Scholastic The Dream Thieves (the Raven Cycle, Book 2): Volume 2

entretenido

The Dream Thieves is the kind of book that makes me want to write a book report & analyze all that it is & the world happening within it. It is a world so carefully constructed that I can believe it is my own, despite the magic & mysticism. It is simply such a well put together story, a sewing table cluttered with a mess of colorful, unique, seemingly disparate threads of all shapes & sizes; threads that have been left to their own devices that weave & wend, loop & lap, twisting endlessly, wrapping around & around until they seem hopelessly entwined, carelessly tangled into a complicated, impossible-to-undo knot. But the trick is that when you go to pull it tight, where that messy, ugly knot should be, instead you realize it's formed a perfectly beautiful bow, or an afghan crocheted of images, or a sweater woven in technicolor dreams.The Raven Cycle has floated around my periphery for some time, but due to the large amount of mixed reviews on Amazon, I had been hesitant to read it. I bought book 1 with an Xmas gift card, & ended up ordering the remaining 3 before even completing that first book, so gripping was it that I knew I'd have to know more.The Raven Boys introduced the town of Henrietta, & the world of the Aglionby "Raven Boys"-- Gansey (Richard Campbell Gansey III, "just Gansey"), Rowan Lynch, Adam Parrish, & Noah Czerny. Also appearing is Blue Sargent, the only female in a family of psychics without the sight. I suppose you might call Blue our heroine... & she is just as tough & independent & flawed & imperfect as you could want a protagonist to be. In my opinion, though, there's no one hero\heroine\protag-- it's an ensemble cast that frankly wouldn't work nearly so well were you to remove or replace even one of the cleverly crafted characters.They, & their corner of the world, are written as a lovely structured mess, full of bits & pieces that sometimes seemed so disconnected but yet all managed-- masterfully-- to come together. In new & surprising ways. Emphasis on surprising, as this book kept me guessing & caught me off guard repeatedly (& I read a heck of a lot, which means I tend to guess twists with decent reliability. Not in this book). At no point did I know what was coming, or what to think. All in all, it was an incredible story, with pages full of-- I don't know how else to say this-- life, LIFE, distilled to it's most basic, underlying beauty. Like something you would see or hear or feel or think on an acid trip, with all of the vibrant details that implies.I didn't think it would be possible for me to like the second book as much as the first (you know how the sophomore slump seems to go...) but I was totally wrong on that regard. I can hardly express how impressed I am with The Dream Thieves. It expounds on The Raven Boys in all of the very best possible ways; a tale of such intricacy & nuance that it renders it's excellent predecessor a mere outline, a black & white line drawing, leached of color, missing those parts most important; a skeleton that it has come to fully flesh out. Book 1 introduced these quirky characters & welcomed me into their world; book 2 has identified each of them as individuals, their heads & hearts filled with poignant thoughts & powerful feelings that burn so brightly most real people would appear dull & two-dimensional in comparison. Maggie Stiefvater's prose expresses these characters so intimately that their thoughts & feelings, hopes & desires, dreams & ambitions, flaws & phobias, fears & failures & fascinations with things unknown have become my own. I am there with them every step of the way.Quite simply, I have never read another book like it-- no, like them (as I've so far read a pair of books; or a quartet, technically. Assuming the remaining 2 works live up to these high standards I'm developing... I think they will😊). I don't know where it's going but it promises to be an interesting ride, & every one of these kids is my ride or die (though Ronan & Gansey are of particular appeal...& I feel traitorous to the others just saying that)! Here's the thing about that ride-- from page 1 it's a wildly teetering whirlwind, no safety belts in sight. Their reality is sprinkled liberally with our world's idea of madness: psychics & secrets, prophecies & mysteries & magic & dream-walking, murder minded monsters & malevolent masks, trees that speak Latin & ghostly close friends, the awakening of a ley line & the slumber of an ancient king, tentative proof of time travel, the inevitable intertwining of their individual destinies depositing them at this point, here & now... each of them knowing but not-knowing that in fact they are the threads binding it all together...If it sounds crazy, it is. If it sounds hard to follow, it's not. You are so thoroughly sucked in it's as if you're living it yourself. But the best part of all that craziness, the curvebalIs thrown from nowhere & the staircases leadimg to nothing, is that I don't really even have to suspend my sense of disbelief. Not in the way a reader usually signs up for when reading a fictional novel based in fantasy & overflowing with the paranormal. As abstract & out there as the plot has gotten thus far, nothing has happened that is so far outside the realm of possibility as to render it preposterous.Not everyone will agree, of that I'm certain, but to my mind, it all seems to fit within the realm of their world as I understand it-- & ours, in some cases, as well. Those undertones of ancient wisdom, a collective consciousness, an exploration of energy-- all things I find plausible, particularly the power of ley lines & the possibility that they slumber. I find that these ideas add an edge of the philosophical & serious. This isn't the only dip into the deep end that I've noticed, either, as the disparities in the situations of Blue & the boys-- uber-rich Gansey, the soon-to-be Senator's son who doesn't recognize his own rudeness in certain monetary situations; Adam, who grew up in a trailer in Henrietta & has worked 3 jobs to pay his way at exclusive Aglionby for the chance to escape Henrietta, his own personal hell; Blue, whose lack of sixth sense makes her feel blind in a house full of seers; Noah, a ghost whose visibility & tactile function is tied to the whim of the newly wakened line; & Ronan...this book is Ronan's most of all, the title comes from him, speaks of his secrets & those of his father. These are the same secrets that got his father killed, but that may prove a missing piece in the overall puzzle the group seeks to solve (each with their own reasons & hoped for outcomes, of course-- even if they are in direct contradiction to the others'). Then there is the sexual tension between Ronan & his arch-enemy\mirror-image, Kavinsky. Their attraction is lovely & realistically portrayed, & ends up as heartbreaking as any literary love affair ever is. Maggie Stiefvater's masterful manner of weaving this tragic love story deserves more praise than I can lavish upon it here.Bottom line is that I have rarely read a more beautiful book, & I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here, although I can't help but feel that what is to come will run me through the emotional wringer in ways I have yet to comprehend. If you haven't read it, grab the Raven Boys & start reading now. It will take you on a journey unlike any you've ever experienced.

