Blue Sargent has been told her entire life to stay away from the Aglionby Academy boys. Aglionby boys come from upper-class, wealthy families, and they will do nothing but cause her trouble. It's not too hard for Blue, who attends the public high school in Henrietta, Virginia. She occasionally sees them at the pizza place she works at during the evenings, but keeps her distance. Blue comes from a long line of female psychics, her mother, her aunts, and their collection of female friends. Only, Blue isn't psychic, but anytime she's near one, she increases their power. Blue isn't sure why her energy increases their abilities, but she doesn't question it.
However, Blue meets Gansey and his pack of "Raven Boys" and is instantly drawn to them. Ever since she can remember, her family has told her she will kill her true love. This has never been a problem- until now. She begins helping the boys as they try to locate the dead king, Glendower, who they think is buried somewhere near their private school. Blue is able to use her energy to help the boys try to find a ley line that will them lead them to Glendower.
This is the first book of the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, the third book, Blue Lily, Lily Blue was just released, so I thought I would give the series a try. It's very out there- lots of supernatural, paranormal, and to me a bit confusing. I like it, and I have students who love it, but I have had the second book on my desk for about a week, and can't bring myself to open it. The writing is amazing, very detailed and full of beautiful language, but I didn't find myself loving this one.
Jam Gallahue lost her true love. This sent her over the edge, unable to get out of bed, stop crying, or return to her herself. Unsure of how to help her, her parents send her to The Wooden Barn, a boarding school for the emotionally fragile, in rural Vermont. At first, Jam begs to come home, but her parents insist she stick it out for the first semester. She is placed in a Special Topics in English class, with only four other students. The class is focusing on Sylvia Plath, and given special journals to write in, as Plath did. When the five students write in their journals, they are transported back to the tragedy that has sent them to The Wooden Barn. For Jam, that means feeling Reeve's arms around her again. They begin calling the place they return to Belzhar. But what happens when the journal is filled? As the students make their way through the semester, they form a tight bond. Will this bond be strong enough to make them want to leave Belzhar, or stay there forever?
I had a hard time putting this book down. It's short, and the tragic stories of the students kept me interested. The ending is a big, twisty surprise, I thought I had it figured out, and wanted to see if my theory was true. The biggest issue was with Jam and her obsession with her lost love. She had only known him for 41 days, but then again, that is why she is at The Wooden Barn in the first place. I would recommend this book to students because I think they would also want to know what happened to Jam.
