Opal

Opal (2018) Maggie Stiefvater

This is a short story set after the conclusion of the Raven Boys story, The Raven King. Although Adam and Ronan are in the story, it is all from the point of view of Opal, the dream creature that Ronan brought into the world with him.

In dreams, Ronan was always getting into trouble, and even though he often died, equally as often Opal saved him because she was an excellent dreamthing and a psychopomp (which is the proper name for an excellent dreamthing).

Being a dream creature, Opal has an unusual view of the world–and of Adam and Ronan, which makes it a very interesting point-of-view.

Opal came to understand that Adam’s car was supposed to be more like Ronan’s, but there was something wrong with it called shitbox. Ronan kept offering to dream a cure for shitbox, but Adam was intent on fixing it “the right way.” This seemed to be a long process, so Ronan’s car was often missing, as Adam used it in his mysterious comings and goings.

In this story we get a (very distant and strange) look at the summer after school ends but before Adam leaves for college.

Even though Opal went away herself plenty, she did not like the idea of Adam going someplace because he might get old and die without coming back.

This is not a story for someone who has not read the Raven Boys series, because you most likely won’t get most of what is happening with Adam and Ronan. But it’s a fascinating story because Opal’s view of the world is quite strange and very fractured.

Plus, if you read the series, you most likely want just a tiny bit more of Adam and Ronan.
Rating: 7/10

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

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