“Humans were so circular; they lived the same slow cycles of joy and misery over and over, never learning. Every lesson in the universe had to be taught billions of times, and it never stuck. Maybe it was good that the world forgot every lesson, every good and bad memory, every triumph and failure, all of it dying with each generation. Perhaps this cultural amnesia spared them all. Perhaps if they remembered everything, hope would die instead.”
Title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle # 3
Publication: October 21st 2014 by Scholastic Press
Pages: 391
Source: Purchased
Summary from Goodreads:
There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.
The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.
Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.
My Thoughts:
Well, holy hell that was an adventure. I AM SO NOT OKAY RIGHT NOW! Too much death and too many feels, but I fucking loved it. Just… ARGH! The more of this series I read the more I am falling in love, and now there is only one left and I don’t know what to do with myself. Blue Lily, Lily Blue was just as intoxicating at the other books in The Raven Cycle have been, yet it also holds it own certain charms. Blue Lily, Lily Blue is one of those special books in a series: it transcends its middle heritage and transforms into something other, something else entirely. It is a black hole that I will forever willingly dive into, that much is certain.
I honestly think this book is my favorite part of the series (so far, because I haven’t read The Raven King yet). It both continues the mystical reality of the first two books and raises everything to a whole new level, all while keeping you on your toes as you try to figure out just what the hell is going on before it is too late. There are new characters, old and well loved characters, and everything in between. There are caves of bones, beautifully broken down cars, and so much magic you might just have to reread to make sure you are not going insane. Blue Lily, Lily Blue is the kind of book in a series that changes the game entirely – and boy, can I just say OHMYYGOOODNNEESSS!
I mean, there is no logical way that I could ever possibly explain any of this in such a way as to make you understand if you haven’t already read it. Blue Lily, Lily Blue is in its own playing field – hell, this entire series in its own playing field. Maggie Stiefvater has created something that I, and many others, have never seen before and will likely never see again because it is just that fucking awesome – anything remotely close to it will pale in comparison. The whole scope of things is epic and beautiful and creative and so, so damn enchanting.
The pace is better than it has been with the other books – because those have started off a lot slower, but Blue Lily, Lily Blue kind of just grabs you by the throat and drags you along behind it while singing manically – sort of like a certain character introduced in this installment. Pair that together with poetic writing that will literally melt your eyeballs with its sheer perfection, and BAM! You got yourself a damn good book and an even better series.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue is whimsically terrifying. Just what is real? What is time? What is life? What is living? Part of the charm of this whole series, this book included, lies in the fact that it is so utterly bizarre yet so completely real at the same time – it blows your mind. The third installment of The Raven Cycle was no exception, and I’ll be damned if it isn’t the best book yet. With a cliffhanger that will leave you hanging upside down by your toenails and lyrical prose that will knock your socks off to make said hanging ten million times easier, Blue Lily, Lily Blue is ridiculously good. An overwhelming sense of otherness. Forbidden love. Hidden caves. Crazy ass witches. Hell to the fucking yes.
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