City News

Seventeen-year-old red-blooded Mare Barrow lives in an extremely impoverished world where humans exist with different blood colors; those with silver blood, or Silvers, have special powers and are essentially considered gods, able to live in the most wealthy of situations and get whatever they want, while a majority of the red-blooded people, or Reds, are peasants who must do the bidding of Silvers. Conniving and calculating, Mare must thieve her way through life to support her family, doing whatever it takes to keep them afloat. A skilled pickpocket, Mare, along with her childhood best friend Kilorn Warren, navigate the streets together to steal money to survive. One day, Kilorn, having turned eighteen, is conscripted into the king’s army, essentially a death wish; Mare, who is desperate to help Kilorn, begins to frantically pickpocket people and unknowingly pickpockets the crown prince of her homeland, the Kingdom of Norta. The prince, Cal, has compassion for her and gets her a job as a maid in the palace, where she works amongst other Reds who serve the Silvers. One day, an incident occurs that changes Mare’s life forever, and she is suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into the life of a Silver princess. In a world filled with betrayal and deceit, will Mare be able to stay alive despite having the odds against her? 

Red Queen, author Victoria Aveyard’s debut novel, completely shatters the boundaries of previous dystopian novels, causing everyone to reimagine the innumerable possibilities that can be explored within a single genre. The first book in a tetralogy, Red Queen reels the reader in, leaving them hooked and thirsty for more. Aveyard’s writing style allows the story to flow smoothly and concisely, while still leaving a sufficient amount of details. Anyone who reads this novel will surely yearn for more after being hooked to its intricate, detailed characters. 

An exceptionally fascinating topic discussed in Red Queen is its seemingly never ending layers of betrayal, which are alluded to throughout the novel, yet still unpredictable enough to keep the reader filled with anticipation. The suspense filling the novel is intricately weaved from each character’s personalities and actions, leaving the reader to guess at the motives behind certain behaviors. 

Red Queen follows Mare as she finds her way through life as a royal, an extremely jarring change from her previous destitute life. Despite the fact that Mare is completely unused to the constant social, physical, and psychological changes she experiences, her shrewd manner allows her to quickly acclimate herself to her surroundings. However, she also finds herself drawn into devious plots devised by the ones around her she thought she could trust, another element that makes her choose between what her heart and her head tells her to do.  

Those who enjoyed reading Kiera Cass’s The Selection or Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo will be fond of Red Queen as well. As another book with a strong female lead, Red Queen explores the ideas of power and its all-consuming properties, as well as what can be considered morals and where to place trust. Even though it was released in only 2015, Red Queen quickly became one of the most sought-after dystopian novels, and for good reason--it truly is one of the best books in its genre, one that everyone can savor. 

Check out the Red Queen from the Newport Beach Public Library.