The Raven Boys

If you need an elevator pitch for this, may I suggest "[b:Hana Yori Dango|282425|Boys Over Flowers Hana Yori Dango, Vol. 1 (Boys Over Flowers, #1)|Yoko Kamio|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1357464446s/282425.jpg|273978] meets [b:The Dark is Rising|210329|The Dark is Rising (The Dark is Rising, #2)|Susan Cooper|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1349051230s/210329.jpg|1530651]"?

I mean, I sort of suspect the overlap between people who would get both references is modest, but that really is the sweet spot that this hit for me.

I found myself really into this, really enjoying the way Blue approaches having a deadly prophecy attached to her with a combination of maturity and teenage self-centeredness. I was a little wary of the strange gender dynamics; Blue is the only girl in a group of four boys, and all the boys have dramatic! secrets! and are sort of subtextually dangerous! and mysterious! Does she have no friends who are girls?

(It seems we are meant to believe that Blue has reached the age of fifteen (I think?) without ever having a friend, either male or female, and I cannot believe she wouldn't be much more eccentric and maladjusted if this were the case. So, I dunno, maybe she has cousins who aren't mentioned, or who I missed?)

But on the other hand, Blue lives in a all-female household of delightfully nutty psychics. And I love them lots.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and I must say, although I have no particular criticism, I really felt that I wanted a female-voice reading this to me, despite the fact that the book switches through three POVs, two of them male. Maybe I'm just more accustomed to a female reader due to my podfic habit?

Also! Having put time-travel on the mantel in the first book, I am going to be super disappointed if Blue's dad wasn't a time-traveler, possibly one of the four boys.