Big Issues Beautifully Packaged

So far my favorite book in the Raven Cycle, Blue Lily, Lily Blue begins to bring all the loose threads of this epic tale together. I blew through it in two days, and could literally find nothing about it that I didn’t like.

The characters continue to be their wonderful selves, with a focus on Adam that I really enjoyed. He begins coming into his own in this third installment, accepting his newfound powers and finally accepting that his friends have only ever wanted to help him because they love him. It was a thing of beauty to watch Stiefvater tantalizingly pull this from a character who’s so wrapped up in his own pride. I loved the scenes with Adam and Ronan specifically. The two are so diametrically opposed, and yet so complimentary to each other on the page. They bring out the best in each other by showing their worst, and Stiefvater masterfully handles their difficult relationship poignantly and gracefully.

Graceful is the word I’d use to sum up this whole series so far. Everything Steifvater does on the page is graceful, deep, and emotionally pulling, all while still retaining a teenage realness. You never for a minute forget that these characters are teens. They are special teens with special talents doing special things, but in a world where Stiefvater could have easily let the ‘magic’ solve all these kids’ problems, she chose the hard (and realistic) way out, and makes the characters work for it.

Particularly in this installment, the magic is actively wielded by the characters, forcing them to make the story move instead of the magic passively happening to the characters without their control. This active nature makes it more realistic, far more dramatic, and creates a far more compelling plot.

As the story reaches its boiling point at the end of this installment, I’m so excited to read the last book and see how Steifvater wields her beautiful prose to wrap everything up.

4 stars!