The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle Series #2)

by Maggie Stiefvater

Overview

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.

Praise for THE DREAM THIEVES:

* "Richly written and filled with figurative language…this story of secrets and dreams, of brothers and of all-too-real magic is an absolute marvel of imagination and an irresistible invitation to wonder." --BOOKLIST, starred review

* "Mind-blowingly spectacular… Stiefvater's careful exploration of class and wealth and their limitations and opportunities astounds with its sensitivity and sophistication. The pace is electric, the prose marvelously sure-footed and strong, but it's the complicated characters…that meld magic and reality into an engrossing, believable whole." -- KIRKUS REVIEWS, starred review

* "A paranormal thriller…this installment [is] more tense and foreboding than its predecessor–and every bit as gripping." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review

* "A complex web of magical intrigue and heartstopping action." -- THE BULLETIN, starred review

* "Readers who want a moody chill and appreciate an atmospheric turn of phrase will want to spread more time in Henrietta." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, starred review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545577175
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/17/2013
Series:	Beyond the Orphan Train #01 , #2
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	40,222
File size:	21 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Maggie Stiefvater is the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of the novels SHIVER, LINGER, and FOREVER. Her novel THE SCORPIO RACES was named a Michael L. Printz Honor Book by the American Library Association, while PUBLISHERS WEEKLY selected Maggie's THE RAVEN BOYS as a Best Book of the Year. She is also the author of LAMENT and BALLAD. Maggie lives in Virginia with her husband and their two children. You can visit her online at www.maggiestiefvater.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/01/2013
Gr 9 Up—Beginning the same summer in which The Raven Boys (Scholastic, 2012) ended, The Dream Thieves is a little less about Blue Sargent and more about Gansey. Richard Campbell Gansey III (don't call him Dick), Ronan, Adam, ghostly Noah, and Joseph Kavinsky are (or were) raven boys-students at posh Aglionby Academy in the small Virginia town of Henrietta. The writing style maintains a dark and brooding tone as Gansey continues to investigate the existence of a ley line, an invisible channel of energy, recently awakened, that may lead them to the ancient Welsh king Glendower. The complicated relationships and plot points are difficult to follow without the background from The Raven Boys. Even with the background, new characters appear: the deadly (perhaps) Gray Man, Greenmantle, and the idea of a Greywaren. Blue comes from a family of women with psychic gifts, but her gift isn't "sight" itself but a talent for magnifying the presence of magic around her-a significant contribution where finding the ley line is concerned. Readers looking for answers won't find them in this book. Readers who want a moody chill and appreciate an atmospheric turn of phrase (keys hang from the ignition like "ripe fruit," a farm yard is populated with "deceased pick-up trucks") will want to spend more time in Henrietta. Purchase where the first book is popular, and suggest the series to fans of Holly Black's "Curse Workers" books (S & S) or to readers of grittier works such as Andrew Smith's The Marbury Lens (2010) and Passenger (2012, both Feiwel & Friends).—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX

School Library Journal

Book two of Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle shifts from character-driven voyage of discovery to more of a paranormal thriller, ratcheting up the violence as the plot grows more complex. After the transformative events at Cabeswater in The Raven Boys, the context in which Gansey, Blue, Adam, Ronan, and Noah operate is further altered by the arrival of the Gray Man, a self-described hit man who replaces Barrington Whelk in providing occasional adult narrative perspective. The Gray Man brings with him the machinations of larger, previously unknown forces as he takes orders from a voice on the phone to hunt the Greywaren, the identity of which is revealed early on. But this book largely belongs to the loose cannon that is Ronan, as he works to better understand his supernatural abilities and their connection to his family. While Stiefvater’s offbeat, acutely observed characters continue to grow, they have shifted from developing a group interaction to reacting against one another, making this installment more tense and foreboding than its predecessor—and every bit as gripping. Ages 14–up. Agent: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for THE DREAM THIEVES:

* "Richly written and filled with figurative language…this story of secrets and dreams, of brothers and of all-too-real magic is an absolute marvel of imagination and an irresistible invitation to wonder." --BOOKLIST, starred review

* "Mind-blowingly spectacular… Stiefvater's careful exploration of class and wealth and their limitations and opportunities astounds with its sensitivity and sophistication. The pace is electric, the prose marvelously sure-footed and strong, but it's the complicated characters…that meld magic and reality into an engrossing, believable whole." -- KIRKUS REVIEWS, starred review

* "A paranormal thriller…this installment [is] more tense and foreboding than its predecessor–and every bit as gripping." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review

* "A complex web of magical intrigue and heartstopping action." -- THE BULLETIN, starred review

* "Readers who want a moody chill and appreciate an atmospheric turn of phrase will want to spread more time in Henrietta." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, starred review

