Release-Day Review: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (Raven Cycle #2)

The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle #2)
Maggie Stiefvater
Published: Sept. 17, 2013 (Scholastic Press)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Review Source: Provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Amy

Rating (out of 5): 5 stars

Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it will reference the first book in the series The Raven Boys.

The Dream Thieves picks up in the summer. The boys and Blue are out of school, and all are excited about the prospect of finding Glendower being that much closer since they activated the ley line. However, amid concern for Adam, and waiting to see what his promise to Cabeswater will mean exactly, the story turns to focus more on Ronan and his dreams.

Ronan is the main narrator of this story, although everyone does get their own page time. We deal with Ronan’s secret about dreaming. It’s something his father was able to do, and Ronan feels in his entire being that it’s the reason his father was killed as well. His father died before Ronan could learn all there was to know about this talent so he has to rely on himself to figure it all out. He comes to find that there are others like him, but does he want to learn what they have to offer? We really get to know and understand just what Ronan is all about.

In The Raven Boys he was mysterious, and here Maggie Stiefvater has managed to retain the mystery but subtly open up about who Ronan really is, and what is really important to him. Ronan seems to balance so precariously on the edge towards destruction that you just want to give him a little tip in the opposite direction. You don’t want him to falter. Have faith.

Parallel to Ronan’s story is the mysterious “Gray Man” who pops into the narrative looking for an artifact called the Greywaren. Essentially it is an object that can pull items out of dreams. Little does he know the Greywaren is not necessarily an object but a person, and apparently he’s not the only one interested in finding it either thus revealing new groups of people that may have a stake in searching for Glendower.

Adam and Blue’s fragile relationship is tested as complications arise from her prophecy and his promise to Cabeswater. Everyone can tell that something is different about Adam, and they view him as a bomb waiting to go off. Adam himself is scared of what is happening to him, he doesn’t know if it’s because of Cabeswater or if he’s becoming like his father. He wonders why Blue won’t let him kiss her, but she doesn’t want to reveal her secret in fear of the possibility that Adam isn’t her true love. At this point Blue is stuck between her feelings for whether or not she wants Adam to be her true love. If so, it could eventually mean his death, and if not……well let’s just say Blue may have to think more on what she’s feeling and for whom.

Maggie Stiefvater starts out fittingly in the prologue when she states, “A secret is a strange thing.” I didn’t realize until I got to the end how everything would fit back together in that one phrase, or even one word “secret.” For, in fact, The Dream Thieves is filled with secrets both revealed to others and acknowledged to one’s self.

The Dream Thieves truly outshines its predecessor taking us even further into the imaginative world and ultimate quest for Glendower and what it all means. While the main storyline is resolved the book does end on a slight cliffhanger where it’s not yet apparent what the consequences will be. As always, in this situation, now we have the problem of waiting a whole year until we find out what happens! You can definitely expect to see this one on my list of best books of the year.

Sexual content: Kissing