YALSA's The Hub Blog

Update: March 9.

So, I've been simultaneously not good about updating AND not good about reading from the list. I've got copies of several of the titles, I just can't seem to open them. Perhaps, knitting is getting the way. 

Since the previous update...

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green I think I may have cried even more this time through.

The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson Snagged this one because I'm reviewing the second book in the series. The Madness Underneath was published in February of this year.

The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater Gosh, this one is so good.


Reported to you before today

Every Day, by David Levithan. I think I loved this MORE the second time around than I did when I first reviewed it. LOVE Levithan, and LOVE this book.

Friends with Boys, by Faith Erin Hicks. Great graphic novel. Faith Erin Hicks is one of the (few) graphic novelists that I really enjoy. She's awesome.

What do you think??

The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater

“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.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. 

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. 

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.


Really good book. I'm the weirdo who wasn't so into The Shiver Trilogy. My students don't understand why I never latched on. They're good, just not me. The Raven Boys is me. It's a mystery with some paranormal mixed in, and a strong female who doesn't know how strong she is. My kind of book.

Blue is VERY quickly caught up in something much bigger than she expected, and it all started when a mysterious "half-aunt" shows up for an extended visit. And that's chapter 1.

I like Stiefvater's writing in this book. The characters are well--developed, and likeable (even the jerk), or not likeable when necessary (even the best guy in the group). They aren't over-written or over-played. It's a slow start, but you need that to get all the back story and get attached to the characters. When it picks up speed, the story doesn't disappoint and definitely surprises.

Another trilogy, it appears. I'm looking forward to it.





Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Scholastic Press through the netGalley publisher/reader connection program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.