En primer lugar, necesito decir que la escritura de Maggie es absolutamente magnífica, lo que provocó que mi gran colección de citas favoritas no encajara completamente en esta reseña. No sé cómo pero ella constantemente logra crear personajes tan interesantes y profundos.«Bailó en el filo del cuchillo entre la conciencia y el sueño. Cuando soñaba así, era un rey. El mundo era suyo para doblarse. Su quemadura».«Era hermano de un mentiroso y hermano de un ángel, hijo de un sueño e hijo de soñador. Era una estrella beligerante llena de infinitas posibilidades».En este libro obtuvimos una visión más perspicaz del personaje de Ronan, ya que quedó un poco excluido en el primer libro (The Raven Boys). Siempre me pareció un personaje interesante y después de leer The Dream Thieves, puedo confirmar que sus pensamientos y experiencias eran mucho más complejos de lo que había imaginado. Me pareció muy interesante saber más sobre su familia y su pasado y debo decir que su hermano pequeño, Matthew Lynch, es tan querido. Además, ¿puedo decir lo geniales que son las habilidades de Ronan? Me encantó el concepto de extraer objetos físicos de los sueños y estaba perfectamente ejecutado.«Era Cabeswater, y era el árbol de ensueño, y era cada roble con raíces cavando entre rocas, buscando energía y esperanza». Encuanto a Adam, no me gustaba mucho su personaje en el primer libro y todavía no estaba convencido en este segundo. Pero, ME ENCANTÓ ver la evolución de su autoaceptación y comportamiento a lo largo del final del libro. Al principio estaba siendo muy molesto y constantemente me ponía de nervios, pero a medida que avanza el final de la historia se puede ver cómo comienza a llegar a un acuerdo consigo mismo. Estoy muy emocionado de poder leer sobre él en el tercer libro.«No fue solo un toque, una acción. Fue una simplificación de ambos: ya no eran Noah Czerny y Blue Sargent. Ahora eran solo él y ella. Ni siquiera eso. Fueron sólo el tiempo que se mantuvieron entre ellos».Estoy un poco molesto ya que sentí que Noah no aparecía tanto como yo hubiera querido que lo hiciera. Quiero saber más sobre su personaje y espero que la próxima entrega esté más centrada en él. ADORO absolutamente su amistad con Blue y había algunas escenas muy lindas pero brevas entre ellas en este libro.Maggie presentó un nuevo personaje en esta entrega que me ha gustado especialmente. Este fue el Sr. Gray y estoy deseando leer más sobre él en los próximos libros. Además, me gusta él y Maura juntos. Tengo un pequeño problema con ella. Estoy un poco confundido con lo que está haciendo y realmente no sé lo que quiere lograr.El principal problema que tuve con este libro es que realmente no siento que me haya metido «correctamente» en él hasta la mitad y me llevó años terminarlo. Por eso le di solo cuatro estrellas. Tengo que decir que es un libro lento pero, para ser honesto, la creación de relaciones y la profundidad de los personajes lo compentan.«Gansey parpadeó, más despacio. El olor a la cena para llevar había desaparecido y todo lo que quedaba era el olor pesado y agradable de las cosas en crecimiento. Eso, y la voz de Blue en el otro extremo del teléfono». En realidad, fue uno de mis momentos favoritos del libro, así que, por supuesto, tuve que incluir una pequeña cita al respecto.Más citas:Como he mencionado de antemano, había demasiadas citas hermosas y fue muy difícil reducirlo a unas pocas. Supongo que esta es la «sección de citas que no cabía en la reseña pero aún quiero que todos lean».«En ese momento, Blue estaba un poco enamorado de todos ellos.Su magia. Su búsqueda. Su horrorosidad y extrañeza.Sus cuervos».«Era menta y recuerdos y el pasado y el futuro, y sentía como si lo hubiera hecho antes y ya deseaba hacerlo de nuevo».«Chicos como él no murieron; se broncearon e instalaron fuera de las bibliotecas públicas».«Nadie más que Ronan conocía los terrores que vivían en su mente. Plagas y diablos, conquistadores y bestias».«Había estado aquí antes, muchas veces. Había crecido con este bosque de ensueño recurrente. Sus raíces estaban enredadas en sus venas».«Había anotado notas enigmáticas a lo largo del margen de la misma. Algunas de ellas eran coordenadas. Algunas de ellas eran letras de Beatles».«Todos tenemos secretos en nuestras vidas. Somos guardianes o alejados, jugadores o jugados. Secretos y cucarachas: eso es lo que quedará al final de todo».

