The Dream Thieves

The second book in The Raven Cycle series, The Dream Thieves is the 2013 young-adult fantasy romance novel by American author Maggie Stiefvater. Set during the summertime in the fictional town of Henrietta, Virginia, the story follows Ronan Lynch, a Raven Boy who has the secret ability to bring items out of his dreams. When Ronan and his fellow Raven Boys continue the search for the dead Welsh King Glendower, his secret ability is exposed, leading to a harrowing journey of adventure and survival. Ronan must face The Gray Man, an adversary looking to steal Ronan’s secret, which he believes is a physical object called the Graywaren. As Ronan reckons with his family’s buried secrets, The Raven Boys must summon the strength to defeat their foes and protect Ronan’s powers. The Dream Thieves has been called “mind-blowingly spectacular” by Kirkus Reviews, and “more intense and foreboding than its predecessor” by Publishers Weekly.

It’s summertime in Henrietta, Virginia. Ronan Lynch tells fellow Raven Boys, Adam, Gansey, and the ghost of Noah that he has the ability to bring items from his dreams into the real world. This is a secret ability Ronan’s father, Niall, also possessed before dying at the onset of the book series, a secret he told Ronan to keep to himself. At the Aglionby Academy, the private school the boys attend, Ronan’s brother, Declan, is attacked by The Gray Man, a sinister being who was hired to locate the Graywaren. The Graywaren is the secret ability Ronan possesses, but The Gray Man and his employers think it’s a tangible object that can be physically retrieved. Declan keeps quiet and is left badly beaten. The boys meet Blue Sargent, Gansey’s romantic interest, who learns she will die if she kisses her true love. The boys also meet Joseph Kavinsky at a diner and recruit him on their mission to find the dead Welsh King, Owen Glendower.

Searching for Glendower in the woods behind Aglionby Academy, the ley lines of Henrieta are suddenly awakened. A surge of energy pulses through the town, causing Noah’s ghost to disappear. Meanwhile, attempting to find the Graywaren, The Gray Man visits, ingratiating himself with Blue’s mother, Maura. Ronan and Declan argue over their father’s will; Ronan won’t inherit what is left to him if he flunks out of school or causes too much trouble. Niall’s will instructs the boys to never return to The Barns, their childhood home. However, Ronan longs to return home to see his mother. Instead, the boys head to the magical forest of Cabeswater, which has suddenly disappeared. Ronan has more nightmares and pulls out two Night-Horrors, giant killer birdlike-creatures. Ronan and Gansey slay one of them, but the other flees. The boys bury the creature at The Barns, disobeying Niall’s will. Upon entering their childhood house, they realize all the animals are inanimate, suggesting they’re all dream-creatures. They learn Ronan’s mother was also one of Niall’s dream-creatures. When Adam touches a mask in the house that Ronan saw him wearing in one of his nightmares, Ronan attacks Adam.



Blue returns home to find The Gray Man courting Maura. They go on a date, during which The Gray Man kisses Maura. Meanwhile, a robbery at Monmouth Manufacturing implicates Kavinsky, although The Gray Man was the one responsible. Ronan and Gansey confront Kavinsky, but he claims innocence. Despite her kissing rule, Blue decides to kiss Noah since he is already dead. Ronan returns to The Barns and is attacked by the escaped Night-Horror.

Back in Henrietta, Ronan races Kavinsky in Gansey’s Camaro and crashes. Kavinsky consoles Ronan and confesses that he also has the ability to bring things out of his dreams. Kavinsky shows Ronan how to lift items from his dreams at will by using sleeping pills. After many attempts, Ronan dreams up a perfect replica of Gansey’s crashed Camaro. Elated at first, Ronan soon realizes the ley line beneath Henrietta has been awoken due to Kavinsky’s overactive dream-stealing, thereby causing Cabeswater to disappear. Blue breaks up with Adam, knowing her heart belongs to Gansey. While taking a drive, Blue and Gansey share an intimate moment but stop just shy of kissing, thereby saving Blue’s life. The Gray Man discovers that the Graywaren isn’t a physical object. He confronts Maura, who confesses the Graywaren is one of the Raven Boys before sleeping with him. At a bed-in-breakfast, The Gray Man admits to knowing Ronan is the Graywaren, and that he was the one who killed Niall. The Gray Man also admits to falling in love with Maura, and as a result, decides against bringing Ronan to his employer. Because of this, The Gray Man is murdered by his own brother at the request of his employer.

At Kavinsky’s Fourth of July Party, Kavinsky kidnaps Matthew and stuffs him in the trunk of his Mitsubishi. Kavinsky drugs himself in order to elicit dream-objects. Ronan, Gansey, and Blue attend the party. Ronan realizes that Kavinsky’s overactive dreaming could lead to Noah’s permanent disappearance. Ronan confronts Kavinsky with time running out, just as Adam works to repair the ley line so Ronan can use it. Upon confrontation, Kavinsky expresses his romantic feelings for Ronan. When Ronan doesn’t reciprocate, Kavinsky conjures a dragon to attack Ronan. Ronan sees Niall in Cabeswater, who claims the boy has access to a hidden will as a Graywaren. Ronan stops hating himself, which defeats the Night-Horrors that were feeding on his self-loathing. Upon waking, Ronan finds Matthew. Kavinsky sacrifices himself to the dragon. The story ends with Ronan rewriting Niall’s will as a dream-object, allowing the brothers to return to The Barns. Ronan takes his mother to Cabeswater, where she is revived and reunited with Ronan and Matthew.



Maggie Stiefvater is the New York Times bestselling author of The Raven Cycle series, The Books of Faerie series, The Wolves of Mercy Falls series, and many others. Her latest novel, All the Crooked Saints, was published in 2017.