How did I miss this series? The paperback I borrowed from my local library was published in 2012. Eleven years of pale paws, nightly consumption, suspenseful reading in stairwells, and skipping class to find out what happens, have rendered it as gnarly as the boys themselves—as beat-up as Adam, as etheric as Noah, as violent as Ronan, as intelligent as Gansey, and as powerful as Blue.
I remember seeing the covers when I googled urban fantasy series in 2020 while searching for inspiration in the hallways of YA mysticism. I wanted to read it then but life happened. And now I’ve begun I can’t stop. Thankfully, there are four.
It’s not always possible to explain why a particular author or story grabs you and holds on. Sometimes, it’s a crosshatch—the author’s voice, characters drawn as friends, language that casts a spell, surprises, unexpected emotions, intrigue, a tale so leisurely mystical it could be real. As I read book one, other stories came to mind: The Lord of the Flies, Stand by Me—ensemble casts assembled to unearth teenage truths and show the remarkable strength in friendship.
Blue’s mother is a psychic who lives with two other psychics. They’ve always warned Blue that when she kisses her true love he will die. This year, she hears two more prophesies: this year she will fall in love and this year Gansey will die.
The rich, handsome, and charismatic Gansey is on a quest to find the body of Welsh king, Owain Glyndŵr, (1354-1415) descendent of Llewelyn the Great, and nationalist rebel who fought the usurping English King Henry IV. Glyndŵr was eventually defeated and his castles taken by the English. He became a wanted outlaw and eventually died though his body was never found. Gansey believes that Owain Glyndŵr’s men brought his body to Virginia, where this story is set, and entombed him along a particular ley line (a place of great mystical energy). According to Welsh legend, he lies in wait and will arise again when Wales is in need. Gansey is determined to awaken the ley line and find the sleeping Welsh king, Glyndŵr. The notion of ley lines is a whole other phenomenon worthy of research.
When Blue and the Raven Boys discover that one among them has been murdered, they’re determined to bring the killer to justice. The to-the-death-and-beyond camaraderie between them raises the emotional stakes. Set against the backdrop of a prestigious private boys’ school called Aglionby, the mash-up of contemporary life, mystical phenomenon, myth, and murder, rocketed this book to fame. Check out Maggie Stiefvater’s site for more. How did I miss this?
- #1 NYT Bestselling Series
- Over 1 million copies in print
- Published in over 28 languages
- Most starred reviews from literary journals (18) of any young adult series ever published
- One of Rolling Stones top 40 YA novels
- American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
- Indies Choice Book Award
- TIME Magazine’s Most Anticipated
- Bram Stoker Award nominee
- Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
- Amazon editors’ choice
- Publishers Weekly Best Books
- Indigo Top 25
- YALSA Best Books for Young Adults
- Chapters-Indigos Best Books for Young Adults
