The Dream Thieves: The Raven Cycle, Book 2

Gr 9 Up—Picking up where Raven Boys (Scholastic, 2012) left off, Steifvater's latest casts a lingering enchantment over its audience-not unlike the waking memory of a strange and beautiful dream. With the ley lines around Henrietta awakened, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, Noah-Raven Boys-and Blue feel closer than ever to finding the hiding place of Welsh King Owan Glendower. Then Cabeswater mysteriously vanishes, and their hopes are unceremoniously dashed. But even as the Raven Boys seek Glendower, some very dangerous men are seeking them. Once again, Stiefvater distinguishes herself as a master storyteller. Characters and settings are superbly crafted, and the elegant prose makes even mundane occurrences seem otherworldly and magical. The omniscient perspective makes audiences privy to information they would not have gained from a first-person narrative. A cliffhanger will leave audiences ravenous for the third installment. Despite not lending itself well to feminine pitches, reader Will Patton's deep, gruff voice is an ideal match for this atmospheric and eerily beautiful story. A bonus particular to the audio format is "Somnus," an original musical composition by the author. Overall, a must have!—Alissa Bach, Oxford Public Library, MI