The Raven Boys - by Maggie Stievfater

I think one of the main reasons why I love this book so much is because the characters are so easy to love.

I love Blue because she’s eccentric and so fucking sarcastic (just like me, and you know how much I love it when my fave characters are like me). I always cringe when I read about normal protagonists who live boring lives and are suddenly sucked into this oh-so-magical world filled with flowers and fairy tales.

Gansey is my second favorite character. I love how he has this perfect persona and this perfect I’m so much better than you so fuck off attitude. I like how MS creates this lesson that there is more to see than what meets the eye: you get this beautiful, perfect boy who is broken underneath, who can’t abandon his friends even when they abandon him. I love him because of his vulnerability, how he’s willing to offer the softest parts of him for the people he cares about. Blue begins to spot the small signs of the real Gansey beneath the mask, and that is utterly beautiful.

Ok duh I was getting to the friendship part. YALL ALREADY KNOW I LIVE FOR THE BANTER

I love the bantering, especially when it involves my favorite characters. I fall in love with characters because of their ability to charm, persuade, and bitch. I fall in love with the most flawed characters, because they are a reminder that books are just mirrors of the people we have met, and mirrors of the experiences we’ve lived and have yet to live. So you can imagine how it fills my heart to see my favorite characters teasing one another and being so utterly insufferable that you just want to bite their heads off and throw them in the nearest canal. But then you also think they’re the greatest person ever and you want them only to yourself so you keep them in your sight at all times and growl anytime someone is too nice to them.

Anyway, I seriously love the diversity of characters in this book. Maggie Stievfater has characters with clashing personalities that get along so well it just makes me MAD. Like I WANT FRIENDS LIKE THAT.

There’s the “perfect” leader Gansey, who will do anything to protect his friends, eccentric wry-humored Blue, who will do the exact opposite of any given direction, complacent Ronan, who is impossible to impress, quiet, thoughtful Noah, who hates pizza, and hard-working Adam, who is the most “sensible” (sorry to steal your word, Blue) out of the entire group and also whom I hate.

There is always that one character who is jealous of their friend, and I always hate them. This book is no different. I fucking hate you, Adam. (How is it that I always hate every Adam in every single book?)

Noah is my whole cinnamon roll.

Ronan is my whole heart.

Gansey is this whole damn book, which I can no longer live without. So is Blue. And Maura and Calla and Persephone.

Whelk was one hell of a villain. He was probably one of the best, because he was written as this actual person who wasn’t necessarily ”evil,” but at the same his heart needed to gain some empathy. I mean, he killed his best friend.

A lot of books like to portray villains as very organized, meticulous, and invincible people, but I seriously admire MS’s work with Whelk. He had no clue what the fuck he was doing, and no author has ever had the guts to do that. I like how he was clumsy and he literally winged everything he did. He was rash and impulsive, the exact opposite of what an antagonist is supposed to be. Yet somehow, MS pulled it off, as she usually does.

I have my own psychic powers, similar to that of Maura and Calla, so I knew right away that Adam wasn’t the one for Blue. They just don’t go together. I kept trying to form solid reasoning in my head for why they could ever work, but all I kept seeing was the beautiful children that Blue and Gansey would have. They will have some beautiful ass children, I know that.

I’m really hype for the sequel, because I want to see the consequences of Adam’s actions in TRB. I also want to see Gansey and Blue’s relationship progress. I heard a lot of things about the sequel being more focused on Ronan and a sharper focus on the interactions of the characters. I’m really excited for that, and I hope it’s just as good as TRB, or better. I’m so ready for this.