January 2022 First in a Series BOTM - The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater

[Alaina]

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

**This BOTM thread will be open until February 5th @ Midnight (in your time zone)**

[Jessica]

My book dosen't come until next week, so I'll start than. Also it'd be a re-read, I do remember loving this series though.

[Celia]

Chapters 1 - 5 (view spoiler)[Giving this series another go. Like a lot of series where I read the first book a few years ago and then never followed up, I remember major plot points, like Noah and Whelk and their connection, as they come up and/or are (re)introduced. I remember that Ashley was either in on something sinister or that I thought she was. But I'm looking forward to rediscovering the parts I don't remember. (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

Chapters 6 - 22 (view spoiler)[One of the main things I'm noticing this time around is the friendships, and how these interact with each other. I've now been living with the same roommates for about 18 months (about the same amount of time as Adam and Gansey have been friends at the beginning of the book) and this gives me a new perspective on the ins and outs of these ride or die, squad goals, friendships.

Ronan and Adam are an especially interesting pair, and are interesting that these are Gansey's two (view spoiler)[living (hide spoiler)] friends when they're so different. I don't think I'm Gansey in the friend group at all. I might be Noah tbh. But with the way I'm living now, the friend group aspect or dynamic seems a lot more plausible.

I'm really enjoying meeting all these characters again. (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

Chapters 23 - 40 (view spoiler)[There's so much I forgot about here, like how distant Noah became, and the conflict between Gansey and Whelk on the abandoned road. I love revisiting books when this happens.

Also, Ronan. I'm not sure if I actually liked him in the past, but he has so much personality. I love how unconventional he is, and maybe also the fact that he doesn't have much of a POV, unlike Blue, Adam, and Gansey, so we kind of see others' interpretations of him and have to puzzle the real him out. (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

Chapters 41 - End (view spoiler)[Honestly, part of me feels like it could just end there. Part of it seems like waking the ley line was enough. Not that I'm not going to attempt the other three books at some point this year, but the careful optimism of the ending almost feels like it could be enough. (hide spoiler)]

Who am I kidding, I really want to read the other three books.

[Jessica]

My book came a couple of weeks ago but I'm finally starting now! I have the book marked down as one of my favorites and since it's been years since I last read let's see if that's still true. :)

[Ruthie]

I've read this series and like it!

[Alaina]

Today is the last day that this thread will be open.