I particularly loved that Noah remained a figure in everyone’s lives even after his big reveal. It was surprising and really appreciated.

The reason I gave the book 3/5 stars is because I felt like the good and bad were equally weighted. As much as I found it difficult to plod through the first half, I loved the second half. Though I didn’t really care either way for Blue and her troupe, I was completely enamoured of the Raven boys. The writing was lovely, though it could occasionally err on the excessive side. Overall, I can definitely see what they hype was all about, though it was far from perfect.

EDIT 19/04/2016: Upon rereading this in anticipation of the release of The Raven King, my rating has gone up from three to four stars! I definitely still have some reservations about the book, but it impressed me much more this time around. ...more

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Apr 25, 2015 Dhyn Hanarun rated it really liked it

Shelves: unfinish-series

"Blue had two rules: Stay away from boys, because they’re trouble, and stay away from raven boys, because they were bastards."

Jika Blue Sargent mencium cinta sejatinya, pemuda itu akan mati. Itu yang disampaikan Maura, ibunya dan anggota keluarga lain yang merupakan peramal. Blue tidak begitu memikirkan ramalan itu sampai Neeve, teman Maura, datang dan mengatakan dia akan segera jatuh cinta. Alasan kedatangan Neeve tidak begitu jelas tapi cukup membuatnya dipercaya untuk mengambil tugas Maura pe "Blue had two rules: Stay away from boys, because they’re trouble, and stay away from raven boys, because they were bastards."

Jika Blue Sargent mencium cinta sejatinya, pemuda itu akan mati. Itu yang disampaikan Maura, ibunya dan anggota keluarga lain yang merupakan peramal. Blue tidak begitu memikirkan ramalan itu sampai Neeve, teman Maura, datang dan mengatakan dia akan segera jatuh cinta. Alasan kedatangan Neeve tidak begitu jelas tapi cukup membuatnya dipercaya untuk mengambil tugas Maura pergi di malam St. Mark bersama Blue. Di sana mereka akan bertemu arwah orang-orang yang akan meninggal setahun kemudian. Mereka mencatat nama-namanya untuk memberi orang-orang itu waktu untuk membereskan urusan duniawinya. Berbeda dengan keluarganya, Blue tidak berbakat sebagai peramal. Dia hanya punya energi yang sangat kuat. Itu tidak bisa membuatnya melihat arwah, tetapi malam itu berbeda. Dia melihat pemuda yang menggunakan seragam Aglionby, sekolah swasta berkelas dan siswanya dikenal dengan sebutan raven boys. Namanya Gansey. Kejadian langka ini berarti Blue adalah cinta sejati Gansey atau Blue membunuhnya.

Di tempat lain, Gansey memutar ulang rekaman suara yang dia ambil pada malam St. Mark. Tidak ada apa-apa kecuali suaranya sendiri yang secara ganjil mengucapkan namanya dan tanggapan suara gadis asing. Dia mendiskusikannya bersama teman-teman Aglionby-nya, ada Ronan, yang emosional sejak ayahnya meninggal dan ditekan terus oleh kakaknya, lalu Adam Parrish, siswa beasiswa yang berusaha bertahan demi kehidupan yang lebih baik, dan Noah, yang pendiam dan jarang makan. Mereka memutuskan untuk membuat janji dengan peramal. Tak hanya untuk menanyakan takdir mereka, tapi juga keberadaan ley line, jalur mengelilingi dunia yang mempunyai kekuatan supernatural. Ley line akan membantu Gansey menemukan Glendower, salah satu raja dari masa lalu yang dianggap tertidur dan menunggu untuk dibangunkan.

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The Raven Boys menggabungkan cinta, persahabatan, dan magis menjadi sebuah cerita petualangan yang mengagumkan. Bagian awalnya memang sangat lambat. Butuh puluhan bab sampai Blue bertemu dengan Gansey dan teman-temannya secara resmi. Tapi setiap detailnya dalam perjalanan menuju pertemuan itu sangat menarik. Setiap kelebihan dan kekurangan dari hidup mereka dikupas satu persatu. Perlahan tapi pasti. Gaya bahasanya terasa cukup santai. Namun selalu punya kejutan yang membuat jalan cerita tidak membosankan. Tidak sulit untuk langsung masuk ke ceritanya dan jatuh cinta kepada kekompakan Blue dan Raven Boys.

Blue dan Raven Boys menjadi tim yang sangat kuat dalam waktu singkat. Penjelasan panjang di awal cerita telah membangun fondasi yang tepat untuk menyanggah sepak terjang mereka dalam sebuah kelompok. Masing-masing dari mereka punya karakter yang unik. Yang cukup membuatku terkesan adalah Blue, Adam, dan Gansey. Hidup dalam keluarga dan lingkungan yang selalu menyangkut hal-hal gaib tapi tidak punya kekuatan tersebut, membuat Blue menonjol. Dia punya ‘ilmu dasar’ yang bagus tapi cukup pintar untuk melihat lain dari sudut berbeda. Dengan ramalan misterius soal cinta sejati, ciuman, dan kematian, Blue menjadi karakter yang wajib untuk diikuti. Apalagi ketika ada Adam di sampingnya. Kekurangan dalam keluarga dan hidup Adam menjadi nilai lebih karena dia menghadapinya dengan baik. Lalu hubungannya dengan Blue membuat percik-percik menggelikan, dalam artian positif, yang menghibur.

Baca review selengkapnya di http://dhynhanarun.blogspot.co.id/201... ...more

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Jul 03, 2018 Onka rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sk-cz, ya-paranormal, own, series

Jednoznačne najoriginálnejší paranormálny príbeh, aký som čítala. Neskutočne dobre sa to čítalo (žeby super preklad?). A čo ma fakt prekvapilo je, že na prvý pohľad to vyzerá, že sa v celej knihe dokopy nič nedeje, no stále som v napätí otáčala stránky a čakala, čo sa bude diať (žeby opäť raz vďaka super prekladu?). Proste zbožňujem fantazijné knihy, ktoré nemusia byť prepchaté akciou, aby boli dobré. Myslím, že toto bol skvelý úvod do série a už sa neviem dočkať zvyšných častí. (plus Gansey a R ...more

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Mar 31, 2015 Tiffany-Reads rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015-read-books, complete-series-1st-book-only, my-favorite-series-1st-book-only

4.25/5 Stars

I started this book when it came out and put it aside after about 5 chapters. The names were weird , the story felt like something I had read before and hated, and I just wasn't in the mood to finish a book I knew I wasn't going to like. And then I listened to the hype for a couple of years or so and decided I should pick the series back up. After all, Maggie Stiefvater did write The Scorpio Races one of the most beautiful stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading. So, I got the ...more

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Jul 23, 2015 Delaney rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, mystery, books-i-own, urban-fantasy, books-that-should-be-movie, read-in-2015, fiction, magic, paranormal

I really enjoyed this book.

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Mar 25, 2015 Allie rated it it was amazing

November 7, 2015:
Still A++++++. I was worried that reading it a second time would lose a lot of its magic and that I wouldn't like it as much this time around, but nope, not at all. Probably enjoyed it even more because I know the characters and the world more, so I can catch little hints sprinkled in here and there. Also, I get so much more emotional when the book talks about Gansey's perpetual loneliness or Adam's struggle for independence, because I just know and love these characters so much ...more

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Dec 07, 2014 Alean Xela rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5?3.75? 4?
I'm still not completely sure how I feel about this book and I'm also not completely sure what happened but I do know I will be reading the next book. Soon. Like. Now. ...more

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