by Maggie Stiefvater
First sentence: “This is going to be a story about the Lynch brothers.”
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Content: There is a lot of violence (and a pretty high body count) and swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It’s in the Teen section (grades 9+) of the bookstore.

Some non-spoilery things about Call Down the Hawk:

1. You don’t have to have read the Raven Cycle to enjoy this one. (But why haven’t you?)
2. It’s very much a first in a series book. There’s a LOT of set up, which takes most of the book, as Stiefvater lays down the groundwork to this world that’s similar to, but more expanded than, the one in the Raven Cycle.
3. Which means she’s introduced new elements into the Dreamer world. It’s made it a more realistic source of magic, I think.
4. She promised adventure, and by the end, there is tension and suspense and adventure.
5. Ronan-and-Adam are fine, if not physically together.
6. My favorite pages are 253-255.
7. Her writing is So. Damn. Beautiful. Even when writing about horrible things.
8. I liked the new characters — especially Hennessey and Jordan.
9. Surprisingly, I didn’t mind spending a whole book with Ronan (I was a bit worried about that) and I really liked Declan. A lot. He was always probably not a prick, but Ronan just thought he was so readers did too.
10. I’m curious to see where the next one goes.