I first read Lord of the Flies, by British author William Golding, in the late 1980s and quickly became obsessed. Having just graduated from high school, I knew the joys and ugliness of teenage tribalism well. A film adaptation starring Balthazar Getty was released soon after, and since I managed a video rental store, I watched it and the 1963 version multiple times, increasing my admiration for the book. (FYI, the ‘63 film is far superior if you need to choose one.)

Flies may have been Golding’s debut novel, but its themes were something he understood very well. During World War II, he served in the Royal Navy and took part in the bloody D-Day landings in Normandy. The reality of war deeply influenced his writing, and when he started working on Flies, he, like the rest of humanity, was living under the specter of nuclear annihilation at the dawn of the Cold War. The book’s brilliance lies in distilling these existential threats into a deceptively simple survival story on a South Pacific island.  

The story begins with a wartime evacuation during what we assume is some kind of nuclear exchange. A plane crashes on a deserted island and a group of British preadolescent schoolboys are the only survivors. Ralph, by virtue of age and physicality, becomes the leader. He befriends Piggy and uses his glasses to start a signal fire. Ralph’s leadership seems very wise for his age as he encourages the group to stay positive, gather resources, and maintain the fire for rescue.

However, the boys’ resolve fades as they grow distracted. Fear of a fearsome jungle "beast" takes hold, and a rival boy named Jack gains influence by promising to hunt the monsters down. During one hunt, the signal fire dies out, and a rescue ship passes by without stopping.

The boys’ tribalism worsens when a fighter pilot’s corpse lands by parachute onto the island and is mistaken for the “beast.” Jack creates his own tribe, offers a pig's head to the monster, and comes to represent authoritarianism and primal power, while Ralph symbolizes intellect and empathy. Although Ralph is initially baffled and repulsed by how easily the boys follow Jack’s fear-mongering, even he is not immune to mob rule. But his reluctance and regret for his own violent actions appear weak to Jack's tribe, who, now frenzied, hunt Ralph with tragic consequences. 

RELATED: Dystopian Collection | Young Adult Books | 

Breaks is a beautifully drawn and written graphic novel series by Emma Vieceli and Malin Ryden. While ostensibly an LGBTQ story about a damaged teen living in the UK who's trying to get by in high school, it's actually much more about bullying — and the regret of bullying. It's a thoughtful and well-executed story with engaging characters and a more mature tone.

I read the first two volumes of the series in 2020 during the height of the pandemic (amazing how much reading I got done that year!) but the books actually date back to 2017. Now they're being reissued with a release date in March — and I'm delighted to learn that there's a Volume 3 which was published in 2024! I'll review that in the near future.

Because I love these books so much, I wanted to give them a special shout out here. Each book is summarized below with ordering links. Enjoy!

BREAKS, VOLUME 1: Cortland Hunt has made some dangerous mistakes. Now he's waiting quietly for those mistakes to catch up with him. Ian Tanner coasts through life denying the spark of anger beneath his laid back exterior. When school politics and personal lives become a battleground, the pair find that what they share may just be their only safe haven. 
Breaks is the story of two young men discovering who they were, who they are, and who they will become. It's a love story . . . but a bit broken.

BREAKS, VOLUME 2: Ian and Cortland are all too aware that the bubble they've made for themselves can't last. Shifting relationships and tested friendships may be the least of their worries, though, as they learn more about each other and the pasts they'd rather leave behind. Familial legacy, fragile ambition and potentially devastating secrets; their budding relationship is going to need a stronger foundation than secrecy if they want to face what life has in store for them together.

BREAKS, VOLUME 3: School is over, adult life beckons, and new beginnings lie before Ian and Cortland as their relationship deepens. But when Ian's father is released from prison, questions of trust and deceit threaten to tear them apart. The boys will walk a dark path together as the shadows of the past try to claim the present. The answers to all their questions will be revealed in this final volume, and some may prove dangerous beyond their wildest imaginings...

