The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys is the first novel in Maggie Stiefvater's third series for young adults, about a girl from a clairvoyant family and the four private-school boys on a quest whom she befriends.

Plot Teaser
" “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before."

(source: Goodreads)

Characters

 * Blue Sargent, a girl doomed to kill her true love with a kiss
 * Richard Gansey III, a private school boy obsessed with finding the Welsh king Glendower
 * Ronan Lynch, one of Gansey's best friends
 * Adam Parrish, one of Gansey's best friends
 * Noah Czerny, one of Gansey's best friends
 * Maura Sargent, Blue's mother

Sequels
The Raven Boys is the first of a series of four novels. It is followed by The Dream Thieves.

Awards and Honors
The Raven Boys has been nominated for several awards: the Bram Stoker Award in the young adult category (2012), the Abraham Lincoln Award (2015), the Carnegie Medal (2014), the Silver Inky (2013), and the Milwaukee County Teen Book Award (2014).