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Writer's pictureOlivia Slack

Book Review: Call Down the Hawk


Art by Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater has been one of my favorite authors ever since I read her Raven Cycle series three summers ago. While finding time to read between classes has been hard, I was finally able to finish her newest book, Call Down the Hawk, during winter break. Call Down the Hawk, published in 2019, is the first book in the Dreamer Trilogy, a sequel series that follows the original Raven Cycle series and focuses on Ronan Lynch and several other “dreamers.” This book is action-packed, heart-wrenching and full of new and interesting characters.


Ronan and the other dreamers in Call Down the Hawk already have enough trouble controlling the dream creatures and objects that come to life when they awaken. If that wasn’t enough, there is also a group of “Moderators” hunting them down because of their potential to bring about the end of the world if they so much as dream about it. While Ronan tries to lead a nondescript life and enjoy his long-distance relationship with boyfriend Adam, there is inevitable calamity involving his dreamer legacy that disrupts his plans and throws him into a life-threatening conflict. While fans of the Raven Cycle will enjoy Ronan’s chapters, Adam’s appearances and the book’s references to other Raven Cycle characters Gansey and Blue, there are also many other new, fascinating, troubled characters featured. Discovering the stories of young art forger Hennessy (pictured as drawn by the author above), Ronan’s carefully boring older brother Declan and Moderator Carmen Farooq-Lane were highlights for me. Maggie Stiefvater has always been able to skillfully wind together seemingly separate stories into one complex strand, and Call Down the Hawk is no different.

Image courtesy of Barnes & Noble

Call Down the Hawk had me rooting for characters I knew I shouldn’t root for and hoping for happy endings I knew there wouldn’t be (not yet, at least — I’m holding out hope for Mister Impossible, the second book in the trilogy, coming out this year). I was astonished to find myself loving Declan, whom I’d found decidedly detestable when he’d made brief appearances in the Raven Cycle, and I was utterly intrigued by the mystery and tragedy surrounding Hennessy. The book unfolds as if it’s a mystery novel and is a promising start to a trilogy I know I’ll devour with the same relish I have all of Maggie Stiefvater’s other books. Anyone who enjoys fantasy and gritty, realistic characters will no doubt enjoy Call Down the Hawk.


By Olivia Slack, Co-Editor in Chief

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