Ok, listen.
I feel like I am committing some sort of cardinal sin by admitting this but…
I can not, for the life of me, finish the Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.
EEK!
I know.
I have tried to read the Raven Boys four times. I tried twice through audiobook, once through ebook and once through the physical copy. Each time I couldn’t get past the first chapter. I don’t know what it is! I have heard amazing things, and so many people rave about how good the series is. I am telling y’all though, I have tried and failed so many times that I think I am just going to have to part with any hope of getting through that series. However, I have mad respect for Maggie Stiefvater and so I wanted to give something else of hers a try.
I first saw Michael from Michael BookLion talk about All the Crooked Saints during one of his BookCon reviews. Maybe it was BEA? Or BookCon? I am not sure. It was around that time though, when ARCs were being given out at conventions. I thought that the concept of the book sounded interesting and mysterious. Therefore, I put it on my TBR and anxiously awaited the publication date. Surprisingly, my library was really on top of its stuff and I got ATCS right after it was published. I started reading it the night I got it in October and then November kicked my tail. ATCS was also very popular at my library, so I had gotten about 100 pages into it before I had to return it for the first time. Then I got about 145 pages in before I had to return it for a second time. I have had it on loan for way too long at this point, and I think that it was putting me in a slump. I had a really big project due today for my communications class, and I don’t have a final tomorrow. Therefore, I just decided to power through the last chunk of this book so that I could finally be done with it. Luckily, I ended up really enjoying it!
First, this book is incredibly slow paced. It is only 311 pages and I felt like I was reading a 500 page book. I am not kidding. I know, in the beginning, I heard a lot of people put it down because it was so slow. I think because I knew this going in, I was a little bit more prepared for it. Still, I am not going to say this was a quick read. The writing sort of reminded me of Station Eleven, which is another slow read that I really enjoyed (more than this book, but they are similar in pacing). Both books feel pretty dense, even though they really aren’t that long. They make commentary on humanity, social structures, families, individuals and their desires, and the world in general. Both stories are very poetically written, even though ATCS is heavier on the poetics because it is magical realism and not dystopian. I think that if you like a poetic writing style, then you are really going to like this book. I also think that if you aren’t phased by the slow pacing, you will like this book. However, if you aren’t one for poetic writing, a character driven plot, side chapters about people other than our main characters, and a relatively slow moving pace, I would skip this book. There are also some phrases that are reused throughout the book ( such as the “here is the thing that *insert person’s name* wants: *insert wants*. Here is what *insert person’s name* fears: *insert fear*.”) These may be annoying to some, so I am just pointing them out. I thought they served as pretty interesting character introductions. Speaking of characters…
I really liked our main characters. I enjoyed seeing a character that was incredibly logical, like Beatriz was, be accepted. I know sometimes people will harp on girls who are more logical, making them feel like they have to be more emotional. Maggie played with this concept really well and I enjoyed Beatriz a lot. I also loved Beatriz and Pete. They are adorable, and I loved the way that they supported each other. I also enjoyed Daniel. I didn’t mind some of the other family members, but I don’t necessarily feel that I was connected to them in a strong way. I thought it was interesting to see the different ways that each pilgrim’s darkness manifested. However, after not discussing them for a large part of the book, I totally forgot about the pilgrims and their respective problems, even though we were introduced to them at the beginning of the book. A similar thing happened with Beatriz, Daniel and Joaquin’s other family members. I loved the reunion of Antonia and Francisco, as well as the portrayal of a semi realistic relationship and how it may be impacted by the loss of Daniel’s parents. Still, I will admit that I lost track of who was related to who. I think a family tree would have been really helpful when I came to keeping all the Soria’s straight.
In terms of the story, I enjoyed it. I understood the message of the book the more that I read it. Even though it felt like such a dense book, I felt that there were a couple instances of show rather than tell. I felt this a lot at the end. It didn’t make sense that pilgrims spend months trying to discover how to overcome their darkness and Beatriz figured her darkness and Daniel’s darkness out in 15 or 20 pages. Even if she is the logical one, the end seemed rather rushed.
Another thing that I enjoyed was ATCS’s setting. It was incredibly atmospheric and even creepy at times, when the magical realism sections were pushed to their limits. It was easy to understand Bicho Raro’s lay out and I could easily envision it in my head. Owls are some of my favorite animals, so it was cool to have them be such a big part of the story. I can’t speak on the representation within the story. However, there wasn’t anything overtly stereotypical or problematic that I noticed while reading ATCS.
Ultimately, I gave All the Crooked Saints a 4 stars out of 5. (A billion stars out of the galaxy for the cover though. Holy crap, it is beautiful!)
Now that I am finally done with this, I hope to have more reviews coming soon. So stay tuned!
-Jaime