Well to start, as a YA novel, I liked the writing - which is big. The author did a great job with "show don't tell," which lacks a lot in the YA genre, and I didn't feel written down to at all. The plot about the ley line and it's magical and historical connections was really interesting and seemed pretty original to me, as far as within this genre anyways. It was interesting that this whole first novel was more about finding the "magic" than already knowing/accepting that it's there, which is a creative approach - all the more so because the it didn't come from the typical "denial of magic" POV that I find it generally used when characters "discover" that magic is real. And because of that, the book was much more grounded in reality than I had anticipated. In any case, I liked the inclusion of psychics and their different skills, as well as Blue's special enhancement powers. And I am interested in seeing the path that the story about her father takes. As far as Blue herself, I do love an eccentric "heroine." She was both feminine and empowered in a way that seemed wholly realistic, and I liked that. I also enjoyed the women she lives with, their separate personalities coming together to kind of creating one whole personality in a cool way. My jury is still out on the Raven Boys themselves. The way they were presented here was a good start, but they also seemed, to this point, a little too flat, too defined by just one thing/principle... However, there is a lot of time left for growth, so for now I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt and see what happens. Noah though - really cool idea. And Ronan - why is there never a section written from his POV? I mean we even got Whelk's, and I see not getting Noah's, but why not Ronan? Interesting... And possibly it will be explained, because even though I feel like it was way too out of the blue (too much effort at a last second cliff hanger?), his line about bringing Chainsaw out of his dreams leaves a lot of space to learn more about him in the next book(s). I'm excited to see what happens next though, because the setting created was compelling and real.