If you're a dreamer, a wisher, a liar
A hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean buyer
If you're a pretender come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin
Come in...come in...
~Shel Silverstein

Monday, December 10, 2012

Teaser Tuesday and The Raven Boys

First things first--my blog is still broken. I want everyone to know that while I can see your comments, it's impossible for me to reply to them on my blog. Sometimes (when my blog is in a good mood) it will let me reply to a comment, but mostly it doesn't. Please still comment though, cause I can still read them and I'll definitely come visit your blogs!

Okay. Glad that's out of the way. So, I'm doing something a little different this week. Last week, I posted a teaser from The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. That book made such an impression on me that I  need to talk about it before posting this week's Teaser. Anyone not interested, feel free to skip further down the post.

I've read so many books that I loved this year. Shatter Me. Perks of Being a Wallflower. Warm Bodies. Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Angelfall. I could easily go on. And yet, no matter how much I loved a book (Which I really did--I thought every book I just named was amazing for one reason or another) none of them   infiltrated that spot between my mind and my heart where the characters  continued to fully exist for longer than it took to read the story. None of them left a hole in my life when they were gone.

In fact, very few books have ever had that effect on me--the one where I'm actually depressed for a day or two because I'm so bummed that the world they're from isn't real. That they aren't real. I don't know what the magical formula is for creating a character who steps off the page and into someone's life, but I know that--for me--Maggie Steifvater hit it in spades with The Raven Boys.

These characters grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I felt Gansey's drive to achieve something that nobody could attribute to his wealth. Adam's pain and his desperation to hold onto his pride. Noah's quiet despair. Ronin's passionate anger. Blue's eagerness to lose herself in something that went beyond.

 I felt them all...and I wanted to be friends with them. In fact, by the time I was half way done, I barely needed a plot to keep going. I just wanted to hang out with the characters. To me, that is the mark of a truly great book.

This wasn't really meant to be a review, but if you guys would like to know more about the actual plot, click HERE. This book just touched something in me so deep that I felt like I had to talk about it. I would recommend The Raven Boys to anyone. It's not a flashy, action-packed thrill ride. But it's something deep and depressing and uplifting and so, so real. I hope you guys love it even half as much as I did.

And, having said all of that, it's Teaser Tuesday, hosted by SHOULD BE READING.  To play along just grab whatever you're reading. Open to a random page. Share two teaser sentences. Make sure not to share any spoilers!! Give the Title and Author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR pile!

My Teaser for this week is from "What's Left of Me" by Kat Zhang

And then slowly, so slowly it was like something deliberate, there was a shift in Hally's face. That was the only way I could put it. Something minuscule, something no one would have caught if they weren't staring straight at her as Addie and I were staring now, something no one would have noticed--would've even thought to notice--if they weren't--Addie took a step toward the door. A shift. A change. Like how Robbie changed to Will. 

So far this is an awesome book with a really unique, cool concept!

So, if you slogged through this whole long post and are still reading, thanks!! haha... If anyone actually reads The Raven Boys, please come back and tell me what you thought of it!!  And, if you guys have any books that have touched you in a unique way, I'd love to hear about them, even if you just give me a title and demand I read them. :)

12 comments:

  1. Sorry you are having an attack of the blog gremlins at the moment! Hope you manage to find a solution :)

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  2. Sorry about your blog problems too! I hate when that happens because I have no tech skills at all and never know what to do to fix things!

    Nice tease!!

    Here's my Teaser

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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  3. I've heard nothing but amazing things about Maggie's books. My library has the last two of one series and one of her books about a horse race. I am trying to talk myself into reading the race one. (I don't like horse stories, but if her writing is half as good as the world claims it will likely be worth it.)
    Now I am mad at my library though for not having The Raven Boys. I love books with believable characters. I shall have to hunt this one down.

    The one book I recommend highly which I've read this year is Saraphina. The plot was rather slow, but the characters were amazing. I loved them.

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  4. I really want to read The Raven Boys!

    I loved What's Left of Me! Such an interesting plot to have two souls living in one body. And a bit freaky when they switch who is in charge! Thanks for stopping by! New follower.

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  5. This sounds like such a unique book! Thanks for the teaser!

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  6. Ooh. This looks like a good read. Nice teaser. Will definitely have to look into it. Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  7. I'm glad you enjoyed The Raven Boys so much. It's always nice to read a book you can connect with on a deep personal level.

    This is a fabulous teaser. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  8. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on The Raven Boys! I've been meaning to get to that one, but now I know I MUST bump it to the top of the list ;) Love the teaser! Thanks for sharing and for stopping by my blog :D

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  9. I haven't read The Raven Boys yet, but it is on my wishlist, have heard great things about it. Great teaser from What's Left of Me and love the cover, so different. Will have to check this one out. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading.

    Katie ~ Turner’s Antics

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  10. Mmm... the best book I read recently is Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, but only if you like period fiction. :-)

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  11. Can't wait to get to Raven Boys. Thanks for sharing!

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I love to hear from everyone! Thanks for the comment. :)