All the Crooked Saints

Maggie Stiefvater has a fantastic ability to create interesting characters and then slowly making you love them. This book is another amazing example of that. I loved the miracles, hope, love, owls and rooster of this story. It was set in a place that I don't relate too with beliefs that are not mine but by the end of the book I felt like they could be. It is so well written. I marked a large stack of quotes from this book, because I just love how Stiefvater words things. Here are a few of my favorites. "No one wanted to see their darkness made manifest, but the reality was it could not be fought until you saw its shape." "Pete put his voice right by Beatriz's ear so that his breath warmed her skin and he began to sing. It has nothing extravagant, just Patsy Cline sung in his low and uneven voice, and they began to dance. It was very quiet. No one else would have seen it if not for the desert. But when the desert heard Pete Wyatt singing a love song, it took notice. The desert loved him, after all, and wanted him happy." "He remained as calm as he possibly could, so calm the rooster would be able to feel this serenity and adopt it for itself, or at the very least, to prevent anger from turning to fear." "She found it depressing, how fast memories were replaced by rumors. Tragedy left behind such subtle artifacts." "Humans are drawn to hope as owls are drawn to miracles. It only takes the suggestion of it to stir them up and the eagerness lingers for a while even when all traces of it are gone."

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book when I started it. The prose has a playful, whimsical style and while it still retains Stiefvater's distinctive voice, it was a little more wry and fanciful than most of her other books. Usually I find this kind of style rather off-putting; I was prepared for this book to be one the one of Stiefvater's I just didn't like very much. In the end, it surprised me, though. While I never felt like we really get the chance to know the characters here like we might if the book were longer or a little more emotionally driven, I did find most of them likable, and I enjoyed reading about them. Beatriz especially was a surprising breath of fresh air; I would love to see more ya characters like her. The plot, though a bit meandering, comes to a fairly satisfying, if bizarre resolution (this is, I think, to be expected from Stiefvater's books, and it's one of the things I like about them). There's a little bit of magic everywhere in the book; it's interwoven with the setting in clever, fantastic ways. Overall, I enjoyed All the Crooked Saints more for its heart than anything else: it's a very kind, very gentle book, but it doesn't shy back from making it's point. We've all got a little darkness in us, and even though we may need help to deal with that, it's still, ultimately, up to us to make the decision to do so.

Let me start by saying that Maggie Stiefvater's Raven boy series is one of my favorites. I had been eagerly looking forward to this latest book of hers (All the Crooked Saints). And when I started reading it I wasn't sure that I could push through to finish it. But I felt like it might be worth it to persevere so I began by reading it in sips (Not my usual approach). It was difficult to get into for two reasons. The first was because there are so many characters all at once with so many little stories and you don't really care about any of them yet. The second was that the very nature of the book is massively unusual. It is written in a tall tale style. It reminded me of Maniac McGee (the book) and Paul Bunyan and the dream weaving in the Raven boy series. It is essentially an endless series of pataphors (a metaphor made real that takes on a reality of its own). This technique was also similar to the book The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Magic in books is often more significant when it conveys insights into the characters. That is what is happening here. But reading it was difficult because each sentence and description and magical exaggeration or transformation has meaning and you have to think about it and you still aren't really invested in the characters. And then I began to understand what she was getting at, what the book wanted to convey and I wanted to know would it end in a hopeful message? (Spoilers after this point proceed at your own risk...) The moment that I started to understand was when I saw the miracles that had been performed on the guests at Bicho Raro. I had been misled by the word miracle. What happens to the people is that their darkness, their inner demons/ deepest flaws, are made tangible and visible to others. But there is a problem because they often cannot understand how to undo this transformation. So they are stuck in their chrysalis form, unable to transform because they still do not see or understand what their problem is and how to be different. This book is essentially about psychology, and whether people are ultimately responsible for changing themselves or whether they need guidance. It is about healing through sharing of stories and acceptance. It is about whether we can be helped by people who don't have the wisdom to understand themselves yet. What is therapy? Is it the holding up of a mirror to the patient until they see themselves fully? Is it about the strength of will to survive these truths? Is it a desire to truly change, finally? Is it about the wisdom or kindness of the therapist? Is it love? Is it forgiveness of and kindness to yourself? These are the questions that this book addresses. It doesn't give you all the answers, it doesn't delve very deeply into truly dark conflicts, but it makes you think. It was worth reading even if the first part had to be pushed through like molasses. And it is the most unique book that I have read in a while and I read a lot.

The feel I got from this book was a curious mix of Mad Men of the 1960s, Paulo Coelho philosophical, Encanto type of magic and…Pixar’s Cars naivete. Yeah, don’t laugh. Read it and see. For generations, the Soria family are miracle workers. Literally. They perform miracles in Bicho Raro, Colorado and pilgrims flock there to receive their miracles. But everything comes with a price. You can’t interfere with miracles or your darkness gets you. When Pete and Tony arrive in town, one in search of a job and a truck and the other a burnout DJ, things starts chaning for the Sorias. I’m glad I read the book - it turned beautiful and angsty and hopeful around the 50% mark, so keep reading through the first 100pages. The storytelling & philosophical take on miracles and human lives reminded me of Coelho a bit, but it’s a unique book that blends heartache with hope its main message being that miracle workers and saints need to sort themselves out, too. I like how for every character the author listed what they wanted most and what they feared. I liked how Danile, the Saint was a hellion growing up. I liked the strange and wonderful ways people’s miracles manifested - someone was turned a giant and someone else parroted everything back at people - until they resolved whatever it was they needed to come to terms with. Recommended if you love Coleho’s books, books about miracles and enchanting family drama sagas of the Encanto and Coco.

