Review: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Review: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
Goodreads 
Release date: September 17th, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic
Series: #2 in the Raven Cycle
Source: Borrowed from Carina, then e-ARC from Netgalley
(good timing on that one, Netgalley)
Rating: A gorgeously written sequel that ups the ante and develops all the major characters



The second installment in the all-new series from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after..

My review of The Raven Boys

Warning: there WILL be spoilers for The Raven Boys, so proceed with caution.

The cover: OH HAI RONAN. You look so sexy, all pensive and surly and surrounded by dream ravens. Also, I don't mean to alarm you, but your heart might literally be exploding. You're still gorgeous, dear. Don't worry.

The cover: You might remember that Stiefvater dropped a WHOPPER of a cliff hanger in the last sentence of The Raven Boys. Basically, abrasive, confrontational Ronan revealed that he can bring things out of his dreams, like his adorable raven, Chainsaw. Also, Adam did something I still don't really understand on the ley lines, Gansey is still determined to track down Glendower, the buried Welsh king of legend, Noah is really most sincerely dead, and Blue is officially one of the gang.

Plot-wise, this is an easier read than The Raven Boys. We spend less time establishing the characters and the story and more time living it. It's still not a fast-paced book, laced as it is with evocative imagery and spellbinding character moments, but things start happening for quickly. Something is seriously wrong with Cabeswater. A classmate of the boys is up to strange, troublesome things, and his motives are murky. A gray, mysterious man has come to town, and he will do anything he can to find what he came to find... even if it endagers every one of the Lynch brothers. (Who we meet! I loved meeting Ronan's sweet younger brother, Matthew, and even seeing more of Declan, who plays a bigger role in this book.)

 Adam. Oh Adam. *Pets the baby Adam* He had a really rough go of it in TRB, and I'm sorry to say things are even rougher for him in TDT. He and Blue are still edging around each other romantically, and there's tension still between him and Gansey. WHICH SADDENS ME SO MUCH, because of one my favorite parts of this story is the strength and loyalty of the friendships between the Raven boys (and their Raven girl, the belligerent Blue). He's going through some serious changes. Something is rotten in the state of Adam-mark after his sacrifice at the end of TRB. He's hearing voices, and a mysterious force is moving through him, and somehow, it's connected to Cabeswater. He's a bit of a pill in this book, but the guy is going through some tough and very heartbreaking things, which leads to... you guessed it... more heartbreak.

As adorable and tentative and sweet as Blue and Adam are, my ship of choice is Gansey and Blue. GLUE. BLANSEY? Whatever they are, I ship them something fierce. Okay, I'm going with Glue. Because Blue and Gansey are kind of the ones who hold the whole Fellowship of the Cabeswater together, and I want them to be stuck together like glue. Don't argue.

Gansey is as wonderful and complicated as ever, full of unflagging enthusiasm and loyalty. He's still pretty clueless about a lot of things, but he always tries to hard, both to help and to do what's right. And Blue's my girl. Prickly, spiky, confused Blue, fighting so hard against fate and losing. That girl has the worst prophecies ever hanging over her head, and it's so interesting to see just how wrong and how right they are, and if Blue let's them determine her life or not.

The magic in this book continues to be one of the most original I've read about. The true extent of dream-theivery, and the repercussions that has in Ronan's relationships with his family, with Gansey, with Adam, with himself... It was so wonderful to be in Ronan's head. His third person POV is the most dominant one in TDT, and I could not have been happier about it. It's hard to say what I love best about his book: the lyrical writing, the mythology, or the characters.

Actually, it's not that hard. It's most DEFINITELY the characters. They remain themselves consistently, but it's fascinating to watch them battle against themselves and their circumstances. My beloved Gansey, still hell-bent on his quest for so many reasons, is the linchpin of the group. Or maybe Blue is, with her pluck and not-so-charming charm. (Seriously, watching Blue and Gansey bicker and play off each other fills my heart with FEELS. JUST JUMP EACH OTHER'S BONES, GUYS. Um. Except don't, obviously, because of Blue's curse).

I also love the relationship that Blue and Noah have. It's so sweet and sincere. Each character is just so distinct. You get the feeling Stiefvater knows them all the way down to their socks. I once heard a really great writing teacher describe characterization like that: "You want to know your character so well that you'll know which socks they'll put on for the best and worst and more ordinary days of their lives."

I know every characters' socks. AND I LOVE THEM.

The things you find when you Google image search sock gifs.

Book Three, why you so far away? Why why why?!

Just because.