Monday, March 31, 2014

Review: The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater
Hardcover, 439 pages
Published by Scholastic Press on September 17, 2013
Rating: 5 stars

Summary (Goodreads): 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...

This review may contain spoilers for The Raven Boys, the first book in the series.
My Thoughts:
I honestly hate how long it took me to read this book. It had nothing to do with the book itself, it was just that life happened to get in the way of my reading. Besides that, I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't get enough of it!

The way that Maggie writes always captivates me in ways other writers don't. It's not that I don't love their stories just as much, but Maggie has such a way with words and I could see her thoughts and reasoning behind each and every one of them.

I thought it was interesting getting to learn so much more of Ronan. He's obviously able to take things out of his dreams, as we've seen with Chainsaw, and we get to learn a lot more about that. His "gift" or curse as some might see it, is definitely explored at great lengths, and so many secrets about him and his life are brought out to the open to the readers. It was very interesting getting to learn more about his family and all that happened. 

Another thing I found interesting was the Gray Man. I initially didn't like him, as I had a bad vibe, but that's to be expected from his profession. It turned out that I actually really did like him, and I loved how the people at 300 Fox Way treated him as well. It was definitely a different approach to a new person than most people would take, and it was intriguing to get to experience.

This leads me to the people at 300 Fox Way. I absolutely adore them all. They have so many quirks and different ways at life than most, but it all works and they all live like a family. Though it can be chaotic, they all love each other and work well together. This was something that was interesting to see through different eyes, as we usually see them through Blue, but we got to see them with the Gray Man, who was a complete outsider. I loved his perspective though, it just made me love all the inhabitants of 300 Fox Way that much more.

Now I'll go to Gansey. I know there are people who don't like him, but I'm one of the people who really do. I don't know why exactly, but I do. I feel like he has a hidden quality to him that shows up every so often. I love the way he interacts with Blue, and I think it's cool how she knows if he calls her Blue instead of Jane, then something is up. I thought the concern he had for Adam was interesting to see as well, since it shows how much he cares for his friends, though he sometimes does have a hard way of showing it.

Adam on the other hand, I always feel so bad for him. He honestly has the worst of luck when it comes to anything, and he doesn't want to accept any help from anyone. He really grows throughout the book, and he learns a lot more about the sacrifice he made in the previous book and how it affects him now. I honestly don't see Adam as the same Adam he was in the beginning of the first book, but I still care for him and enjoy reading about him just the same. It just shows how much strength of character he has and how much he's evolving as a person. 

I also really liked the whole thing with Cabeswater. It has a lot of significance to everyone, much more than originally expected. Both Ronan and Adam have some kind of connection to it, and there are some issues because of this. There's also controversy about it because of the ley line, but I'll leave this for those who read the book to figure out. 

One other person that really caught my eye was Kavinsky. He is definitely much more important in this book than the last, and though I personally don't like him, we learn a lot about him and his character. 

I found it interesting how invested I was in the car aspect of this book as well. I know nothing about cars at all, but I felt an odd thrill whenever the Camaro was brought into the story again, and it was definitely interesting seeing how issues with it come to play with Ronan, and the way he fixes them.

Overall, I felt this book had an amazing story line and I couldn't believe how well Maggie delivered her characters and showed their growth throughout the novel. I'll definitely be anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, and I hope I read it at a time I'm not so busy so I can read it more often! It was almost torture when I wanted to read and couldn't get my hands on the book, it's that good. Sadly, the ending is a cliffhanger, but all it does is make me itch for the next book to come out! Props to Maggie Stiefvater, as that shows how good of a writer she is. She's able to bring the one book to a close and wrap it all up while making you still want more. I feel that this is a hard thing to do, but Maggie pulled it off well. 


★★★★★

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