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True epics encompass large themes and heroic characters who deal with world-changing events, and in the world of young adult fiction there aren't many of these. Okay, J.K. Rowling wrote one, but like her tale of a boy wizard most YA epics are fantasy books or paranormal romances which masquerade as something much grander.

But when I came across Code Name Verity I knew I'd found that rarest of offerings for the teen reader – a true epic novel. I'd even say that author Elizabeth Wein's tale of friendship between two young British women caught up in the midst of World War II holds up quite nicely to similar adult novels, the type which might've been penned by James A. Michener, Colleen McCullough, Ken Follett or Leon Uris.

The story's told by two protagonists. The first is a confession from "Verity" (her codename), who's been caught spying for the British in German-occupied France in 1943 and is being interrogated and tortured by the Gestapo. Verity's admission is a way to buy time, even if only in small parcels, and she knows. As a spy, she has no privileges afforded to other prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention. Her life is forfeit, but as long as she can tell her tale and let the Germans believe she has information they need, she'll continue to survive. Her narrative becomes a loving dissertation about her best friend, a country girl named Maddie (code named Kittyhawk) whose serving the Allied cause as a civilian pilot. The second half of the book is told from Maddie's point-of-view and deals mostly with her trying to discover Verity's fate and then rescue her from the clutches of the SS.

As both women acknowledge, had there not been a war on, they would've never met nor become friends. Verity was born to Scottish aristocracy, was raised in a castle and educated abroad. A stint at a German boarding school has made her prolific in the language and she's recruited into the world of high-stakes espionage for which she has an unusual affinity. Not only can she affect different accents, but can manifest both personalities and lives from thin air. Maddie. on the other hand, was raised by her grandparents and grew up working with her hands. In a world which belongs to men, Maddie's a talented mechanic and a skilled pilot. Both women have benefitted from the reality of war which has broken down sexual stereotypes and allowed them to excel in areas usually reserved for males. Both are aware of this, and they wonder if their independence and freedom will continue once the conflict is over?

While reading Code Name Verity, I wondered how younger readers might handle the complicated plot, themes centered around equality and independence, and the much larger historical references. Would they appreciate the awesome amount of research which Wein clearly put into this novel? Even teens with an interest in World War II probably won't have any familiarity with most of the topics addressed, and certainly not some of the literary and cultural references. But if books can provide teachable moments — and good books always will — then this really isn't an issue. The roles of women in noncombat roles working on the English homefront and behind the scenes is a fascinating peek into a part of World War II which receives little attention but is quite inspiring. And while I'd recommend the book to almost anyone, it will resonate more with young women as it wonderfully details the unique intimacy between female friends.

Verity and Kittyhawk are effusive in their love for each other, distraught over their frequent separations, and determined to protect each other during the time in human history when probably no one felt truly safe. Their story truly is, well, epic.

RELATED: Historical

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee is a historical novel which appeals on many levels. At times, it is a throwback to the sentimental romantic literature of the 18th century (during which it is set), a peep show into the seamier side of the British aristocracy, an institution well practiced at hiding scandal, corruption and basic human compulsions behind wealth, power and rigid class structure. (If you’ve read anything by Jane Austen you will have some sense of how this highly stratified society works.) At times, it has elements of a modern romantic comedy, with three young protagonists trying to navigate family drama while finding their places in society. Finally, it is an awkward coming-out tale for its aristocratic narrator, Henry “Monty” Montague — although the concept of “coming out” would have been unimaginable during his era.

