The Raven Cycle Series

I am bereft. I have just finished Maggie Stiefvater's 'The Raven Boys' and must wait - perhaps an entire year - for the next book in the series. Last year, I thoroughly enjoyed Stiefvater's, 'The Scorpio Races', a standalone novel which I considered her best at that time. But she keeps getting better and better. 'The Raven Boys' was hard to put down, progressing with the intrigue of a mystery and the inevitability of a tragedy. Stiefvater captures the emotional - and at times, quite chilling - power of myth and legend without being glib, something few YA paranormal writers can do; yet it's the poignancy of her characters that linger with the reader. The main characters are well-formed and three dimensional; they are mysteries in themselves, and only gradually do we see their personalities, individual demons and motivations unfold. There's a fragility to these young adults and their relationships with each other, a fragility at times belied by gestures of genuine loyalty and sacrifice. But on their dangerous and highly unpredictable quest, each is compelled by such deeply-rooted and conflicting goals, it's impossible to foresee the outcome. With so much at play, you'll be left - like me - keenly anticipating book two of the series. [February 2013]