40.12: The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater (2012 hardcover)

I'm impressed with Maggie Stiefvater's range of subjects in her teen novels. She started out with the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy (review here) depicting a girl in love with a werewolf, which is pretty standard fare in TeenLit these days. However, after that she released Scorpio Races (This appears to be a book I read over the last year or two but forgot to add to my blog. It was excellent, though!) about a world where fierce horses rise from the waters and sometime kill humans and at other times are captured and trained by humans to compete in a deadly race. In Raven Boys she take a different direction again, entering the world of the paranormal.

Blue is the female protagonist in the book, and her mother and aunts are all psychics. Despite the family legacy, Blue doesn't have psychic abilities herself--but she does intensify the abilities of those nearby her. Since she was born it has been foretold that she will kiss her love and he will die. That's quite the story to enter puberty with, and she's stayed away from boys for the most part--especially those from the fancy prep school in town. Enevitably, though, she is swept up by a group of those boys--raven boys because of the school mascot--in their quest to find the ley lines that mark the burial site of an English knight (oddly buried on the east coast of America) and have their wishes come true.

The story involves fortune telling, ghost sighting, card reading, romance, and murder, and it moves along at a pretty quick clip. Steifvater is an excellent storyteller, and while the romance end of things makes it clear that her target audience is teen girls, the characters and story in this book and Scorpio Races make it interesting for adults as well.
 

56-58: Shiver, Linger, Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy), by Maggie Stiefvater (2009/10 paperback, 2011 hardcover)

I've seen these books at the bookstore for some time, and they always catch my attention. It's a gimmick thing, quite honestly: the color of the cover art matches the color of ink the text is printed in throughout the book. However, I also started seeing the series recommended regularly on the Centurions of 2011 Facebook page, so I looked into them.  The descriptions sounded a bit like cheesy teen romances, so I posted a question for Centurion members to see what folks want. Several people assured me that the books were much more than cheesy romances, so I decided to try them out.

What I discovered is that these are cheesy teen romances (a good lesson of don't believe everything you read.), but with one difference: werewolves. As you roll your eyes and before you stop reading this review, though, I'd like to say that there is something compelling about the series--compelling enough that I read through all three and will likely run out and get the (likely) fourth upon its release. What got me hooked is Stiefvater's twist on the classic werewolf story: instead of wolfing out at the full moon, the wolves here change with the seasons--becoming wolves in winter and human in summer.  The season varies according to the wolf/person, and the wolf stage of life extends over the years until a person no longer is able to change back to his/her human form again.

So, as far as the romance goes, it's all Team Jacob here. Lest the reader become complacent, however, there is another twist on werewolf-human relationships: After surviving a wolf attack, young Grace becomes oddly attracted to the wolf pack in the forest behind her--and especially to a single yellow-eyed wolf that stands sentinel at the edge of Grace's yard for much of the winter. Rather than developing an attraction for a boy who she later learns is a wolf (as the story would go), our protagonist is attracted to the wolf that she later learns is a boy. Throw in the standard parental neglect, and let the teen rebellion, angst, and secrecy begin!

If you are receptive to a teen-werewolf-romance series, there really are some things that distinguish this set of books from other teen romances, in addition to what I've already described. For one, Stiefvater takes a chance on making the main couple in the series a bit more sexual--a surprise in Scholastic books--if very subtly so. Additionally, the female lead doesn't lack for outside interests, practical skills, or ambition; she's a bit obsessed with her wolf, but she still makes the effort to figure out how he might fit into an actual life rather than making him her life. Other positive aspects of  TeenLit appear as well; the importance of loyalty, a need for critical thinking and decision making, and the introduction of current issues (the environment, animal cruelty) are key elements in the books.

I really want to end with a werewolf pun or quip here, but I'll restrain myself.  If you want to suggest a good one in the comments section below, though, I won't stop you.