Monty is the eldest son of a rich British nobleman and heir apparent to the old man’s vast wealth, lofty reputation and stifling social duties. By Monty’s own admission, he’s a constant disappointment to his unloving and highly traditional father. As the story opens, Monty is about to depart on an expected rite of passage for a young gentleman living in Georgian era England: a grand tour of the European continent. This traveling holiday will serve as his indoctrination into high culture and politics before returning to his family’s estate to assume his inherited duties. While Monty’s future promises splendid wealth and privilege, it is very much a gilded cage. Every aspect of his manhood will be dictated for him — and he knows it. The only problem is that Monty’s as anti establishment as a person could be, starting with the fact that he’s an unapologetic “buggerer,” a contemporary term meaning he likes boys as well as girls. Despite homosexuality being outlawed in England during this era, Monty doesn’t seem to mind who knows about his preferences, perhaps feeling immune to any legal consequences thanks to his title and position. For his father however, it is a source of recurring humiliation.

In order to keep Monty’s wild side under control, his father decides he will be accompanied to Europe by a strict chaperone named Mr. Lockwood; his younger sister Felicity, whom he barely tolerates; and his best friend Percy, with whom he’s secretly in love but who’s mixed-race heritage has made him a social pariah. While Mr. Lockwood intends to keep the young lord away from drink, gambling and debauchery, Henry manages to steal away from a banquet held at the French palace of Versailles with a royal courtesan. Their sexual encounter is interrupted by the woman’s lover — the former French prime minister — with whom Monty had a previous unpleasant encounter. To spite the man, Monty steals a small box from his desk, the contents of which inadvertently launches he, Percy and Felicity on a cross-continent treasure hunt with French assassins close on their heels. 

While The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue perhaps relies too much on Murphy’s Law — whatever can go wrong, will go wrong — it is an enjoyable and often moving romp. Monty is a hedonistic rogue, but also a fascinating narrator who reveals himself to be unexpectedly kind, passionate and damaged. His begrudging love for his traveling companions — he’s a man who outwardly eschews just sentimentality — is also his redemption. In the end, all three main characters buck the norms of their society: Monty due to his sexuality; Felicity due to her gender; and Percy due to his racial background. The ending of the book, while probably unlikely for real people of the 18th century, will certainly appeal to the more egalitarian audiences of the 21st century and is thus quite satisfying.

Mackenzi Lee’s The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is the lively sequel to her best selling young adult novel, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. The story is told from the perspective of Penelope Montague, the intellectual daughter of an abusive English Lord and sister to Henry “Monty” Montague, an aristocratic drunkard, fop and buggerer (to use the 18th century terms). Penelope and her party-boy brother couldn’t be any different if they tried, and the first book did an excellent job of showing both of their strengths and weaknesses as they became reluctant allies on a cross-continent adventure. Although Penelope played a supporting role in The Gentleman’s Guide, The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is entirely her story.

When last we saw Penelope, Monty, and Monty’s lover, Percy, they were sailing with pirates in the Greek Isles, runways from their privileged but stifling places in English society. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy picks up several years later. Penelope’s working for a kindly Scottish baker and has ambitions to become a physician at a time when being a midwife was the closest a woman could come to a medical career. After suffering numerous rejections from universities, a sympathetic physician encourages Penelope to reach out to Alexander Platt, a brilliant but unconventional doctor. This is a thrilling prospect for Penelope who has followed Platt’s career for years. In an unbelievable coincidence, Platt also happens to be engaged to Penelope’s former best friend, Johanna Hoffman. Penelope leaves for Austria in the company of a female pirate / bodyguard called Sim, who wants access to the Hoffman estate for reasons unknown. 

The rivalry between Penelope and Johanna is one of the best things about this book. As girls, they used the Montague’s sprawling estate as a backdrop for games about world exploration, becoming famous scientists and raiding lost temples. Then they grew up. Penelope remained serious and nebbish while Johanna became a “proper lady,” complete with frilly dresses, elaborate hairdos and an utter dependence on men. Although Penelope and Johanna manage to forgive each other for past transgressions, they still disapprove of each other’s life choices. Penelope considers Johanna silly and pretentious, and Johanna finds Penelope elitist and mean-spirited. 

Penelope‘s introduction to Dr. Platt is also a wake up call. The rogue physician is not only a drug addict, but not nearly as open minded as Penelope fantasized. Not only is he using Johanna for her wealth and social position, but to gain access to the scientific journals of her late mother, a woman who successfully bucked convention and became that world explorer Penelope and Johanna once fantasized about. Sim also has an interest in the journals, but it’s not until Johanna disappears just before her wedding that the importance of these writings becomes clear.

In many ways, The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is superior to its predecessor with a more lively pace and a roster of interesting characters. McKenzi Lee does it skillful job making this Penelope‘s book, using Monty and Percy sparingly, and authentically depicting the roles and frustrations of European women of the Georgian Era. The hardest thing for Penelope to accept is just how stacked the system is against women — even women of privilege. Denied the freedom of education, movement, economics, and even marriage, the only thing Penelope has under her control is her intellect. And she uses it as often and as effectively as she can. 

Lee reminds the reader that women come in different forms and that they can be just as sexist towards each other as men. Whether it’s Penelope the bookish intellectual; Johanna the disgraced heiress; or Sim the roughhewn daughter of a pirate king; they all have skills and values they come to appreciate in each other... but not right away. On the downside, The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy suffers from too much coincidental happenstance, such as the aforementioned engagement between Johanna and Dr. Platt. (This was a problem with The Gentleman's Guide, too.) The ending also relies on a deus ex machina plot device which is never a satisfactory way to end any book. Regardless, there’s a lot to like here. Add this one to your reading list.

RELATED: Review of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue | Historical Young Adult Collection

What If It's Us is a LGBTQ teen novel about two boys who have a chance encounter on the streets of New York City and spend the rest of their summer obsessing over each other. It's also a bit of a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of dating your friends... as by the end of the book all the characters are hooking up more freely than Rachel, Ross, Joey, Phoebe, Chandler and Monica. And yes, this causes problems.

The main characters are Arthur and Ben. Arthur's just in the city for the summer, doing an internship at his mother's high-powered law firm. He does very little work as he's more interested in Instagram stalking his friends back home, trying to score tickets for the HAMILTON Broadway Show, and checking out cute guys. While making a coffee run for the law firm, he runs into Ben on the street. Slightly older and much more experienced, Ben's on his way to the post office to mail off a box of belongings to his ex-boyfriend, Hudson. Arthur strikes up a conversation, but before he can ask for the stranger's name and contact info, Ben vanishes. The only clue Arthur has to his identity is a crumpled up mailing label with Hudson's name on it.

Both guys regret not learning more about the other, but Arthur takes it upon himself to begin a 21st century style investigation via social networking and web-stalking. Against the odds, he manages to locate Ben. But their reunion is still fraught with difficulties. Ben's not quite over Hudson... and Arthur's insecure and jealous. Plus, the clock is running out and Arthur will soon have to return home to Georgia.

The book is co-written by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. The writing style, with each author assuming the voice of one of the characters, reminded me of Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Frankly however, I think it was done more effectively in that book than this one. While the two voices are distinct and nicely rendered, there's a lot of repetition of plot which slows down the action. Also, Arthur's whininess and obsession with pop culture becomes tiresome after a while. The latter issue even seems like fan-pandering. While putting constant modern day references, tons of emojis, teen slang, etc. into a book might connect with youth reading it in 2018, it will definitely date the book in the years to come. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book but the love story was the least interesting part for me. The first third of the novel, before the boys know who the other person was, is actually more intriguing. We've all had those chance encounters with others that seem to have promise but are then cut short. And our ignorance about who the other person actually is allows us to build our own stories about them. Romantic Arthur fantasizes that Ben will be a knight in shining armor who will heroically rescue him from his lingering virginity. Ben wonders if Arthur will the be "true love" he's been looking for but seems to keep sabotaging. While the quest for each other isn't enough to maintain the drama for the entirety of the novel, finding each other just kind of reinforces how incompatible they actually are yet I don't feel the book really addressed this. Instead, we get a "everything's OK" ending that really does feel like a FRIENDS episode. 

I liked Abertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapien Agenda much more, and I liked Silvera's voice for Ben more than Albertalli's voice for Arthur. But, that being said, What If It's Us is still a fun rom-com-style ride. 

RELATED: LGBTQ Book Collection | LGBTQ YA Collection on Bookshop.org

For three superlative novels, author Maggie Stiefvater has entranced us with the story of a group of high school students searching for the lost tomb of Owen Glendower (or Owain ap Gruffydd or Owain Glyndŵr), the Welsh “raven king” who lead an uprising against the British in the early 15th century. The Raven King concludes their search.

Glendower was a real historical figure, a capable military leader whose revolt was initially successful but ultimately doomed to fail before superior British technology and naval power. When his rebellion collapsed in 1409, Glendower when into hiding and was never found by his enemies. Likewise, his final resting spot remains unknown and from this mystery has sprung legend. Like King Arthur, Glendower’s myth promises that he can be “awakened” from death under certain conditions, and this is the starting point for Stiefvater’s books.

The teens in Steifvater’s Raven Cycle books are searching for Glendower’s bones in rural Virginia where they believe the ancient Welsh hid them from the British. Each of the characters has certain attributes which assist in this quest. Richard “Dick” Gansy is the group’s leader and a gifted historian. Ronan Lynch is a troubled classmate who can pull objects from dreams and make them manifest in the real world. Blue Sargent may not be a psychic like her mother, but she can amplify supernatural phenomenon at will. Adam Parrish is the magician who has a special relationship with the local ley line, a naturally occurring geological feature tied to the paranormal. And Noah Churney is the ghostly classmate who was murdered years earlier by a teacher who was also looking for Glendower. 

Purported to be the last book in the series, The Raven King, brings this long and complex adventure to an end by pitting Gansy and his friends against a ruthless collector of supernatural items who's systematically destroying the magical realm they seek to protect. Having been stymied from finding Glendower in all the previous books, Gansy and the others are now working against the clock. Finding Glendower may be the only way to save not only their world, but Gansy’s life as it has long been foretold that he would die before year’s end.

Stiefvater is a gifted storyteller. She’s able to effortlessly create realistic dialogue, paint stunning imagery and evoke deep emotion. But sadly, I think The Raven King is the weakest book in this series for several reasons. First, I found Stiefvater’s prose to be overly-mannered compared to the other novels, as though she abandoned her more conversational tone for repetition and hyperbole. These devices became increasingly distracting as I progressed through its pages. In respect to plot, The Raven King offered neither the intimate character study of The Dream Thieves nor the colorful personalities and interactions depicted in The Raven Boys and Blue Lily, Lily Blue. At times, it felt like loose threads were quickly tied off rather than thoughtfully resolved. This was certainly the case with how the protagonists find Glendower’s tomb and how they deal with Gansy’s forecasted death. Though I can’t say Stiefvater cheats the reader by failing to resolve these storylines, their resolutions felt rushed and insufficient.

​While The Raven King was a disappointment in many ways, the world Stiefvater’s created in these novels is a place I would love to visit again. Fortunately, the last scene in the book leaves the door to future novels noticeably ajar. I, for one, hope we see these characters again.

RELATED: Reviews of The Raven Boys (novel and graphic novel) |Review of The Dream Thieves: The Raven Cycle Book 2  |  Review of Blue Lily, Lily Blue: The Raven Cycle Book 3 | Review of The Raven King: The Raven Cycle Book 4  |  Supernatural Book Collection | Paranormal Book Collection

The third installment in Maggie Stiefvater's popular Raven Cycle books, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, continues the story of a young woman named Blue Sargent, born to a family of psychics who befriends a group of privileged prep school boys as they search for a mythical king called Glendower. As unlikely as that premise may seem, these are consistently strong and believable young adult novels and this third installment does a great job of building on an ensemble of characters which may be some of the most engaging in young adult fiction. 

After dealing mostly with the character of Ronan Lynch in the preceding book The Dream Thieves, this outing reestablishes Blue Sargent as the main protagonist of a diverse group of people bound together by both friendship and curiosity. As the novel begins, Blue is suffering acutely from the loss of her mother Maura who disappeared at the end of the previous book. Maura, a powerful psychic, has presumably decided to search for Glendower on her own — leaving behind only a cryptic note which promises she can be found “underground.” According to legend, Glendower was a Welsh king who was spirited away from his homeland and laid to rest somewhere in an elaborate cave system near the fictional town of Henrietta, Virginia. Like the legend of King Arthur, Glendower is not dead in the physiological sense, but rather in some form of suspended animation, waiting for one worthy soul to wake him. For the man or woman who manages to find and rouse the king, there is the promise of magical favors.

Joining again with her unlikely friends from the prestigious Aglionby Academy (Gansy, Ronan, Adam and Noah), Blue spearheads the subterranean search for Glendower — logically assuming that if she finds the king, Marua will be nearby. This quest eventually leads them to a rural farm of Jesse Dittley. One of Stiefvater’s strengths is creating memorable, often eccentric characters like Dittley. A great hulk of a man, he’s plain spoken and surprisingly gentle. He takes reluctant shine to Blue, nicknaming her “Ant,” a reference to things which are small yet powerful. Through their unconventional friendship, Blue convinces Dittley to allow her and her friends through the gated cave entrance on his property. This is not an easy decision, as Ditty’s convinced the cave’s cursed and has already claimed the lives of several of his relatives. 

Upon entering the caverns, they find not the mythical king but his daughter, Gwenllian. Entombed alive for reasons unknown (yes, these things happen in The Raven Boys series), the woman is now utterly mad from centuries of isolation. Still, Blue and Gansy recognize that she’s a valuable source of information if they can ever sense of her constant riddles and taunts.

To complicate matters further, the maniacal and sinister Colin Greenmantle continues his own search for Glendower. Introduced in the previous book, Greenmantle is a professional collector of unusual things, a sociopath and a murderer. In The Dream Thieves, he dispatched a hired assassin (the enigmatic “Gray Man”) to locate a magical object called the Greywaren which could manifest items out of the dream world and into the real one. When the “Gray Man” discovered that this “object” was actually Ronan, he couldn’t bring himself to turn the boy over to his employer. Fuming from this betrayal, Greenmantle has come to Henrietta to finish the job himself. What follows is an increasingly dangerous game of cat-and-mouse as Blue, Gansy and the others try to outwit or at least out-race Greenmantle to the king’s final resting place. The story culminates with the opposing teams of supernatural treasure hunters entering the caverns for a deadly showdown.

​Like the other books in this series, I continue to be impressed with both Stiefvater’s world building, authentic characters and intriguing subplots. If I have one major criticism of Blue Lily, Lily Blue, it’s that it doesn’t do enough to advance the overall mythology of the series. The one major resolution of the novel is that Blue does find her mother. But after three books, the protagonists still aren’t that much closer to solving the mystery of Glendower. With lesser authors, this lack of resolution would have me annoyed or worried. But I trust Stiefvater will get us there in the end and, honestly, I’d be okay if these books went on forever. While I wished for more a little more in this one, Blue Lily, Lily Blue is another enjoyable installment to The Raven Cycle and well worth your time!

RELATED: Reviews of The Raven Boys (novel and graphic novel) |Review of The Dream Thieves: The Raven Cycle Book 2  |  Review of Blue Lily, Lily Blue: The Raven Cycle Book 3 | Review of The Raven King: The Raven Cycle Book 4  |  Supernatural Book Collection | Paranormal Book Collection

The Dream Thieves is the second book in the Raven Boys Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. It’s rare for me to launch into reading all the books in a series back-to-back, but I was so taken with the first, The Raven Boys, that I knew I had to continue on immediately. (See my review of The Raven Boys.)

