The Raven Boys – Maggie Stiefvater

Blue’s the only member of a clairvoyant family that can’t see the future- what she does do is help others see more clearly.   The only thing her mother will share about her future is that if she kisses her one true love, he will die.    So she’s decided she won’t kiss any boys – and has definitely included the boys from Aglionby Academy – the exclusive prep school in town – on that list.

The Aglionby boys are known as the Raven Boys, due to the color of their uniforms, and a group of four of them – Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah – have banded together to find Owen Glendower – an old Welsh king that Gansey believes was brought to the New World to be buried on a ley line so he could live again in the future (a la King Arthur).   Gansey’s been searching for a while – in a near death experience, he was told he would live to find Glendower, because another had died on the search.    The other boys have been draw to the search through their friendship to him.

Blue’s drawn to the boys after she accompanies her aunt to the graveyard on St. Mark’s night.     They go every year so that Blue’s mother will know who will die in the coming year.     This is the first year Blue sees someone, and it’s Gansey.      It’s clear he’s going to die in the current year, and as Blue tries to piece together what this means, she’s drawn into the boys’ search.

This is a good start to a series.     Gansey’s search is just different enough from some regular fantasy searches, and the question of why Blue’s abilities are different from the rest of her family (and who her father is) has quite a bit of promise.     The relationships among the three boys are also interesting.    I’m definitely looking forward to more of this series.