Genre: Young Adult- Historical fiction/Magical Realism
Page Count: 311
Publication Date: 2017
Rating: 3.5/5
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Also by Maggie Stiefvater:
The Raven Boys Quartet
A town in the desert named Bicho Raro is full of saints who grant miracles and the pilgrims who come to receive the miracles. The Soria family has been preforming miracles in their 1960s Colorado town for generations, but they can only perform the first miracle which manifests a pilgrim's darkness, the banishment of the darkness must be done by the pilgrim and the pilgrim alone. Interference or help from a Soria is forbidden, until a saint and a pilgrim fall in love.
I loved The Raven Boys quartet by Stiefvater and have been meaning to read more of her works since finishing the series. I was browsing in my local bookstore when I came across a signed copy of this one, so I decided it was the next Stiefvater I would read. Stiefvater has a very unique and beautiful writing style which lends itself to magic and magical realism very well. This book, I was a bit surprised to see, is very full of magic and borders on fantasy. I loved the concept of this novel and the idea of miracles and darkness being given physical forms. The concept was totally unique and felt so real and plausible. The town of Bicho Raro had a real life of its own and felt as if it truly existed thanks to Stiefvater's writing.
Despite this, I felt the book was lacking in a few ways. I thought that this concept had so much potential and the story could have been much longer or more developed. I love that it's a standalone, and I think the ending was great, but I think there could have been more 'middle' to the story. The characters were a bit unmemorable, and although Stiefvater's writing is always beautiful, I felt that the writing sometimes got in the way of the plot and made me loose interest.
With that being said, I think this book is definitely worth reading and there is a lot of beauty in this story. I'm eager to read The Scorpio Races as I know a lot of people love that novel, and of course, I will be reading whatever Stiefvater releases in the future as her novels are always unique, atmospheric, and entertaining. I'm really itching to reread The Raven Boys now!
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