BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE // Nostalgia and Peace

Five Stars—ajklsdflk (when words fail to describe how wonderful a book is) 

As with THE RAVEN BOYS and THE DREAM THIEVES by Maggie Stiefvater, I first listened to BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE on audiobook, and it was phenomenal. 

The Characters

Greenmantle // Greenmantle is an odd villain; he’s truly terrible, and truly dangerous, but he fascinates me more than he scares me. Danger and evil seem almost to bore him. The best thing about him, though, is that Stiefvater makes him feel like a real person. 

Piper // Piper is even more interesting than her husband. Though she conforms to some of the more stereotypical female tropes (not to say that any of those are bad)—yoga, book clubs, buying small ugly dogs (okay, small ugly dogs are bad), etc.—she is also her own person. Like Greenmantle, she doesn’t seem to be able to feel fear or love. But, as my sister says, they still make a cute couple. 

Jesse Dittley // *eyes turn to hearts* I love Jesse. I love how Stiefvater puts his dialogue in all caps because it’s so big and boomy. I love how Stiefvater shows his dialectic speech more than she does with some of the other characters. And I love how he calls Blue “ant” and wonders if she’s short because she didn’t eat her vegetables. 

Adam’s father // Adam’s father, when shown through the lens of distance, is harder to fear because he’s easier to see. That’s not to say that his actions become justifiable, only understandable in terms of who he is: a petulant person, more child than man. 

Maura // Even though this book centers around her absence, I felt like I learned more about Maura in this story than I did in the two previous. Maura is wise and gentle and something other. She is like Blue and she is like the Gray Man and she is like a cup of Earl Grey tea with cream. 

Stiefvater's Writing

When I was trying to decide whether or not to buy IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma, I remember finding that the biggest issue negative reviewers had was the writing style. They complained that the prose was dense and hard to get into (in so many words). But if you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time, you’ve likely seen me mention how much I love everything about IMAGINARY GIRLS. “Liz,” you say, “you’re getting distracted. We were talking about BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE.” 

We are, don’t worry. I mention IMAGINARY GIRLS because I’ve seen several reviewers, even ones who like Stiefvater’s books, mention that it was hard to get into THE RAVEN BOYS because of the writing style. Stiefvater’s style, like Suma’s, is richer and asks to be read more slowly. It’s meant to be savored. The sentences are more out of the box; when I get stuck in a sentence structure rut, reading their work helps me to view writing in a new light. 

Obviously, my stylistic preferences won't always be yours. But if you happen to like Nova Ren Suma’s style, Stiefvater’s will likely appeal to you as well. 

The Atmosphere

I know I touched on atmosphere in my review of THE RAVEN BOYS, but I want to mention it again. Very rarely, when I’m reading, do I get truly absorbed. I can be head-over-heels for a story and still forget to pick it back up once I’ve put it down. But the Raven Cycle blocks out anxiety-driven distractions and overactive thoughts. Stiefvater’s writing steals me from my time and lands me in some strange in-between place where it’s always autumn, and always spring, where there’s always a cool breeze and rain and the sound of moving leaves and bird song in the morning. It slows my blood. 

While I mentioned that I love living in Virginia because it makes me think of this series, I feel it’s also important to mention that I may have been living in Virginia and enjoying it for a few months before I picked up the Raven Cycle, but it was the Raven Cycle that made me never want to leave. 

What about you, my little coffee beans? What are some books that make you feel peaceful? Do you like books that make you feel strangely nostalgic?

THE DREAM THIEVES // Things that go

Five Stars—ajklsdflk (when words fail to describe how wonderful a book is)

As with THE RAVEN BOYS, by Maggie Stiefvater, I listened to THE DREAM THIEVES on audiobook. The amazing thing about Will Patton’s narration is that I could still hear it in my head as I read the book through the second time, and it encouraged me to read more slowly, to savor the word choices and the sentence structure. 

The Characters. 

While I already discussed Blue, Gansey, Ronan, and Noah in my review of THE RAVEN BOYS, there are other characters I need to list as well. Because even though Stiefvater’s writing is filled with plot and mystery and tension, it still feels as though it’s the characters that drive it. 

Kavinsky // I don’t know if Kavinsky counts as a full-on antagonist in this book, but he certainly doesn’t make life better for Blue and the raven boys. He acts almost as a foil for Ronan, not because he is what Ronan is not, but because he is a polar opposite of what Ronan wants to become. 

The Gray Man // The Gray Man is a hit man. He is characterized by his lack of characterizing features. If I said I want to be him when I grow up, would you promise not to tell the police? He is the most well-rounded-without-being-overstated assassin character I have encountered in a while. He is a person who happens to be a hit man, rather than a hit man who happens to be a person. 

The Cars // THE DREAM THIEVES, more so than any of the other books in the Raven Cycle, is about cars. We have the Pig, Gansey’s ’73 Camaro, which has its share of mishaps and time-loopy weirdness. We have the Gray Man’s champaigne disappointment, a depressing rental car that features frequently. And we have Kavinsky’s white Mitsubishi Evo, which is a phenomena all its own. As an honorable mention, I can’t forget to include Ronan’s BMW. Basically, this book is a celebration of things that go, and I could not be more pleased (well, okay, I would be more pleased if Stiefvater had thought to include a Lamborghini). (Side note: There’s a dentist in my area who owns a yellow convertible Lamborghini, and I’ve seen it twice. I’ve also encountered a silver one in the wild. *dies of happiness*) 

Declan // Ronan’s older brother is a piece of work, and I’m still trying to map out the family dynamics, specifically the shared tension he and Ronan bring to the table. (Side note: There’s a Declan who goes to my church, and every time someone says his name, I flash back to the Raven Cycle. This is perfectly characteristic of how, even with more minor characters, Stiefvater’s writing leaves a mark on your consciousness.) 

Persephone // I love Persephone. That’s not to say I don’t like the others who live with Blue at 300 Fox Way: Maura, Calla, Orla, Jimi. (And I plan to talk about them in a later review.) But Persephone has always stuck out as my number one favorite. She is flaky and distracted, wise and perseptive, sad and cryptic. She seems simultaneously childlike and world-weary. 

In Conclusion. 

I’m finding that Stiefvater is neck-and-neck with Ray Bradbury for the title of "Liz’s Favorite Author" (which is, as you know, a prestigious position *cough cough*). I’ve also decided that, while I already own the whole Raven Cycle in hardcover, I want to purchase the set in paperback as well so I can go through and *gasp* underline and annotate and pull apart the stories so I can see how they tick (and hopefully learn more writing theory as a result). I plan to do this with THE SCORPIO RACES as well. 

What about you, my little coffee beans? Have you read THE DREAM THIEVES? What is your favorite Stiefvater book?

THE RAVEN BOYS // Bottled Virginia Magic

Five Stars—ajklsdflk (when words fail to describe how wonderful a book is)

When I picked up THE RAVEN BOYS, I did it more because several trusted friends had recommended it, and less because I was actually interested. Had I realized it was going to offer me a similar sort of moody realism to IMAGINARY GIRLS, I would have been much more excited. In the end, the biggest reason I decided to try THE RAVEN BOYS was because I was on an audiobook kick and there weren’t many options available at the library. Also, I had listened to THE SCORPIO RACES and enjoyed it, so I was grudgingly willing to read more by Maggie Stiefvater. (It’s weird how loving one book doesn’t necessarily translate to a desperate need to read more by the same author. Possibly I’m afraid of being disappointed by the rest of their work.) 

The Audiobook. 

Despite my minor obsession with them last year, I’m finding I'm not a huge fan of audiobooks. So often the narrator feels wrong for the story, and it taints my enjoyment. But Will Patton does a phenomenal, phenomenal job, I tell you. His voice is bottled Virginia magic. I prefer listening to it over reading the story with my eyes, as I did the second time through. 

The Characters. 

All of Stiefvater’s characters, however large or small of a role they play, don’t feel like portraits of humans, as so many characters do; they feel like actual humans. On that note, I’m convinced it would be worthwhile to base a writing program off Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle (and THE SCORPIO RACES). *takes notes* 

Blue // Blue is sensible but eccentric. While she is her own person, she is not the wild, reckless, wish-fulfillment type of character that has become prevelent in YA. She is sad and deep wihout being melodramatic. 

Gansey // Stiefvater is both cruel and brilliant to inform us, before we even officially meet him, that Gansey is going to die. I say brilliant, because I get the sense that Stiefvater's no push over, that she’s going to do what she’s been telling us she's going to do all along. I say cruel, because she then proceeds to write a character I can’t bear to lose. Gansey is studious, driven, thoughtful, kind, and yes, a bit arrogant and stupid about money and status, but he’s Gansey. I read about him and I hear his ghost saying “That’s all there is,” and my eyes get a little leaky. He doesn’t feel fictional; he feels real, like someone who ended a long time ago and needs to be remembered. 

Ronan // He is violent, predictable, and understandable. I simultaneously fear him and want him for a friend. His anger drives him, his pet raven humanizes him, and his secrets lend him depth. There’s so much to Ronan, so much I feel about him, and I can’t find a way to put any of it into words, because it’s more an indescribable swirl of color than a line of text. I can’t properly express how glad I am that he is getting his own trilogy. 

Noah // Noah is soft and sad and shadowy, and he breaks my heart. I want to keep him safe in my pocket wherever I go; I want to be his best friend. I can’t go into much detail about him without entering spoiler territory, but suffice it to say that, of all the character storylines in THE RAVEN BOYS, Noah’s is my favorite. 

Adam // I relate to Adam, and I pity him. I get a little angry, too, because he makes all his pain and anger worse by driving his friends away at crucial moments. I wish he would be willing to take help, wish he wouldn’t villify Gansey for offering it. That said, I understand why he feels the need to pull himself up by his bootstraps, though I worry that if he doesn’t learn to manage his desperate need for dignity, he could end up more like his father than is good for anyone. 

Henrietta // Although Henrietta is a town, it’s a character too. It fills the book, every corner, every nook and cranny of it. I love the sense of place. I love that I, too, live in Virginia. I love walking my landlord’s dog and pretending I’m in Henrietta, that I can hear the hum of the ley line, that when I round the corner, I could stumble across Blue and the Raven boys. 

The Atmosphere. 

The atmosphere in this story is so strong, I can taste it, smell it, touch it. I want it to replace my atoms. It’s like drinking straight nostalgia from a favorite mug. 

In Conclusion. 

I have read this book twice, and I already want to reread it. Rest assured, I will shove it in your face like I shoved IMAGINARY GIRLS in your face, and you will not hear the end of it until you cave and read it. Now I’m off to finish rereading BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE so I can maybe finally work up the courage to read THE RAVEN KING and see what happens. 

What about you, my little coffee beans? Have you read THE RAVEN BOYS? Have you read anything else by Maggie Stiefvater?