Tag: The Raven Cycle

Young Adult Series: The Dreamer Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Maggie Stiefvater is a master of young adult fantasy. She writes a wide variety of novels with some of them bring New York Times Bestsellers. She plays musical instruments, makes art, and loves cars. If you don’t follow her on social media, I highly recommend.

I became aware of Maggie Stiefvater through The Raven Cycle series. She also has two older series that I haven’t read yet, plus other series/novels that are on my to-read list. Let’s talk about what drew me in. The Raven Cycle is a well-written series about discovering identity and magic, while finding your home. After the end of The Raven Cycle, Stiefvater remarked that she spent years thinking about continuing the story of the Lynch brothers. She wanted The Dreamer Trilogy to move past the themes of The Raven Cycle though, to be dark and weighty, specifically looking at the joys and burdens of creativity. The Dreamer Trilogy focuses on the Lynch brothers and their work to sharpen themselves.

“Belonging in more than one world means that you end up belonging in none of them.”
― Maggie Stiefvater, Call Down the Hawk

The Dreamer Trilogy dives more into the lives of the Lynch Brothers. The first book in The Dreamer Trilogy is Call Down the Hawk. This book is the story of dreamers, the dreamed, and the hunters.

Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. His father before him was also a dreamer, but he died before he could truly teach Ronan about his powers. Ronan was left to figure out the extent of his abilities on his own, but always felt like he was missing something. Even though he could pull items out of his dreams, Ronan’s reality continuously felt compromised.

Jordan Hennessy is a thief. For as long as she can remember, she has had the same dream. She brings back the same thing from each dream every time. Hennessy knows what she wants from her dream, but the closer she gets to it, the more tied to it she becomes. She is terrified that her dream will one day kill her and has no idea what to do in order to survive.

Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. This was not the profession that she wanted. Instead her brother’s actions determined her fate. You see, Carmen’s brother was a dreamer and a killer. In order to prove her loyalty to the moderators, she must help hunt the dreamers. Carmen has firsthand experience of what dreaming can do to a person and has seen the horrifying damage that dreamers can do. If they don’t find the dreamers and get them to stop dreaming, unimaginable destruction will be unleashed upon the world.

This title is also available in the following formats:

The Dreamer Trilogy:

  1. Call Down the Hawk (2019)
  2. Mister Impossible (2021)
  3. Greywaren (2022)

Young Adult Series: The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

- Stephanie Leave a comment

‘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.’
― Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys is the first book in The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. Stiefvater has created a gorgeously written world for her characters that will leave you wanting to learn more. She leaves hints in books that you pick up later that will leave you wondering at the way that Stiefvater constructs these books.

Blue Sargent has grown up in a family of clairvoyants. For as long as she can remember, her house has been full to bursting with random cousins, aunts, and friends of her mothers who all have some version of clairvoyance. Blue, however, doesn’t have any abilities. Instead she is like a battery – she makes other people’s talents stronger. Blue amplifies the powers of others. That’s why her mother takes her with to the churchyard on St Mark’s Eve to note the names of the soon-to-be dead walking past. In that freezing churchyard, Blue meets Gansey for the first time and her life is changed.

Blue discovers that Gansey is one of the rich students who attends Aglionby, a local private school. She has no desire to learn what is going to happen to that Raven Boy, what they call the Aglionby Boys, as her association with them can only mean trouble.

Despite her declaration to stay away from Gansey and the other Raven Boys, their paths continue to cross. When Blue realizes that Gansey is more than his good looks and family money, she finds herself drawn into a quest that has consumed Gansey and his friends for years. The problem: for as long as she can remember, Blue has been told that she will cause her true love to die. If she kisses her true love, he will die. This has never been an issue for Blue until she starts hanging around with the Raven Boys. Their life is strange and sinister and full of more mystery than she ever thought possible.

This book is also available in the following formats:

The Raven Cycle series

  1. The Raven Boys (2012)
  2. The Dream Thieves (2013)
  3. Blue Lily, Lily Blue (2014)
  4. The Raven King (2016)
  5. Opal (2018) – a novella that takes place after the events of The Raven King

Related to The Raven Cycle series, Stiefvater has written the Dreamer Trilogy which delves more into Ronan Lynch:

  1. Call Down the Hawk (2019)
  2. Mister Impossible (2021)
  3. Greywaren (2022)