Praise for THE RAVEN BOYS:
"Stiefvater is a master storyteller." -- USA TODAY
"A dizzying paranormal romance tinged with murder and Welsh mythology." -- LOS ANGELES TIMES
* "Simultaneously complex and simple, compulsively readable, marvelously wrought." -- KIRKUS REVIEWS, starred review
* "A tour de force . . . such a memorable read." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review

* "One unexpected and wonderful surprise after another . . . a marvel of imagination." -- BOOKLIST, starred review

"The Raven Boys is an incredibly rich and unique tale, a supernatural thriller of a different flavor. . . . Fans have been salivating for Stiefvater's next release and THE RAVEN BOYS delivers." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, starred review

"Equal parts thriller and mystery, with a measured dash of romance sprinkled on top . . .
Maggie has woven such a unique, intriguing narrative that I struggled for comparisons." -- MTV.com

A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Book of the Year

THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS 2012 Blue Ribbons list

From the Publisher

Book two of The Raven Cycle series continues the story of Blue, her female family's only non-clairvoyant, and the eerie Raven Boys from Aglionby, the local private school. Affluent Gansey, ethereal Noah, anguished Adam, and brooding, troubled Ronan are still searching for Owen Glendower, a legendary sleeping Welsh king. They are depending upon a ley line, an invisible energy source, to locate him in Cabeswater, their mystical forest which has inexplicably disappeared, with the ley line's power fading. Soon the Gray Man, a hit man both mild and menacing, arrives, seeking the Greywaren, a relic enabling its owners to literally steal objects from their dreams. Ronan is somehow key to these events, with the story soon focusing on him as Glendower's search fades. Nearly consumed by his chilling dreams and nightmares, Ronan forces himself to use them for understanding and controlling his paranormal abilities. The individual characters become more defined by reacting against one another, as Ronan's dreams reveal often-shocking connections among them, the King's search, and his menacingly disturbing family, producing an increasingly tense and foreboding atmosphere. The plot is violent and complex, full of startling twists and turns, but humor and sarcasm provide balance. Moreover, the Gray Man's narratives add adult perspective, as does his surprising, reserved romance with Blue's mother. There is little backstory, creating confusion in places, and Ronan's dreams are too numerous and similar, becoming monotonously repetitive. Still, series fans will not be disappointed, especially as its ending is satisfyingly intricate and tantalizing. Reviewer: Lisa A. Hazlett

VOYA - Lisa A. Hazlett

The second book in the “Raven Cycle” series, The Dream Thieves returns to the small town of Henrietta, Virginia, home to the upper-class boys’ school attended by many of the characters. The focus of this book is now Ronan Lynch, who has dreams that quite literally come true. As readers learned in the first book, Anglionby Academy is built on a ley line, a paranormal fault line that leads to an ancient Welsh king called Glendower. Here the adventure continues in the missing forest of Cabeswater, a place in which ghosts appear and object’s from dreams manifest in solid form. There is a tremendous and deeply loyal audience for this type of eerie, moody tale of ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night. Stiefvater is known and appreciated by her fans for her fluid prose and brooding boy characters. Among her readers, these are positive attributes of her writing. Although the author’s elegant turn of phrase and good use of metaphor is admirable, it can be overused. A professor is not just old; he is “stunningly old.” A group of partygoers are known collectively as a “murmur of guests.” Stiefvater’s fans, already acquainted with the characters, will be ecstatic to see the boys’ stories expanded. Knowing the previous plotlines will save readers from being hopelessly mired in metaphor and puzzling plotlines. Reviewer: Lois Rubin Gross; Ages 12 up.

Children's Literature - Lois Rubin Gross

The second installment of Stiefvater's Raven Cycle is as mind-blowingly spectacular as the first. Now that the ley line near Henrietta, Va., has been woken, strange currents race through the town. There's too much electricity--or none at all. The four Raven Boys--Gansey, Adam, long-dead Noah and Ronan--continue to search for the grave of the Welsh king Glendower, but now Ronan is starting to pull objects out of his dreams. Small ones, like the keys to Gansey's Camaro, and larger, lethal nightmare creatures. But his greatest nightmare can't be grasped--how do you hold onto home? Not-quite-psychic Blue Sargent realizes that Gansey might really be her true love--and if she kisses him, he'll die--and meanwhile, her wholly psychic mother is dating the hit man come to steal Ronan. Stiefvater's careful exploration of class and wealth and their limitations and opportunities astounds with its sensitivity and sophistication. The pace is electric, the prose marvelously sure-footed and strong, but it's the complicated characters--particularly Ronan, violent, drunk, tender and tough--that meld magic and reality into an engrossing, believable whole. Remember this: Ronan never lies. How long until Book 3? (Fantasy. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews