I am finally out of my reading rut! When I first started working at my jobs here in New Hampshire, I completely underestimated how much free time I would have and what I would be doing with said free time. So I've only read 7 books this year (which for me is a low start). After three months of not even cracking a book open, I decided to ease back in with Maggie Steifvater's YA series The Raven Cycle, a series of four books spanning a little under a year and chock full of magic. The books follow Blue Sargent, non-psychic daughter to one part of a psychic trio in Henrietta, Virginia. On St. Mark's Eve, the one day a year you can see the spirits of the coming year's dead, Blue sees the spirit of Gansey, a student at the elite private school Aglionby that is nestled into the hills of Henrietta. It's as if seeing Gansey's spirit has thrown him into Blue's life and she suddenly finds herself mixed up in his search for the lost Welsh king Glendower. Murder, magic, and mayhem ensue as the teens try to find Glendower before such threats as their Latin teacher, a different Latin teacher, a set of evil triplets, and a mercenary.
It was like slipping into your favorite pair of sweatpants: comforting and familiar; you know just where all of the holes are. Please read that as: this series has all of your favorite YA tropes: a girl who doesn't realize she's special (but is), a blonde private school boy who chews mint leaves and is destined to die, his underprivileged best friend with a chip on his shoulder, his second best friend with an even bigger chip on his shoulder and a pet raven, and his third best friend who is sometimes there and sometimes not. What more can you ask for? All of the characters are so thoughtfully written, with very specific voices and quirks, and I truly fell in love with all of them.
My one qualm with the series (although it's not damning) is that oftentimes the plot is often...lacking? Or more accurately, the overarching plot of finding Glendower often seemed to take a back seat to individual character arcs. I distinctly remember finishing the second book in the series and thinking, "Did anything actually happen?" The answer in an obvious way was yes, but much of the events in said book didn't bring Blue and her Raven Boys any closer to Glendower, which I found somewhat frustrating.
Still, overall, these books made the slip back into reading easy and enjoyable, and I did end up a little bit in love with everyone that was written...even the villains.
8/10 :)