​Done correctly, the second part of anything — a movie, a play, a book — can be the best part. The introduction’s over, the conclusion awaits, and everything in between is where the heart of the story resides and some of the best drama unfolds. This was certainly true of The Dream Thieves which builds on the compelling but largely secondary character of Ronan Lynch. We learned some important things about Ronan in the first book, particularly how his promising future was upended when he found his father’s mangled body in the barns near the family home. Following this unsolved murder, Ronan’s mother lapsed into an inexplicable coma and the bizarre provisions of his father’s will have kept Ronan and his brothers away from both her and their home. This means poor Ronan has become the proverbial man without a country, receiving a monthly stipend from the vast family fortune so he can continue to attend the Aglionby prep school yet denying him what he wants most — answers.

As if Ronan's life wasn’t difficult enough, a corrupt and dislikable classmate named Joseph Kavinsky has taken a sudden interest in him, presenting him with a series of gifts which are both weirdly personal and slightly threatening. But Kavinsky also has the answers to many of Ronan’s questions, including how to extract items from one’s dream life and manifest them in the waking world. This ability, which Ronan shared his late father, allowed the elder Lynch to build their immense wealth and ultimately lead to his assassination by a mysterious individual known as “The Gray Man.” While Ronan approaches “dream theft” warily, Kavinsky is an unapologetic burglar, caring little for the long-term consequences of his actions if they fulfill his immediate needs and desires. The more Kavinsky and Ronan pull from the supernatural world, the more they deplete the ley line which powers Cabeswater, Ronan’s ghostly friend Noah, and may lead to the mythical king, Glendower.

It was risky for Stiefvater to dedicate so much of The Dream Thieves to Kavinsky and Ronan, especially since it meant less attention for the cycle’s presumptive protagonists, Gansey and Blue. Yet it worked for the most part. We never doubt that the boys’ strange teacher-student relationship is built on a foundation of mutual antagonism and selfish need, yet we revel to discover that Ronan, for all his faults, simply isn’t the hedonistic scoundrel Kavinsky and many others expect him to be. Their differences become irreconcilable when Kavinsky reveals a sexual price for his mentorship, reducing Ronan to just another possession to be toyed with and then discarded. The topic of Ronan’s sexuality and his reaction to Kavinsky’s demands are skillfully handled and also let Stiefvater address his equally complicated relationship with Gansey, a boy he describes as a brother but who clearly fulfills multiple roles. 

While I didn’t enjoy The Dream Thieves quite as much as the first book, finding the conclusion too melodramatic for my taste, I was impressed by the author’s world building and her willingness to take her characters down uncharted paths. There’s a lot of new material and characters introduced in this book, but Stiefvater doesn’t cheat us (or Ronan) by withholding answers while simultaneously laying the foundation for greater things to come. 

RELATED: Reviews of The Raven Boys (novel and graphic novel) |Review of The Dream Thieves: The Raven Cycle Book 2  |  Review of Blue Lily, Lily Blue: The Raven Cycle Book 3 | Review of The Raven King: The Raven Cycle Book 4  |  Supernatural Book Collection | Paranormal Book Collection

MY ORIGINAL REVIEW OF THE NOVEL:

Within the first paragraph of Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys, I was worried I had made a mistake. After all, the first things Maggie tells us about her female protagonist, Blue Sargent, is that she comes from a long line of psychics and that it's been foretold by said psychics that she'll eventually kill her true love with a kiss. Poor Blue has grown up with this grim specter and it's become even more frightful now that she's 18 and seriously interested in boys. At this point, I admit that my cynicism for young adult fiction took over. 

Ah shit, I thought, I just spent money for another tedious YA paranormal romance. There will be nothing for me in this novel but a rising sense of irritation.

Fortunately, I was dead wrong. 

