The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys
By Maggie Steifvater

Thriller? Teen romance? Horror? Fantasy? Paranormal? As you can see, I have had a hard time trying to label The Raven Boys. This book is another teen fiction (I seem to be reading a lot of these lately) but it defies a single type of fiction category.

Blue Sargent comes from a family of witches and clairvoyants yet she has no real talent. The only thing she can do is help amplify the power of others -- living or dead. One of the family's May traditions is to look for the ghosts of those who will die in the coming year. Blue is always present and has only seen one of those spirits. As the book begins, the soon-to-be-dead person she sees is Gansey. He is one of those wealthy students from the local private school. Although she has been warned to stay away from him -- she is either destined to fall in love with him or kill him -- Blue befriends him and three of his dysfunctional classmates. What she doesn't realize is that Gansey himself is in pursuit of lay lines and a possible Welsh king who might be frozen in time.

I liked this book for the surprises it contains so I won't spoil it by describing it further. If you like stories with ghosts, the unexplained, mystery and a hint of teen romance, you will enjoy The Raven Boys. However, if you want something a little more down to earth and not so unusual, you may want to skip this one. Of course, it is the first in a series. Why do I even tell you this anymore?

What did this book have to do with my faith? Even Christians who have survived an accident or other catastrophe when friends and family have died wonder why they were left behind. The feeling is called survivor's guilt. Does God have a bigger purpose for them? Why did they live when others died? Although I have never lived through such an experience, I have something of that myself. Why did my birth mother chose to have me rather than have an abortion? Was it out of a sense of morality or religion? Did her mother force her to make these decisions? Because I was adopted and "survived" what is God's purpose for my life? Am I somehow special because of this small quirk of fate? Shouldn't we all be wondering the same as just receiving the gift of life is a miracle in itself? Have you ever faced survival guilt? How did you handle it?

I recommend this book for those with more eclectic tastes.

Happy reading!

Amelia