A Vintage Reads YA Review: The Dream Thieves

The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle, 2) by Maggie Stiefvater, September 17, 2013. 437 pages. Published by Scholastic. Source: borrowed from library.

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same.

Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life.

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

First Sentence:

A secret is a strange thing.

Admittedly, I found the first one-hundred pages of The Dream Thieves to be a little on the slow side. While it started out slow, I found myself not bothered (which is a miracle) and willing to wait for things to build up. It was quite strange to feel satisfied with the slow start to this book.

Even though The Dream Thieves started out quite slow, I really enjoyed my second venture into the writing of Maggie Stiefvater's work. I have been impressed with her writing, the character development, and the world building and plotting of this series thus far. It's not often that I find myself truly satisfied with the second book in a series, usually they're too bridge-y/filler to really leave me happy.
   Things are simultaneously coming together and falling apart in The Dream Thieves. One of the things I found myself really enjoying about this one was how things are slowly coming into focus regarding Cabeswater and Gansey's search. Though, this book did make me somewhat sad because the relationships between certain characters has become quite strained after the happenings of The Raven Boys. Yet, it is those two things that really made this book good.

Seriously though, one of the, if not the top reason, I have found myself enjoying the Raven Cycle books is the characters. I love how complex each of them are and how they play off of each other. Let's not forget that just from The Raven Boys to The Dream Thieves you see so much development and change within each character; changes that are giving shape to the steps they're each taking in their own quests.
  While I've enjoyed the character development and how it is a main component to the story, it is the small sides of vulnerability from the characters that keep me reading. The setbacks and baggage that they carry and try to work through is so well written that I've found myself enjoying their pain. It seem so weird to say that, yet, true. *mean reader is mean*

I'm not going to go into specifics regarding the plot of The Dream Thieves for those who have yet to read. But I do want to say that Ronan's story in book two was just incredible. From beginning to end, his story was definitely something different and he managed to leave me surprised so many times. I'm starting to think that he's somewhat of an onion with many layers to be pulled apart just to get the real Ronan.

All this talk and I fear I forgot to mention the writing. Maggie Stiefvater really does know how to write a well crafted book with characters that leave one speechless. I have really enjoyed the multiple layers to the world and characters and the way she has brought both to life in this series thus far. I am definitely looking forward to seeing where she takes the series in the third installment.

Final Verdict: The Dream Thieves- Exciting and heartbreaking times abound in the second installment of Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle series. *relishes in the characters' pain*

The Dream Thieves earns