The second installment of Stiefvater's Raven Cycle is as mind-blowingly spectacular as the first. Now that the ley line near Henrietta, Va., has been woken, strange currents race through the town. There's too much electricity--or none at all. The four Raven Boys--Gansey, Adam, long-dead Noah and Ronan--continue to search for the grave of the Welsh king Glendower, but now Ronan is starting to pull objects out of his dreams. Small ones, like the keys to Gansey's Camaro, and larger, lethal nightmare creatures. But his greatest nightmare can't be grasped--how do you hold onto home? Not-quite-psychic Blue Sargent realizes that Gansey might really be her true love--and if she kisses him, he'll die--and meanwhile, her wholly psychic mother is dating the hit man come to steal Ronan. Stiefvater's careful exploration of class and wealth and their limitations and opportunities astounds with its sensitivity and sophistication. The pace is electric, the prose marvelously sure-footed and strong, but it's the complicated characters--particularly Ronan, violent, drunk, tender and tough--that meld magic and reality into an engrossing, believable whole. Remember this: Ronan never lies. How long until Book 3? (Fantasy. 12 & up)

Starred Review In this continuation of The Raven Boys (2012), Printz Honor Book recipient Stiefvater continues the compelling story, keeping the focus once again on the Raven Boys themselves: privileged Gansey, tortured Adam, spectral Noah, and darkly dangerous Ronan. This time, though, their quest for the legendary sleeping Welsh King, Owen Glendower, takes a backseat to a spate of secrets, dreams, and nightmares that appear to be sapping the ley line invisible channel of energy connecting sacred places at runs beneath their small Virginia town. Could this be the reason that the mystical forest, Cabeswater, has inexplicably disappeared? Who is the mysterious Grey Man, and why is he searching for the Greywaren, a relic that enables its owner to steal objects from dreams? How does this involve secretive Ronan? Visceral suspense builds as the characters pursue answers to these and other questions, and a palpable sense of foreboding and danger increasingly permeates the novel. Richly written and filled with figurative language (buildings are "tidy as library books"; a "murmur of guests" attend a party; a woman looks "fresh as a newscaster"), this story of secrets and dreams, of brothers, and of all-too-real magic is an absolute marvel of imagination and an irresistible invitation to wonder. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Backed by a 150,000 print run and a marketing push that includes a college-campus campaign, this title should multiply Stiefvater's already vast fan base.

The second installment of Stiefvater's Raven Cycle is as mind-blowingly spectacular as the first. Now that the ley line near Henrietta, Va., has been woken, strange currents race through the town. There's too much electricity--or none at all. The four Raven Boys--Gansey, Adam, long-dead Noah and Ronan--continue to search for the grave of the Welsh king Glendower, but now Ronan is starting to pull objects out of his dreams. Small ones, like the keys to Gansey's Camaro, and larger, lethal nightmare creatures. But his greatest nightmare can't be grasped--how do you hold onto home? Not-quite-psychic Blue Sargent realizes that Gansey might really be her true love--and if she kisses him, he'll die--and meanwhile, her wholly psychic mother is dating the hit man come to steal Ronan. Stiefvater's careful exploration of class and wealth and their limitations and opportunities astounds with its sensitivity and sophistication. The pace is electric, the prose marvelously sure-footed and strong, but it's the complicated characters--particularly Ronan, violent, drunk, tender and tough--that meld magic and reality into an engrossing, believable whole. Remember this: Ronan never lies. How long until Book 3? (Fantasy. 12 & up)

Book two of Stiefvater-s Raven Cycle shifts from character-driven voyage of discovery to more of a paranormal thriller, ratcheting up the violence as the plot grows more complex. After the transformative events at Cabeswater in The Raven Boys, the context in which Gansey, Blue, Adam, Ronan, and Noah operate is further altered by the arrival of the Gray Man, a self-described hit man who replaces Barrington Whelk in providing occasional adult narrative perspective. The Gray Man brings with him the machinations of larger, previously unknown forces as he takes orders from a voice on the phone to hunt the Greywaren, the identity of which is revealed early on. But this book largely belongs to the loose cannon that is Ronan, as he works to better understand his supernatural abilities and their connection to his family. While Stiefvater-s offbeat, acutely observed characters continue to grow, they have shifted from developing a group interaction to reacting against one another, making this installment more tense and foreboding than its predecessor-and every bit as gripping. Ages 14-up. Agent: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Sept.)

In this darker second book (The Raven Boys), Gansey, Blue, and the search for Glendower take a backseat to the exploration of Ronan's and Adam's tortured personalities. Stiefvater's descriptive prose reveals a complicated plot, multiple viewpoints, and detailed backstories. Many mysteries remain, but the cliffhanger ending makes it clear that Glendower will resurface as the main focus of book three.

Gr 9 Up-Beginning the same summer in which The Raven Boys (Scholastic, 2012) ended, The Dream Thieves is a little less about Blue Sargent and more about Gansey. Richard Campbell Gansey III (don't call him Dick), Ronan, Adam, ghostly Noah, and Joseph Kavinsky are (or were) raven boys-students at posh Aglionby Academy in the small Virginia town of Henrietta. The writing style maintains a dark and brooding tone as Gansey continues to investigate the existence of a ley line, an invisible channel of energy, recently awakened, that may lead them to the ancient Welsh king Glendower. The complicated relationships and plot points are difficult to follow without the background from The Raven Boys . Even with the background, new characters appear: the deadly (perhaps) Gray Man, Greenmantle, and the idea of a Greywaren. Blue comes from a family of women with psychic gifts, but her gift isn't "sight" itself but a talent for magnifying the presence of magic around her-a significant contribution where finding the ley line is concerned. Readers looking for answers won't find them in this book. Readers who want a moody chill and appreciate an atmospheric turn of phrase (keys hang from the ignition like "ripe fruit," a farm yard is populated with "deceased pick-up trucks") will want to spend more time in Henrietta. Purchase where the first book is popular, and suggest the series to fans of Holly Black's "Curse Workers" books (S &; S) or to readers of grittier works such as Andrew Smith's The Marbury Lens (2010) and Passenger (2012, both Feiwel &; Friends).— Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX