Sunday, September 1, 2013

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater -- PUBLIC

Stiefvater, Maggie The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle, Book II) 416 pgs. Scholastic Press, Sept. 17, 2013. $18.99. Language: R (100+ swears; 29 'f'); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: R (several murders; none described in great detail)

In this sequel to The Raven Boys, the group continues its search for Glendower, but their quest is endangered when sinister outsiders show up in Henrietta. The would-be thieves are looking for the ley lines, too, and they don't care how much turmoil they have to cause in order to find them. Along the way, unlikely alliances are forged and broken, new powers show themselves, love blossoms, and lives end.

I loved many parts of The Dream Thieves, including the beautiful writing, sweet romance, and unusual magical elements. It also included a few twists that I didn't see coming, and the characters were well-drawn and almost alive. It is not a fast, easy read, however, and parts of it were a slog. Like its predecessor, the many details are so lush as to verge on dense, crowding out the plot and making for a much slower read. No skimming with this one. Even when I read carefully, I felt I missed several plot points amongst all the world-building, beautiful as it was, and the many twists sometimes felt rushed and lacked impact. A few times I simply had to take the author's word when she said that X led to Y.  On the plus side, it should hold up well to a die-hard fan's second or third reading. In the end, I would still readily recommend The Raven Cycle books to teens and adults alike, although the complexities of the plot and the many characters and details make this series better to read all at once instead of waiting for each new volume to come out. NOTE: Contains several references to drugs, including a character doing lines of cocaine, but none are described in great detail, and the drugs themselves are not condoned by the main characters (who refuse to partake). One main character does drink alcohol heavily in one scene for magical purposes, however.

HS -- PUBLIC ONLY. Reviewed by: Caryn.

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