This may be my favourite in the Series

If you thought The Raven Boys was perfect, wait until you finish reading The Dream Thieves. Oh. My. Life. I am writing this review 30 seconds after finishing the book because I had to get all of my thoughts and feelings down. Maggie Stiefvater's writing is magical and it makes me feel all mushy inside.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…The Dream Thieves main focus throughout the book was Ronan's character which was very very interesting. After Ronan dropped that bomb on us at the end of the first book, it was nice to see it explored fully throughout the second. We also got to get a deeper insight into who Ronan is as a person and what makes him tick. I know he's violent, crazy and dangerous but there are times when you just want to give him a massive hug because he's so adorable *that time where he holds the mice*Even though Gansey is still on his quest to find the Welsh King, Glendower, that storyline almost took the back seat for this book as the main focus was on Ronan and his dreams. However, there was still plenty of Glendower hunting and Gansey being adorable about his fascination with the magical being and also Gansey just being Gansey - the mom of the group.I will repeat what I said in my review of The Raven Boys: a book about the friendship of four boys is so refreshing and how Stiefvater creates their friendship is breathtaking. I love each and every one of the characters so much - they each bring something unique to the friendship group. Gansey brings the levelheadedness, Ronan brings the attitude, Noah brings the dorkiness and Adam brings a little bit of everything. Though, at the moment, Adam has got to be my least favourite *sorry guys* He's just driving me insane. Hopefully, my opinion gets changed in Blue Lily, Lily Blue.“In that moment, Blue was a little in love with all of them. Their magic. Their quest. Their awfulness and strangeness. Her raven boys.”- Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream ThievesThere also seemed to be an underlying theme of homosexuality for Ronan or is that just me hoping too hard? I don't know... There were definitely times where I was reading his point of view and I thought that he might be gay.Also that moment between Noah and Blue... Can we all just have an hour to think about that and cry? I genuinely thought that I was going to burst out crying because of how cute it was.Blue wasn't really the main character of this book was it beautiful to see how her relationships with each of the raven boys grew and blossomed; it was also nice to see how she finally admitted to herself something that was long overdue: she had a crush on Gansey. Well about time, missy!Overall, I think that The Dream Thieves was better than The Raven Boys. The first book laid out the foundations of the friendship and the search for Glendower, The Dream Thieves was just pure magical character development. If anything is going to make you want to read this series, please let it be this book!