"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Monday, November 11, 2013

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater is the 2nd book in the Raven Cycle (Raven Boys.) Don't even think about reading this book before reading The Raven Boys. There are too many characters and a lot of back-story in the first book necessary for understanding what is happening in this one.

The action in The Dream Thieves begins the same summer and immediately after the ending of The Raven Boys. But in this book the majority of the action does not center around Blue Sargent, the girl who lives in a home of female psychics, though she is not psychic herself. In The Dream Thieves the majority of the action centers around Ronan as he struggles with the horrors of his dream life; Adam as he tries to find a place for himself among all the wealth of the Aglionby boys; and Gansey who is still obsessed with finding the Welsh king Glendower. In addition the reader is introduced to new characters: the Gray Man, Joseph Kazinski-another Aglionby boy, Greenmantle, and the concept of a Greywaren. It all sounds a little confusing, and is confusing until the story unfolds. By the end of the book a few things are wrapped up and new mysteries revealed. "The pace is electric, the prose marvelously sure-footed and strong, but it’s the complicated characters—particularly Ronan, violent, drunk, tender and tough—that meld magic and reality into an engrossing, believable whole." (Kirkus Reviews)

I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Will Patton who has a very interesting, raspy voice. I wanted to devour the book whole, yet I also wanted to linger over it. I wanted to read fast so I could discover the answers to all my questions, yet I wanted to savor it at the same time. Stiefvater is one of my favorite YA authors right now. I haven't read anything by her that I haven't liked. In addition to her immense writing talents she is also an artist and a musician. In the YouTube clip below she is painting graffiti on a car, which plays into the storyline. In the background is the music that she wrote for The Dream Thieves. Suffice it to say, I am a huge fan. I can't wait for the third book in The Raven Cycle to come out.


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