I cannot deny that this is an engaging story once you get into it. Maggie Stiefvater always writes interesting characters that draw the reader in, and blended with the fascinating and often magical world, makes for a story that is very difficult to put down. This is the story of a Mexican American family with an unusual and devastating family gift (and curse,) and the younger generation’s pirate radio, of all things. Beatriz, who believes that she has no feelings; her cousin Joaquin, who has dreams much bigger than his family’s famous compound; outsider Pete, who is just there for the truck, the rest of the Soria family and the pilgrims who came to them in the Colorado desert in the 1960s, eventually come to confront individual issues large and small with the help of a little music. It took me, I discovered at the end, three years to read this book. Shortly after I bought it, I set it aside to do other things, and then there came a lot of controversy surrounding the specific culture in which the story is set. I cannot comment on that because I am also an outsider. I will say that it made it tough to love this story as much as the Raven Boys, and that is a shame. In the end, I will say this was a good read. It is unfortunate that it also feels like it could have been more. There are ways that the story may have been enriched. Instead it is left feeling slightly divorced of the community that made it possible.

What a beautiful book. For me, this is a new level for Stiefvater. I stumbled on her Raven Cycle staying with friends when I raided their daughter's excellent YA collection. The Raven books are great - beautifully written and engaging, but I did feel that plot-wise it was appropriately a bit more targeted to someone younger than I am. (I remember the 80s pretty clearly - wince.) The writing and character development knocked me out. So I picked up AtCS with pleasure, but was still caught off guard by how good it is. The writing is so delicious that it is one of those rare books I made myself read slowly. Early on the passage about the desert returning love led me to actually close the book because I wanted to sit with the words for a while. For all the extravagant beauty of her writing here, Stiefvater maintains her ability to create characters that catch the imagination and heart. AtCS has a wonderful compassion and sense of humanity that writers of magical realism often lose. The experience reminds me of when - a long time ago - I read Jonathan Carrol's early books. As well known as she already is, Maggie Stiefvater should be a bigger star in literary fiction - whatever that means these days.

I've had trouble reading Stiefvater's non-Raven Cycle books and so I had my doubts about this new, original, one-off in between Raven Cycle and the much-anticipated, prophesied Ronan Cycle. While it's an off-bear departure for the author, it's no less full of epic beauty, deep, heartfelt characters, a place that is as vibrant and alive as the people who live in it, and prose that is perfect poetry every other line. Even between work and sleep, I marathoned through it only two days and left feeling intensely satisfied. Stiefvater has grown in leaps and bounds since her days of writing Shiver and the Scorpio Races. Her prose is so wise sometimes that it gives me a staggering sense of vertigo, wondering what kind of person could have this kind of insight into the human condition and still be a mere mortal. Even though it's not the Raven Cycle, which, to be perfectly frank, is the greatest book series I've ever read or will ever read, Crooked Saints did not disappoint and has proven to be another Medal of Honor in Stiefvater's ever expanding portfolio of master works. PS: I love you, Maggie. Never stop writing and be wonderful for as long as there are sunrises.

Another Christmas book! And with a beautiful cover! I’ll admit that this book started very slowly for me. To be fair, I was about 4 hours into an 8-hour flight thru the night, but it was still slow. I was even considering DNF-ing it, but I decided to stick with it. I am glad I did, but I also don’t think I’ll ever read this book again. It was definitely more on the philosophical side, but very vague. I had to try to clamp down on my inner shallowness to make sure I understood everything. I still don’t think I got it all, but by the time I finished, I was satisfied with the story and took a lot of good things from it. It picked up about halfway thru. I liked the characters, I liked Stiefvater’s writing style, the setting was excellent, the imagination was beautiful. I liked the message that everyone has darkness inside them, nobody is perfect. There was a selflessness that came thru from the Soria family that I really loved. And if everyone could be like Pete Wyatt, I think most of the problems of the world wouldn’t exist! Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. Definitely for the more advanced reader.

Always poetic verse. This one will stay with you.

Compre este libro en una oferta por solo $139 Y ¡wow! la portada es bellisima,de un material suave y brilloso. En cuanto a la historia es poco convencional y magico. No es lo mejor de la autora,pero si haz leido a la autora antes,no creo que te decepciones.

No me atrevía a empezar a leer en inglés y me arriesgue con este libro. Teniendo un nivel mediamente decente de inglés puedes leerlo sin problemas. Aconsejo tener siempre a mano un traductor por si hay alguna palabra o frase que no os encaje o no sepais su significado.

I'm always worried after loving a book series that I won't love the next one the Author releases. So I go in timidly into reading and try not to expect as good a book. Well for me this book was even better than her Raven cycle series. As good as the first book is in that series, its the second book that in that series that truly shines. This doesn't need a second book it's a perfect jewel all on its own. I loved how the magical realism is incorporated into the story. I feel so real like I could take a trip there to have my miracle. Can't wait to read what Stiefvater beings out next.

Sou já fã da autora tem algum tempo, e estava bem animada para poder ler esse livro. Os personagens são incríveis e a magia que permeia toda a história - e todas as histórias no meio - é aconchegante e assustadora. O livro é quintessencialmente humano, em suas formas mais feias e belas. Mas, vou admitir, a história dobra-se sobre si mesma mais do que eu gostaria. Parece que tinha muito a dizer, e detalhes que poderiam ser explorados como contos - sobretudo nos dias de hoje com publicações digitais - deixaram o texto empapupaçado em alguns pontos. Mas, se for o seu estilo, acho que talvez seja até um ponto alto ao invés de algo a criticar