Maggie Stiefvater is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the novels Shiver, Linger, Forever, and Sinner. Her novel The Scorpio Races was named a Michael L. Printz Honor Book by the American Library Association. The first book in The Raven Cycle, The Raven Boys, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and the second book, The Dream Thieves, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. The third book, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, received five starred reviews. The final book, The Raven King, received four. She is also the author of All the Crooked Saints and Call Down the Hawk. She is also an artist and musician. She lives in Virginia with her husband and their two children. You can visit her online at maggiestiefvater.com
"In this continuation of The Raven Boys (2012), Printz Honor Book
recipient Stiefvater continues the compelling story, keeping the
focus once again on the Raven Boys themselves: privileged Gansey,
tortured Adam, spectral Noah, and darkly dangerous Ronan. This
time, though, their quest for the legendary sleeping Welsh King,
Owen Glendower, takes a backseat to a spate of secrets, dreams, and
nightmares that appear to be sapping the ley line-- an invisible
channel of energy connecting sacred places--that runs beneath their
small Virginia town. Could this be the reason that the mystical
forest, Cabeswater, has inexplicably disappeared? Who is the
mysterious Grey Man, and why is he searching for the Greywaren, a
relic that enables its owner to steal objects from dreams? How does
this involve secretive Ronan? Visceral suspense builds as the
characters pursue answers to these and other questions, and a
palpable sense of foreboding and danger increasingly permeate the
novel. Richly written and filled with figurative language
(buildings are "tidy as library books;" a "murmur of guests" attend
a party; a woman looks "fresh as a newscaster"), this story of
secrets and dreams, of brothers and of all-too-real magic is an
absolute marvel of imagination and an irresistible invitation to
wonder." - Booklist starred review
"Beginning the same summer in which The Raven Boys (Scholastic,
2012) ended, The Dream Thieves is a little less about Blue Sargent
and more about Gansey. Richard Campbell Gansey III (don't call him
Dick), Ronan, Adam, ghostly Noah, and Joseph Kavinsky are (or were)
raven boys-students at posh Aglionby Academy in the small Virginia
town of Henrietta. The writing style maintains a dark and brooding
tone as Gansey continues to investigate the existence of a ley
line, an invisible channel of energy, recently awakened, that may
lead them to the ancient Welsh king Glendower. The complicated
relationships and plot points are difficult to follow without the
background from The Raven Boys. Even with the background, new
characters appear: the deadly (perhaps) Gray Man, Greenmantle, and
the idea of a Greywaren. Blue comes from a family of women with
psychic gifts, but her gift isn't "sight" itself but a talent for
magnifying the presence of magic around her-a significant
contribution where finding the ley line is concerned. Readers
looking for answers won't find them in this book. Readers who want
a moody chill and appreciate an atmospheric turn of phrase (keys
hang from the ignition like "ripe fruit," a farm yard is populated
with "deceased pick-up trucks") will want to spend more time in
Henrietta. Purchase where the first book is popular, and suggest
the series to fans of Holly Black's "Curse Workers" books (S & S)
or to readers of grittier works such as Andrew Smith's The Marbury
Lens (2010) and Passenger (2012, both Feiwel & Friends)." - School
Library Journal starred review
"Book two of Stiefvater's Raven Cycle shifts from character-driven
voyage of discovery to more of a paranormal thriller, ratcheting up
the violence as the plot grows more complex. After the
transformative events at Cabeswater in The Raven Boys, the context
in which Gansey, Blue, Adam, Ronan, and Noah operate is further
altered by the arrival of the Gray Man, a self-described hit man
who replaces Barrington Whelk in providing occasional adult
narrative perspective. The Gray Man brings with him the
machinations of larger, previously unknown forces as he takes
orders from a voice on the phone to hunt the Greywaren, the
identity of which is revealed early on. But this book largely
belongs to the loose cannon that is Ronan, as he works to better
understand his supernatural abilities and their connection to his
family. While Stiefvater's offbeat, acutely observed characters
continue to grow, they have shifted from developing a group
interaction to reacting against one another, making this
installment more tense and foreboding than its predecessor--and
every bit as gripping." - Publishers Weekly starred review
![]() |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
![]() |