Oh, hello there, all you wonderful bookworms! I hope you all have been having a lovely week! ^^ Life has been both chaotic and amazing for me this past week — I have a great deal of middle grade ARCs to read (sent in by some lovely authors as well as publishers) and have been doing a big of brainstorming for my WIP, Island Keepers, (which I suppose ought to be called something else by now…. Seeing as the island keepers in the first draft have now completely been cut… Rewriting is a most interesting process that is surely not for the faint of heart.)
But, seeing as I am currently in Malaysia without any internet distractions for the next four days (and this whole other fascinating room we have here that is simply splendid for working without distractions), I have been doing a whole lot of reading! And one of the books I have stumbled upon recently is The Seventh Raven by David Elliott.
Oh good grief, I can’t describe it. It is incredible. It’s a fantasy novel told in verse. (And has all sorts of fancy poetry that I’ve never even heard of!!!) It is dark and twisty and magical and deep. It’s a fairytale retelling.
And.
It has ravens!!!!!!
So of course I had to pick it up.
The blurb reads: Best-selling author David Elliott examines the timeless themes of balance, transformation, and restoration in this evocative tale about a girl who will stop at nothing to reverse a curse that turned her seven brothers into ravens.
And these are the sons
Of good Jack and good Jane
The eldest is Jack
And the next one is Jack
And the third one’s called Jack
And the fourth’s known as Jack
And the fifth says he’s Jack
And they call the sixth Jack
But the seventh’s not Jack
The seventh is Robyn
And this is his story
When Robyn and his brothers are turned into ravens through the work of an unlucky curse, a sister is their only hope to become human again. Though she’s never met her brothers, April will stop at nothing to restore their humanity. But what about Robyn, who always felt a greater affinity to the air than to the earth-bound lives of his family?
David Elliott’s latest novel in verse explores the unintended consequences of our actions, no matter our intentions, and is filled with powerful messages teased from a Grimms’ fairy tale. Stunning black-and-white illustrations throughout by Rovina Cai.
This book, y’all. This book. Wow. I don’t typically read young adult, since most of the books I’ve snurched are fantasy ones with terrible romance, but I couldn’t help myself upon seeing the cover. It’s told in a rather dark, twisty fairytale fashion, with omniscient POV and poetry that paints such a vivid picture in your mind!
The characters in this book were fascinating. Again, it’s told in a very fairytale-like fashion with omniscient POV, so the characters and the way I related to the was very different than a typical novel told in prose. The way you see into their heads and their thoughts is through poetry and it is very much like you are standing by watching the story unfold, while at the same time getting to really feel as though you are the character and you’re in their head, if that makes any sense.
My favorite character in this novel.. it would have to be either April or Robyn. I loved Robyn’s character, and I related to him greatly about him not fitting in — and the description and the way the poetry changes when he turns into a bird is wonderful!!!! I adored that part of the story, and I quite like how the poetry changed to a freer, less wordier style when he transforms into a raven, a style that I do think very much reflected how he felt when he was a raven — freer and more like himself.
I loved April’s character as well, and I loved seeing her journey as she tries to undo this terrible curse. Her determination, her struggles, and also the realization at the end of the journey… I just loved her character!!
The plot of this story was very much like the plot of a classic fairytale, as we witness the terrible curse and then follow the heroine along her journey a few years later. With the intricate poetry and the way it tells the story, I wasn’t bored at all!!!
But I do think the best part of this story is probably the poetry. I wasn’t expecting it to be told in verse when I read it, actually! (Due to me… never bothering to read the blurb of a book before I purchase it. XD) Twas a most delightful surprise when I opened the book! I love books told in verse, and oh my goodness.
It is very hard to describe it.
But the poetry… The poetry really weaves everything in this book together perfectly. While it is indeed omniscient and told like a fairytale, the poetry is just so detailed and really lets you into the mind of each and every character you meet as you read it!!! The way it rhymes and flows and paints such a picture is beautiful. The metaphors are creative and twisty and really drags you right into the story. I especially loved the scene where April meets the queen and when she frees her brothers from the curse!! It was all so well-told!
This book also has gorgeous black and white illustrations done by Rovina Cai!! I adore it whenever books have illustrations, and these ones were so beautiful!!! They all reflected the story so perfectly and had so much depth and shadow to them!!!
art done by Rovina Cai. source, her website.
Isn’t this absolutely gorgeous? There are several more throughout the book as well, which I thought really brought the story to life!!!
And also a little snippet from the book:
And the road is a ribbon
Shining and straight
And the road is her guide
And her friend and her fate
And the road is a dove
Spreading its wings
This is one of my favorite lines/verses from the book (there are really far too many to insert them all into one single post)! So overall, The Seventh Raven was a fantastic young adult read!! (And it’s also clean, and there isn’t really any romance, which was nice.) A dark and twisty fairytale told in verse that I’d recommend for ages 12 and up! Older middle-graders may enjoy the read as well, but it is indeed a darker fairytale without a perfectly happy ending. But it’s a wonderful book nonetheless!!! 4.5 out of five stars from me!
Thoughts from Izzy, Charlotte, and Fuzzy Bee
Izzy: I…. It is very rare I love a young adult book. But this…. *blinks* This was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Wonderful. Splendid. Combines the magic and darkness of a fairytale with haunting, descriptive, imaginative poetry… Haunting. Yes, yes, that’s the word to describe this book.
Charlotte: Haunting. That’s about right. Very… very haunting. I do not know what to think yet. It hooked me in from the very first page!!! Practically DRAGGED my eyes to the page!!!!! I… do not love it, nor hate it, it just… dragged me into the story. And now I linger there…. AND THE ENDING!!!!!!! DAVID ELLIOTT HOW COULD YOUUUUUUUUUUU…… *buries her face into a pillow in righteous fury at the author* How could ye!!!!! Robyn… the ending… The way… Oh my books………………………
Fuzzy Bee: I am with these two on this. *buzzes her wings* It is indeed most haunting. And yet the way it is told is so beautiful. I adores it. It shall forever linger in my mind. I wish to take this book back to my hive and forever hoard it. Six out of five stars from me.
This book has Izzy, Charlotte, and Fuzzy Bee’s approval, I s—
Charlotte: It HAUNTS me, Isabelle, and in a way, I sort of love it but also am very on the fence about it, but it dragged me in and is so haunting, and I’m furious at the author for the ending this does not mean I approve of this book!!!!!!!!!! *stomps her panda foot*
…It appears this book has Izzy and Fuzzy Bee’s approval then and Charlotte’s righteous fury at the ending. 🙂 I shan’t spoil anything, so y’all shall have to just read this book yourself to see!!! And now I ought to get back to finishing Chapter One of Stormkeeper* now. Farewell, y’all, and I shall see thee in a later post!! ^^
*I…. do not really know what to call Island Keepers. The former working title doesn’t really fit it too much anymore……….. So I do not really know.
Till next time,
-Isabelle
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