Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Review: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle, #2) by Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication date: September 5th, 2013
Number of pages: 450 pgs
Format: Paperback
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

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...

If you had read The Raven Boys, then you are sure to adore this one. The Raven Boys saga is unlike anything I have read before. It is definitely more of a slow build because there is so much mythology and it's complicated plots and character developments. It was one of the most interesting books I had read in a long time.

Skip a year and we have the sequel -- The Dream Thieves. It is very easily known it is focused on a Raven Boy in particular, Ronan. In the first book he was always this person who you never knew very much about, but that there was something more to him than meets the eye.
In The Dream Thieves, you begin to understand who he is, how he came to be this way, and his family life. His relationship with his two brothers, and his history with his parents. It's not the easy family life that's for sure, but there is something about him that sets him apart from any of his friends.
There are also some surprising bits of information about Ronan that you may or may not have known before, and maybe after reading this it may make sense.

I felt this book was more about personal character development than it was about the mystery of Glendower. That was probably my only disappointment.. that there was not more progress in that area, but  I've no doubt book three will dig back into that whole plot, especially with the end of this one. It leaves you on a cliffhanger that will make you ache  for the next book in the series right this moment. 2014 can't come soon enough for me.

We did get some progress when it comes to Blue and Gansey, which is another favourite part of mine. You begin to see how they end up in love in the future. There is one scene in particular toward the end of the book that will break your heart... that will make you want these to to have some happiness even though you know it's gonna end sadly. The two of them suddenly realize what may be burning between them just won't go away no matter how much they wish it to.

I can't not mention the other two players in this book. Adam and Noah. You don't see a lot of Noah, but it makes me wish for him to have some kind of peace, and I don't think that will happen until the boys find what they are looking for, and until then, he is gonna have to go along for the ride until he can be happy enough to settle into his afterlife.  Hasn't the boy been through enough? It makes me sad that these boys and Blue are the only things keeping him on this plane, his existence really.
Adam is a complicated one. He is also a proud boy who wants to earn things on his own terms, which is understandable really. From someone who comes from nothing he wants to be able to make his mark in the world. And while things may not work out with the girl he likes, I hope he does find some sort of happiness and success before the end of the series. I don't think he is a bad guy, just an unfortunate one who sometimes makes bad mistakes.

This was a great sequel to such a unique series with a complicated mythology and mystery attached to it.  If you have yet to check this out, go and do it.

Rating: 4.5/5










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