Sep 27 Joint Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Note: This is a joint review by Sarah, Laura & Rebeca aka Renegade.

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

Without a doubt, the first book in Maggie Stiefvater’s new series, The Raven Boys, was one of our most anticipated novels of the year. All of us adored her 2011 standalone novel, The Scorpio Races, and couldn’t wait to see what sort of world Maggie created next.

Blue Sargent has been warned her entire life that if she kisses her true love, he will die. When she and her clairvoyant mother hang out in the local graveyard on St. Mark’s Eve—as they due each year, for the first time, Blue sees a soon-to-be-dead person. This boy speaks to Blue and he’s a Raven Boy—one of the students at the exclusive Aglionby Academy in her Virginia town.

Soon, Blue finds herself entangled in the Raven Boys’ world, a world filled with magic and mystery.

The World/Setting

Laura: I love the setting of a boarding school in a small town, with the push and pull that comes from those who live there year-round and the revolving door of students. It reminded me quite a bit of the dynamics of Ithaca, New York where I attended college. In both cases, so much of the town’s economy and cultural vitality is dependent on the student population, yet there is still a tension between those who consider it home and those who come off as entitled, sweep in and out at will and live separately when they are there.

Sarah: I am a sucker for boarding school in a small town books (there were a lot when I was a kid, okay?), so that alone makes me happy. The tension between townies versus the Raven Boys is really interesting and felt very vibrant. The magical world that’s alive beneath the surface of their town is really brilliant. I love how Maggie always takes a tiny bit of folklore (in this case, the Welsh sleeping kings) and makes it into something I completely believe in. The magical elements are thoroughly developed in this first book, but I also feel like there’s a roadmap for even more in this world’s mythology in the future books. As I was reading, I could feel the layers unpeeling. The way she melds the contemporary world and the paranormal is really distinctive in The Raven Boys, even more so than in the Mercy Falls series.

Jun 24
Jun 24 {List-O-Rama} 7 Paranormal YA Novels + Series Worth Reading

Sarah Moon

Listorama

Blogging is a funny thing.

I never imagined that “my thing” as a blogger would be defending genres that I don’t really read. But, it’s something I feel very strongly about. I really do believe that the frequent diminishing of any number of genres is really a disappointing approach to book criticism.

Within every single genre, there’s a spectrum of quality, and that perception varies greatly depending on each individual reader or reviewer’s personal taste, so the dismissal an entire genre out-of-hand really bothers me.

With that said, it’s probably no surprise I was pretty disappointed to read a piece recently that was extremely harsh toward paranormal YA. Admittedly, this is not one of my favorite genres, as I tend to prefer my paranormal in adult fiction (it generally makes more sense to me in a more grown up setting).

However, there are a few paranormal YAs that I sincerely enjoy and often recommend.

Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Alert! Alert! This is a standalone paranormal YA! Try not to pass out from the shock of it all. I loved this book so much, it’s a really fun ghost story and mystery with a whole lot of humor and a light, charming romance. And if you grew up on Nancy Drew, you’ll love the little shout-outs to Nancy’s adventures. (Sandra also recommends the Maggie Quinn books by the same author.)

Apr 13

Apr 13 {Book Matchmaker} Matt Wants Books with Action, Sex and Violence

Sarah Moon

Book Matchmaker

Okay, okay… so that headline is a tad inflammatory, but since I’ve known our latest Book Matchmaker victim volunteer since we were freshmen at good ol’ Canby High School, I’m going to take the opportunity to embarrass Matt, a fan of urban fantasy, adventure and Star Wars, just a bit.

Side note: when we were in high school I knew that Matt was nerdy, but I had no idea how incredibly nerdy he was until he filled out our Extremely Scientific Questionnaire. I mean, we were both in the Advanced Nerding Classes, but still… ;-)

Matt’s responses:

YA or Adult: Surprise Me

Genres: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller, Magical Realism

Narrator/Style: First Person, Third Person, Multiple POV, Graphic Novel or Graphic Elements, Present Tense, Past Tense, Male POV, Main Character or Narrator, Female POV, Main Character or Narrator

Swoon Factor: 2

Gross Out Factor: 4

Smut Factor: 4

Fluff Factor: 4

Fave Authors: Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey, Vicki Pettersson: Sign of the Zodiac, Hunger Games, The Call of the Wild, Harry Potter, the Star Wars novels. I am a guy: I like action, sex and some violence in my stories. I am also a tad whimsical, and like to believe there is more out there than what we see in our everyday life.

Dislikes: Victorian, Elizabethan, anything that doesn’t use common language; I don’t care much about nonfiction; I read to be entertained and “turn my brain off.” Twilight makes me want to throw up because it’s too teenage-girl-angsty. No horror, please.

The Results:

Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts Series (Adult Urban Fantasy)

Dude. This series. It’s completely effed up and awesome, as it follows drug-addicted witch and ghost hunter Chess during the Ghost Apocalypse. This is a rough series, with Serious Consequences™ around every corner.

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