I must be dreaming
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (Spoilers for The Raven Boys!)
If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take?
Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.
One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.
And sometimes he’s not the only one who wants those things.
Ronan is one of the raven boys-a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan’s secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface-changing everything in its wake.
I have a dark secret: The more YA series I read, the more I fear I’m becoming fatigued by even the idea of another series. Even if it’s critically acclaimed, or even if all the bloggers are raving about it, sometimes when I see a newly released sequel sitting pretty in the bookstore, a part of me feels weary even looking at it. A barrage of questions pop up as I look at its glossy cover: What’s happened since the last book again? Who are the characters, and what are they trying to do? And sometimes: Do I even care what happens next?
I’m afraid The Dream Thieves has been languishing on my bookshelf for just those reasons-a victim of my own inertia rather than lack of interest. Don’t get me wrong, Maggie Stiefvater’s writing is splendid-I’ve read The Scorpio Races at least twice now-but her stories operate on their own timetable that it can be both maddening and deeply satisfying at the same time. But I knew I would have to read The Raven Boys again before I can even hope to make sense of the sequel, and so, I procrastinated.
I’m so glad I’ve finally mustered the will to SNAP THE EFF OUT OF IT, because HOLY SMOKES BATMAN, THE DREAM THIEVES IS AMAAAAAZING. There are so many aspects I loved about this book, it’s a struggle to keep track of them all.
But I’m so glad Stiefvater allows us into Ronan’s otherwise inscrutable mind (and heart) in The Dream Thieves, because…wow. He’s so full of rage, energy, and unpredictability because despite such a tough-guy exterior, he’ll always be looking to reclaim what he lost: an unshakeable sense of family, a solid brotherhood, a comfortable home in The Barns, and most of all, a loving father. When Gansey mentions to Blue that sometimes he wishes she could’ve met the Ronan “from before,” I have such a better, more nuanced idea of what that exactly means, but also the broken yet honorable young man he has become with the Raven Boys.
The one upside to my procrastination: the next in the series, Lily Blue, Blue Lily is out next month!
If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take?
Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.
One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.
And sometimes he’s not the only one who wants those things.
Ronan is one of the raven boys-a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan’s secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface-changing everything in its wake.
I have a dark secret: The more YA series I read, the more I fear I’m becoming fatigued by even the idea of another series. Even if it’s critically acclaimed, or even if all the bloggers are raving about it, sometimes when I see a newly released sequel sitting pretty in the bookstore, a part of me feels weary even looking at it. A barrage of questions pop up as I look at its glossy cover: What’s happened since the last book again? Who are the characters, and what are they trying to do? And sometimes: Do I even care what happens next?
I’m afraid The Dream Thieves has been languishing on my bookshelf for just those reasons-a victim of my own inertia rather than lack of interest. Don’t get me wrong, Maggie Stiefvater’s writing is splendid-I’ve read The Scorpio Races at least twice now-but her stories operate on their own timetable that it can be both maddening and deeply satisfying at the same time. But I knew I would have to read The Raven Boys again before I can even hope to make sense of the sequel, and so, I procrastinated.
I’m so glad I’ve finally mustered the will to SNAP THE EFF OUT OF IT, because HOLY SMOKES BATMAN, THE DREAM THIEVES IS AMAAAAAZING. There are so many aspects I loved about this book, it’s a struggle to keep track of them all.
- Ronan: In The Raven Boys, you hardly know what to make of him. He’s just this dark, sardonic bundle of energy that you don’t know why he’s even part of the Raven Boys the first place, much less be Gansey’s right-hand man. He’s like the Mordred to Gansey’s Arthur: An equal who may be friend…or may be foe.
But I’m so glad Stiefvater allows us into Ronan’s otherwise inscrutable mind (and heart) in The Dream Thieves, because…wow. He’s so full of rage, energy, and unpredictability because despite such a tough-guy exterior, he’ll always be looking to reclaim what he lost: an unshakeable sense of family, a solid brotherhood, a comfortable home in The Barns, and most of all, a loving father. When Gansey mentions to Blue that sometimes he wishes she could’ve met the Ronan “from before,” I have such a better, more nuanced idea of what that exactly means, but also the broken yet honorable young man he has become with the Raven Boys.
- Dream thieving: When Ronan is in that car with Kavinsky, dreaming many impossible things into reality (albeit in a haze of pills and booze), I got chills. Not just because the scene seemed so surreal, but it was also so wildly imaginative. It’s like the feeling I got when watching Christopher Nolan’s film Inception for the first time: Wait, what just happened?!? This is crazy!
- Adam: If Adam battled demons in the form of his abusive father, this book highlights the even darker struggles within himself. The “scholarship kid” at Algionby, Adam encapsulates the impotence of not only adolescence but also of poverty. Juggling three jobs, Gansey’s quest for Glendower, and his own complicated feelings for Blue, Adam has been running on fumes long before he left his father’s house for good, and he is just plain tired. At one point he desperately wishes: “To feel awake when my eyes are open.” Adam is the real dark horse in this series: You never can quite predict if his actions will not only endanger himself, but also the others.
- Gansey and Blue: I wasn’t sure I’d approve of this unlikely friendship, but now I’m decidedly a fan. Despite a few hiccups (mostly due to Gansey’s own admitted obtuseness), the rapport between them unfolds naturally: Seeing them banter and joke and slowly come to understand one another brought out a goofy smile on my face while reading. Stiefvater, you’re a master of the slow burn.
- Element of unpredictability: Up until now, I’ve become accustomed to the relatively sedate pace of Stiefvater’s storylines: Things will Happen, but not when you expect. But in The Dream Thieves, she throws this out of the window. People are roughed up, hit men are on the hunt, illegal drag races tear through the streets, and to top it off, terrible “night horrors” stalk Ronan in real life. Stiefvater kept me guessing, and that’s when a YA series becomes fun to read-and not a chore.
The one upside to my procrastination: the next in the series, Lily Blue, Blue Lily is out next month!