11/3/14

Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater

I enjoyed the first two books of the Raven Cycle, by Maggie Stiefvater, very much indeed--the books are a smorgasbord of magic and great characters and a lovely sense of place and they are funny/gripping/piquant and altogether a feast of fat things for my reading self.  So I went into Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Scholastic, October 2014) with the happy certainty that it would be a great read (which it was) and also with a great deal of curiosity about how everything would be wrapped up (which it wasn't! Somehow I hadn't gotten the message that this wasn't the last book in the series!)

We do, however, move closer the ending of the quest to find Owen Glendower, sleeping beneath a powerfully magical lay line in western Virginia.   And new twists, and characters are added, and new complications arise, and the reader moves closer to understanding the people involved, and the people move closer to understanding themselves and each other.

This is the best good thing about the books--the way the four main characters (three Raven boys, students at a posh boys' school) and Blue (daughter of a local family of physic women) care about each other.    This is what makes me look forward to offering the books to my boys (which I'm not doing quite yet--they are still way to old and much to full of the f word (I got a bit tired of Ronan's fondness for it) for my younger one, and I think my older one will like them better in two years, when he's sixteen or so).   It seems to me that it's rare, and rather valuable, to have books in which boys care about each other so much, while making space for a girl in that tight circle of friendship.

This particular book is not my most favorite of the series--it seemed a bit of a filler, not advancing things all that much.  That being said, my expectation that this was the final volume may well have affected my reading, and it may well be that things that appeared less essential to the whole story arc will become important later.  

But even the not most favorite book of a great series is a lovely thing. 

So you will maybe have noticed that I didn't attempt a synopsis-- those who have read the first two won't want spoilers, and those who haven't would just be confused.  But I will say that I'm glad Adam is moving to a happier personal place--I was worried about him.  I continue to be worried about Ronan.   And I am worried that something bad will happen to Gansey (not death type bad, because I refuse to believe that could happen), but something that will make him cynical.  I very much never want him to be cynical, because he is such a Good person and I am very fond of him.... Blue I am not worried about.  She is sane and loved and strong.

Here's what I want to know--is the killer squash song real?  (google searching...searching...searching)  Sadly, it seem not to exist.

Here's the detail I especially liked--seeing flowers Blue planted from an unexpected POV.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.

9 comments:

  1. I can't wait to read this, now I'm even more curious about how some of the storyline's pan out.

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  2. I thought this one actually advanced the plot more than the others.

    No one I know has been able to find the squash song.

    I think Gansey is doomed to die, myself.

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    1. Nope. Not going to happen.....crosses fingers.

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  3. I knew that there was another book coming, and I still felt like it didn't advance the plot very much, Charlotte. But I agree with you about the friendships - that is a lovely thing about this series. Plus I just adore the quality of Stiefvater's prose.

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  4. I can't believe I haven't already snatched this one off the shelves, I've been anticipating it for so long. Now I have the dilemma that I really want the beautiful hardcover to go with my gorgeous (and signed!) copies of the first two. But I'm going on another plane ride so it really makes most sense to buy a digital copy. I may just buy both!

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  5. I guess I can see what you mean about this being a lot of filler, but it was a lot of GOOD filler. I didn't expect so many important events to occur! And the elk that stampeded in the first book appeared again! (Or, I mean, they appear for the first time.) That was such a good detail!

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    1. I have no memory of elk! I will have to read the first three again (not a hardship, by any means) before book 4 comes out!

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  6. I loved this one as much as the others and maybe more than the first! I just enjoy her writing - a lovely bit when she describes rays of light as 'godfingers', for example - and intelligent use of emotion. Very happy there has to be another one!

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  7. I don't often read books for the words over the plot, but these are one such instance. I didn't care that the plot creeped forward. I LOVE Stievater's words. Every single last one of them. And the characters. I love the boys and Blue so very much.

    I, too, hoped the killer squash song was real.

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