Leigh Charlton, Reporter
@leighcourant
A review of The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.
This young-adult novel took the book community by storm when it was released last February. As the publication of its sequel, The Throne of Glass, approaches (February 9, people!), anticipation and interest in the series is growing.
Here’s a short preview for your benefit:
The Red Queen follows Mare Barrow, an impoverished nineteen-year-old girl with no career skills. Her three older brothers serve in the same, continuous war that took the leg of her father. Without an apprenticeship or valid profession, all men and women of the lower class are shipped off to war. As Mare’s only talent is pickpocketing, she knows that she, like her brothers, is doomed to be conscripted and consumed in the massive war that her country has been involved in for generations. A chance encounter changes her luck- Mare is summoned to the king’s summer palace to work as a servant for the upper class Silvers.
The society that Mare lives in is divided by more than just social class. Her world is split into two groups- the Silvers and the Reds, differentiated by the color of their blood. This difference translates over to class divisions, where the wealthy and powerful Silvers dominate the upper levels of the social system, while Reds live a life of poverty at the bottom. With silver blood comes an innate ability passed on through Silver families. These powers may be controlling water, manipulating thoughts, incredible strength, or other gifts. Like all Reds, Mare is ordinary. She lacks the powers of the Silvers…or so she thinks.
In one moment, Mare is swept into the world of Silvers. The king and queen, fearing the threat to stability that she poses, mask her as a long-lost Silver princess to hide Mare’s impossible existence: a girl with all the power and might of a silver, and blood as red as a rose.
Here are my thoughts:
- The story is almost a mash-up of other popular books and movies, namely Graceling, X-Men and the Hunger Games. If you liked those, you will probably like this.
- There’s a love…quadrilateral. I really have no idea what’s going on. Mare has more love interests than I care to keep track of.
- This girl is just a big ball of tension; so many secrets, so many inner conflicts. As a result, she spends most of the book feeling confused or angry. This is occasionally frustrating.
- The conclusion is glorious. Slightly horrifying. The setting gets a little mixed up, but I’m willing to forgive them for that because the ending was just shy of spectacular.
- Even if the plot had been boring, I probably would’ve read the book anyway, just to hear more about the powers of the Silvers. There are dozens of varieties, and each ability is well-thought out and detailed.
★★★★☆
