About the Author: “New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader. Maggie Stiefvater plays several musical instruments (most infamously, the bagpipes) and makes art in several media (most generally, colored pencils). She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband, their two children, many dogs, a bunch of fainting goats, and a mating pair of growly tuner cars” (Bio from author’s Goodreads profile).
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Lament is Maggie Stiefvater’s first book and was published in 2008 as the beginning of The Books of Faerie series. The story follows Deirdre, a sixteen-year-old music prodigy who has a secret: she can see faeries. When a new boy moves into town, she grows infatuated with him. However, it turns out he is a faerie assassin, and his newest assignment is to kill Deirdre before her music threatens the Faerie Queen’s rule. The sequel, Ballad, came out the following year and is told from the point of view of Deirdre’s best friend, James, as they join a private conservatory for musicians. When he attracts the attention of Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse, James discovers that both Nuala and Deirdre are in danger and he might be the only one who can save them.
With a new concept of faerie lore and unexpected twists, Stiefvater took what could have been a common story and made it so much more. The first book serves to ground readers in this world and then opens for the second to take everything deeper; the characters, the emotions, and the heart of the story demonstrate a wealth of ingenuity.
The Wolves of Mercy Falls series was originally a trilogy that consisted of the books Shiver, Linger, and Forever. The story follows Grace, who lives on the edge of the woods and spends her time watching the nature that grows around her and is drawn to the presence of a yellow-eyed wolf. When she finds an injured boy named Sam with those same yellow eyes, mystery and magic unfold before Grace and she finds herself thrown into an endangered world that exists hidden within the forest.
Three years after the “last” book, Stiefvater published Sinner, the fourth and final installment of The Wolves of Mercy Falls. Sinner focuses on Cole and Isabel, two characters that were seen briefly in the original trilogy. After a rocky, failed relationship between the two, Isabel moves to Los Angeles, only for Cole to follow in a desperate bid to get her love back. Cole is a wolf and Isabel is human, but perhaps they can move past their devastating pasts and rekindle the love that they lost.
These books, originally suggested by my sister, were the first I read by Maggie Stiefvater. I can remember staying up late to finish Forever with an old book light that flickered from overuse. I loved everything about the story, from the little details and the billowing winter setting to the captivating plot and the little twists I didn’t see coming.
The Scorpio Races is Stiefvater’s first and most popular standalone book. The novel tells the story of Puck Connolly, a girl who enters the elusive Scorpio Races where riders risk their lives just for a chance to win. Most riders don’t make it to the end, but Sean Kendrick is a returning champion with plans to win again. Up against competitors with much better odds, Puck must enter this race for her family, even though her chances of winning—and surviving—are slim.
With horses and elements inspired by Celtic mythology, how could I not love The Scorpio Races? The story wasn’t as fast paced as I originally thought it would be, but was slower, letting the narrative fall and the emotions unfold at their own pace to let the story bloom. If there is one thing I love about Maggie Stiefvater more than her writing, it might be the unpredictability of her stories, which is definitely a part of this one.
Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater team up for the Pip Bartlett series, which is a series of children’s books that feature Stiefvater’s own art. In these books, young Pip can talk to magical creatures. Her entire life revolves around magical creatures in one way or another, with a magical creature vet for an aunt and a friend, Tomas, who is allergic to magical critters. When fuzzles take over the town in the first book, unicorns in the second book, and then an undersea adventure in the third book, it is up to Pip and her friend Tomas to find out how to save the town, all while learning as much about magical creatures as they can.
Finding out Stiefvater was an artist and even illustrated a book series only added to the vast talents that I already knew she possessed. I became enamored by the art she has posted on both her Instagram and her website, and the vivid colors and details align perfectly with the beauty of her writing.
All the Crooked Saints is a standalone set in the town of Bicho Raro, Colorado, a place that is home to darkness, populated with owls, and where everyone wants a miracle. There, the members of the Soria family have the strange ability to create unconventional miracles. But the downside of that is this: sometimes the price isn’t worth the miracle. This novel centers around Beatriz, Daniel, and Joaquin, three Soria cousins that are drastically different but love each other regardless. All three of them very badly want a miracle, but the Sorias suffer the consequences more than anyone. All three have their own paths to follow, but as much as they all want to change the future of their family, the repercussions of trying might be too much for them to handle.
Set several years after the Disney movie, Merida of DunBroch goes on a brand new adventure in Bravely. When Merida’s wish for something more adventurous is fulfilled by a god that threatens the entire realm, she is encouraged by an entity of creation to help her stubborn family change their static lifestyles in order to let the kingdom progress. Merida must undergo several voyages to near and distant kingdoms in an effort to inspire her family—and maybe even herself.
Bravely was such an interesting sequel to the movie. Stiefvater combined the original mysticism, settings, and characters and dived into their personalities, showing depth and understanding of the original Disney ideas while adding her own spin on them that still managed to stay true to the movie.
The Raven Cycle is full of psychics, dreams that come to life, and questing for a dead Welsh king. The first book, The Raven Boys, begins with Blue Sargent visiting a churchyard on the night of St. Mark’s Eve, a time where the spirits of those who will soon die wander across the spiritual plane. When Blue sees the spirit of a boy named Gansey, she learns that to see his spirit as a non-seer means he’s either her true love, or that she will kill him. For Blue Sargent, both could be true, because she knows that if she were to kiss her true love, he would die. But Gansey and his friends—cutthroat Ronan, reserved Noah, and headstrong Adam—drag Blue into the crazy hunt for the resting place of King Owen Glendower, who Gansey has been looking for since he was only ten.
The Raven Cycle, and particularly the second book, The Dream Thieves, are the first books I always mention when I get asked what my favorite book is. The mystery, the magic, the atmospheric descriptions, and the lyrical prose made me love these books and love Stiefvater’s writing. The characters are unique and powerful, and the relationships that develop between both lovers and friends are brilliant. I love the little family that is created throughout these books and getting to see each of their perspectives as they falter and flourish.
The Dreamer Trilogy is a sequel series to The Raven Cycle, following Ronan Lynch and his peculiar ability to bring dreams to life. In it, dreamers are hunted, and Ronan is being targeted. Jordan Hennessy is a thief on the hunt for a dream object, and Carmen Farooq-Lane’s only desire is to stop dreamers before their power sows destruction—as a result, Ronan is a target of both. But dreams aren’t easy to conquer. Over the course of the trilogy, these three enter something deeper and more complex than they might be able to handle. As the power of dreams is manipulated and blocked and the truth behind the Lynch family grows clearer, can Ronan keep dreamers and the dreamed safe?
Ronan was easily my favorite character in The Raven Cycle, so a book series that follows his crazy life is right up my alley. To make dreams a physical power showcases the ingenuity of Stiefvater’s imagination and skill. Each moment of this series is original and reminds me why I love this world. Even with a foundation already built for Ronan, I was still surprised by his thoughts and personality. Getting to explore more about his family history and the dynamics of the Lynch brothers was exciting, and I loved The Dreamer Trilogy just as much as I loved the original series.
Years later I still get excited to see any news from Maggie Stiefvater about a new book or one I hadn’t known about. Stiefvater’s talents reach far, and there are many more books that she has written and co-written as well. Every fall, I reach for The Raven Cycle for my latest reread, and each time I get so completely invested in the art that Stiefvater creates with her words and the crazy, yet endearing, imagination and originality that each of these books possesses.
Hannah Goerndt, Pine Reads Review Writer