Book Buddies
Books
Review
Book Buddies: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
1/28/2016
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The Dream Thieves
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Pages: 439
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: September 17th 2013
If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take? Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself. One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams. And sometimes he's not the only one who wants those things. Ronan is one of the raven boys—a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface—changing everything in its wake. Of The Raven Boys, Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Maggie Stiefvater's can't-put-it-down paranormal adventure will leave you clamoring for book two." Now the second book is here, with the same wild imagination, dark romance, and heart-stopping twists that only Maggie Stiefvater can conjure.
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If you would like to read the other half of the discussion click here to go to Lauren's blog!
(There are some spoilers in this discussion so be cautious!)
1. The perspectives always seem to change within this book. Sometimes it follows one character, then in the next chapter, another. What are your thoughts on that and how does it affect your enjoyment in the book?
L: I think it's actually done really well! A lot of times multiple points of view can be confusing, but I think she does a really great job of distinguishing the characters and their personalities. It's nice that it's not first person point of view for all of them either - that would make it much harder. Because the story focuses so heavily on all of them as a group and how their powers/strengths/weaknesses feed off of each other, it's really beneficial to have all of their viewpoints. I feel like it's so much easier to get to know the characters when we can be in their heads and see what motivates them.
K: I agree! It takes a moment to adjust and figure out who you're reading from but once you do, everything runs pretty smoothly. The only problem for me when it changes all the time is when the characters are off doing their own thing and what happens is, sometimes I get bored because I don't want to read about what this character was doing, but the character in the previous chapter. I came across that a few times in this book and that slowed down my reading pace a bit.
2.Was Ronan's dreaming aspect what you had expected it to be or did you have different expectations for it?
L: I honestly had no idea what to expect! The ending of the first book got me really intrigued for the second one and I was wondering how it would all play out and tie in. That was my biggest question - how would Ronan's power work to help them in the quest for Glendower? This book did a really fantastic job of integrating his power and made Ronan really important to the whole operation. I didn't see that coming at all. I was also surprised with how it related to his dad, and that Kavinsky had the same power. I thought it would be something unique to Ronan.
K: We got a small taste of it in The Raven Boy's but I had an idea of the concept of being able to take things about of your dreams. Another person being able to do it though, was not what I had expected and it probably must have been interesting for Ronan to know that there were more people out there like him. I didn't expect his dad to be able to do what he was able to do that so that surprised me in ways as well. It also surprised me on what the dad had been able to do with his abilities to take things about of his dreams.
3. Did this book live up to the hype for you?
L: Nope, haha. I think this series tops the list for SO many people as their all-time favorite. I've enjoyed the books so far but they really confuse me. I've heard a lot of people also say that this is their favorite of the series so far, which I don't think is true for me at the moment. It was nice getting to know Ronan a little better because he was kind of mysterious in the first book! I'm always expecting too much from books that are overly hyped. My expectations for the books are SKY HIGH, so anything less than perfect just doesn't match up for me. It happens a lot actually; hype ruins many many books for me.
K: Yeah, this series hasn't been reaching expectations to well for me either. The Raven Boys was pretty good but a lot of people said that they had loved this one and honestly, it didn't work out for me. I don't know when I will continue this series again but it will definitely be within the next year or so because there are so many books that I could read within the time span it takes me to read one of these books. I loved reading more about Ronan and his story but after awhile, I just stopped caring unfortunately.
4. Even though Gansey and Blue's relationship is extremely complicated, do you believe they will eventually get together?
L: I think they will, in some way. It's kind of weird to have a book series with little to no romance. I know it's sort of necessary because she'll kill her true love with a kiss, but still. I expected a little something else! I kind of also ship everyone together and want them all to be married together, no big deal. I'm definitely intrigued to see if Gansey does end up dying in the last book. Maybe if he does he'll come back like Noah? I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING.
K: Ooooh good theory! We got a little part of what it would have been like if Gansey and Blue got together and I honestly really want it. They seem like such a cute couple and I would really be interested to see how the "no kissing" thing works. I don't know if he will end up dying but if he comes back like Noah, that would be really interesting.
5. Any predictions or theories for the next book?
L: Seriously none. The synopsis barely provides any info either! Eek. I kind of like going into books blind-ish because I have less expectations. (I am intrigued by the part of the synopsis that says "friends can betray." This group seems to tight-knit to have anyone betray them!) It will be weird to be caught up on the series with the rest of the world, too. I'm hoping that the next book focused on finding Maura and seeing what happened with her and the Gray Man. I'm generally confused about how the previous book ended, including the epilogue, so I'm definitely interested to see what happens in Blue Lily, Lily Blue. I also want some kissing to happen for SOMEONE.
K: Synopsis is extremely vague. Based on the epilogue, I would expect to them to at least be on the hunt for Maura and trying to figure out what happens to the Gray Man. There is also the fact that we have met Aurora now and she may be able to help in this whole finding Glendower thing! I know one thing for sure, finding Maura will definitely get them a bit closer to finding Glendower. Excited to read more on this "friends can betray" line because oooooh, that sounds super interesting and I wanna know who it will be!
Like what you read? Check out the other half of the discussion at Lauren's blog!
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