The Raven Boys turned out to be a highly engaging novel which both surprised and pleased me by not indulging in the usual YA paranormal tropes about a demure girl with special powers who's loved by a contingent of dangerous, damaged bastards but is afraid to love them back. In fact, props to Stiefvater for not only providing authentic male characters, but also presenting young male culture as being both supportive and welcoming (because it can be, you know). 

The meat of the novel revolves around Blue's family gift and its connection to a mysterious energy corridor called a ley line which runs near her hometown of Henrietta, Virginia. Blue's not overtly clairvoyant  but when she visits the ley line on with her aunt on St. Mark's Eve — a night when the spirits of those who will die in the next year march by — she has a ghostly vision of a young man who identifies himself as "Gansey." As it turns out, "Gansey" is Richard "Dick" Campbell Gansey, III, a wealthy student at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The students at the all-male prep school are cumulatively known as "raven boys" by the Henrietta natives who view them with a mixture of intolerance and envy. Blue would normally eschew "raven boys," partly because of their reputation, partly because of that whole I-will-kill-you-with-a-kiss thing. Instead, she's drawn into Gansey's circle and his obsessive quest for a legendary Welsh king called Gwendower he swears is buried someone along the ley line. According to myth, anyone who awakens the sleeping king will be granted a supernatural favor. Gansey's Gwendower fixation and Blue's ominous vision of the boy eventually culminate in an uneasy partnership shared by three other Aglionby students and — unbeknownst to all of them — their unscrupulous Latin professor.

Stiefvater's prose is rich and highly atmospheric, sometimes straying close to poetry in a way reminiscent of Neil Gaiman. Her vision of the fictional Henrietta, a southern town curiously populated by powerful psychics and affluent schoolboys, becomes a fascinating backdrop for a variety of subplots. Stiefvater should also be complemented for tying up enough loose threads to make The Raven Boys a satisfying novel on its own while simultaneously leaving enough unresolved so the reader is craving the next book in the cycle.

​Check this one out!

RELATED: Review of The Dream Thieves: The Raven Cycle Book 2

REVIEW OF THE RAVEN BOYS: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

The Raven Boys Graphic Novel, adapted by Stephanie Williams and illustrated by Sas Milledge, breathes visual life into Maggie Stiefvater's bestselling YA supernatural fantasy, The Raven Boys. Originally published in 2012, the novel embarked readers on a mesmerizing journey through The Raven Cycle, a four-book saga steeped in myth and mystery. This graphic novel adaptation, released in August 2025, seeks to capture the enchantment and suspense that endeared the original to countless fans.

Williams's adaptation is a testament to the power of storytelling through visuals. The necessity of condensing Stiefvater's intricate plot into a graphic format inevitably simplifies certain elements, akin to a book being translated into a film. As a result, some of rich complexities, especially the nuanced relationships between the Aglionby Academy students—Gansey, Noah, Ronan, and Adam—and Blue, the girl entwined in their quest, are somewhat diminished. Despite this, the core narrative remains intact: a slowburn quest to find the legendary Welsh King Glendower and the looming prophecy over Gansey's tragic fate.

Sas Milledge's artwork employs heavy ink work and a limited color palette, perfectly complementing the novel's dark supernatural plot mixed with subplots about abuse, grief, trauma and murder. While Milledge's artistic interpretations may diverge from what readers of the original novel might have imagined, this divergence adds a unique dimension to the story, offering fresh perspectives on beloved characters.

Notably, the graphic novel retains the suspense and surprising twists that captivated readers in Stiefvater's original work. Whether you're a first-time reader or a long-time fan, this adaptation promises an engaging experience, allowing you to rediscover the magic and mystery of The Raven Boys through a new lens.
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RELATED: Reviews of The Raven Boys (novel and graphic novel) |Review of The Dream Thieves: The Raven Cycle Book 2  |  Review of Blue Lily, Lily Blue: The Raven Cycle Book 3 | Review of The Raven King: The Raven Cycle Book 4  |  Supernatural Book Collection | Paranormal Book Collection