BY SARAH ROONEY | St. Petersburg High

Growing up amid the craziness in a family of psychic women can get pretty interesting, especially if you’re an outsider to the weirdness, as 16-year-old Blue Sargent knows firsthand. She’s the only female in her family who lacks supernatural ability, aside from being able to amplify the visions of those around her. So Blue has to take their word for it when all of the clairvoyants around her agree on one thing: Blue will somehow kill her true love.

Having lived with this truth all her life, Blue has developed an indifference to the boys around her. Why bother thinking about what you can’t have, right? But then she sees a spirit of a boy on St. Mark’s Eve. Is he her true love? Has she killed him?

Enter Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah. Each of them is a Raven Boy, a name given to those that attend Aglionby, an elite, all-boys private school. Brought together despite varied social and economic statuses, all share a common objective that Blue happens to be able to help them with. The consequences of their quest loom just above their heads, but the five continue down a winding path of questions, answers and more questions.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater refuses to allow you to sit back in your chair. Every character has a distinct, realistic personality, each with a set of believable motivations and stories. Steifvater’s writing style is mature but easy to read; her words slide off the page and creep into your imagination. Lovers of mystery, suspense and a smidgen of romance will devour this first installment of The Raven Cycle whole.