The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4) Maggie Stiefvater April 26th 2016 Scholastic ******Will probably contain spoilers for this book and the whole series just as a heads up****** I'm not going to try and write a normal review for The Raven King, because quite frankly I don't even know if I'm capable of doing proper reviews any more, and this is not the book or the series where I want to figure that out. That, and my love for this series transcends that of something which I can properly review, as I am completely biased and I *will* fight people about these books. On that note, this is also won't even entirely be about The Raven King on its own. Rather, it's a chance for me to go on and on and on and on and on about how much I love these books and Blue and those darn boys. My biggest fear about The Raven King, as is always the case with final books in a beloved series, was that it wouldn't be a good or fitting ending. I did not need to be worried. Rather than reac...
After everything that happened—my first boyfriend, my first time, my first breakup—jumping back into the dating game seemed like the least healthy thing I could do. It’s not that I didn’t want to fall in love again, since that’s about the best feeling ever. But as a busy college premed still raw from heartbreak, which is the worst feeling ever, I figured I’d lie low for a while. Of course, as soon as I stopped looking for someone, an impossibly amazing—and devastatingly cute—guy came along, and I learned that having a new boyfriend is the quickest way to recover from losing your old one.
The moment we got together, all my preconceptions about romance and sex were turned upside down. I discovered physical and emotional firsts I never knew existed. I learned to let go of my past by living in the present. It was thrilling. It was hot. It was just what the doctor ordered.
But I couldn’t avoid my future forever.
In Daria Snadowsky’s daring follow-up to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Dominique explores the relationship between love and lust, and the friendships that see us through.
Best Bits: I've heard praise about the first book in this series (although this one can be read as a standalone), and a lot of it revolved around how the book deals with relationships and sex in a realistic and frank way. I have to say that based on this book, I fully expect if I went and read Anatomy of a Boyfriend, I would be in total agreement. I sort of equate this novel to Judy Blume. You know when you were in middle school and you read your first Judy Blume novel? You were simultaneously like "ah ok, I'm normal" and "growing up is a bummer, why is this happening to me?!" I imagine that teens will have similar reactions to this book. Snadowsky tackles tough topics, and she does it in a way that isn't preachy about hook-ups, break-ups, cheating, friendship drama, phew did I remember everything? Any teen who has ever experienced any of those things will have a way to connect with Dom(inique) I think this book does a good job of portraying those teen/young adult years really well.
Nit Picks: I struggled with how to rate this one, because I really loved the best bits, but the things I'm about to write here in the nit picks section made me feel like a frowny-faced grump (seriously, that's the best way to describe it). At times I just got frustrated by Dom's behavior. When she has an argument with Guy it is pretty explosive, but we never really get to see her explore why it happened. I guess that what I really wanted was for her to realize that it's ok to feel crappy after a breakup, and that you don't have to throw yourself back into the dating scene and find a boyfriend right away. Also, it's okay to be unsure of yourself, but when you realize something doesn't feel right you should start talking about it (instead of forcing it down until suddenly you're insanely mad and the other person has no idea what's going on). There was some growth in her character though, and I don't think it's completely fair that I didn't get all the growth I wanted, especially since the character is only 18 (hello, I was totally not in that mindset at 18). I'll just have to wait for another "Anatomy of" book to see what happens.
Anatomy of a Single Girl
By Daria Snadowsky
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
227 Pages
Received for Honest Review
Rating: B/C
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