“Anyone can betray anyone.”
-Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen
Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard, was first published in 2010. This book gave me chills! It reminded me why I love reading so much!
Alright friends, Red Queen is a YA, fantasy, dystopian novel with so many subgenres. To me, it was like a combination of Hunger Games and the Selection Series. (If you haven’t read those, you’re missing out!) I’ve known about this book for years, but never got around to reading it. Finally, I gave it a shot and got the audiobook version of the book. Without further a due, let’s dive in!
The Plot:
In this dystopian world, there are Reds and Silvers. The Reds are people with red blood, your basic human. The Silvers have silver blood and superpowers. The Silvers rule the world, living in luxury, priding themselves on their strength and their abilities. The Reds are treated like slaves, left to live in the slums of the world, forever serving the Silvers and being treated as less than human.
Mare Barrow is just like any other Red. She’s seventeen, poor, and steals whatever she can to help her family survive. That is until she finds herself with a job in the palace that changes her life. After an accident, she realizes she has powers of her own, something no one has ever heard of. Both Red and Silver. To hide her abnormality, she is betrothed to the Silver prince when a Red group of rebels, the Red Guard, enlists her help in fighting for the rights of her people.
The Characters:
Our main character, Mare, is a fierce girl bent on never kneeling at the feet of others. Her character is so human, so relatable that it makes you root for her more and more. The two Silver princes are like polar opposites, each playing a crucial role in their world. You never know who you can trust, who is really lying, and who is truly on your side.
There are many characters in this story with their own intentions and their own secret plans. Each one is unique and crafted in such a way that you can never compare one to the other.
The Writing:
If you’re someone that is looking for a little bit of romance, a lot of twists and cliffhangers, this book is definitely for you. Sometimes you come across a book and think every single line is quotable. Well, this is that book. As if without trying, Victoria Aveyard managed to tie in so many themes into her story, it makes the entire plot feel deeper than words on a page.
The pace of the story keeps you from stopping. You finish the book dying for more of the author’s heart-wrenching words of raw truth.
If this sounds like your next read, give it a try! If you’re into audiobooks, this story is also narrated beautifully. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fantasy story, a bit of action, and world rebellion. But beware. Once you start, prepare to be betrayed, prepare to lose a part of yourself. Because once you open your heart, there is no going back.
-R.E. Klinzing
R.E. KLINZING 