I’m steadily making my way through The Raven Cycle (not the spinoff series). And, with Blue Lily, Lily Blue, I’m officially over halfway done, and all that’s left is The Raven King. If you want to know what I thought about the prior installments (The Raven Cycle and The Dream Thieves) click HERE and HERE. But I digress.
The best way I can sum up Blue Lily, Lily Blue is: change, balance, and the power of three. On a specific note, the characters struggled with coming to terms with the changes in their lives. They were growing up and considering what their lives would look like after high school, after the quest for Glendower was over. And while some of the interpersonal plotlines were resolved in The Dream Thieves, its ending left the familiar cast in a…less than ideal spot. There was their new ally—Mr. Gray, the reformed (reforming) former hit man—which was good. But what was less good about it was: Maura was missing. The “how” and the “where” were answered fairly early, but that didn’t lessen the impact Maura’s absence had on the residents of 300 Fox Way and her daughter, Blue. And with a new obstacle arriving in town to, once again, shake things up—with a motivation that was pure acquisitive and vengeful—Blue Lily, Lily Blue was exciting.
“”This is the corpse road,” she said, aligning her body with the invisible path. As she did, she could feel something inside her begin to hum agreeably, a sensation very much like the satisfaction that came from aligning book spines on a shelf.”—page 1
The series has always been gradually building toward something. In The Dream Thieves, the conclusion of their adventure—including the prophecy about Blue and her kiss and the implication of seeing Gansey on the corpse road—didn’t feel as pressing as they do here. The clues were portent, which ramped up the tension. And, for a story that is largely driven by its characters—and the way they inhabit and influence the world in the books—that was a good thing.
On the other hand, the series has also been about searching for the impossible and finding magic in unlikely places. I appreciate the meticulous detail and care given toward weaving together the folklore and Welsh mythology with the respective powers possessed (or lack thereof) by the characters. It wasn’t, of course, without its own particular and gut-wrenching brand of pitfalls and unpredictability. But for me, the reader, however, it was fun to follow the characters as they explored new locations.
I’m still enjoying The Raven Cycle and am looking forward to the conclusion. So I know it won’t be long before I read The Raven King.
About the book...
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost. Friends can betray. Mothers can disappear. Visions can mislead. Certainties can unravel.
