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The New York Times Bestseller, Red Queen, is an incredible book that was written by Victoria Aveyard in 2015. It is also the first book out of the 6 in the Red Queen series.

In this book the world is divided into two parts, with lower and higher social classes. Those without powers are in the lower social class. They are called Reds because their blood is red, and their only purpose is to serve the Silver elite. In contrast, beings with supernatural abilities are in the higher social class. They are called Silvers because their blood is silver. They have any luxuries they desire and every Silver life is valued over the life of a Red.

This dystopian-fantasy book is about a young thief, 17-year-old Mare Barrow, who lives as a Red. She lives in a family of seven, including herself. Mare has her mother and her father, her younger sister Gisa, and her three older brothers Shade, Bree, and Tramy. Mare’s perfect sister Gisa is very gifted with a needle and thread, and Mare knows that Gisa will be more than capable of supporting their family when Mare is forced to go to war. Her three brothers don’t live with them though, because they were sent off to the war against Lakelanders once they turned eighteen, just like every other Red. Before they left for the war, each brother gave Mare a pair of stone earrings to split with her sister, as a token to remember them by.

Mare’s only real friend, Kilorn Warren, is a fisherman’s apprentice and a war orphan. Along with Kilorn, Mare watches the Feats of First Friday where Silvers fight against one another in an arena, and Reds are not allowed to brawl because they aren’t even close to being considered equals with the powerful Silvers.

When a power that Mare does not know she has is accidentally revealed, the Silver King must cover up the impossibility of a Red having powers. The Silver King’s fear causes him to give most people the belief that Mare is the long lost Silver princess of his personal friend who was a war hero. He then arranges the engagement between Mare and his son to cover up the fact that Mare is a Red with the same ability that Silvers possess.

Many are trying to uncover the mystery behind the “long lost princess”, and Mare’s power has mysterious attributes that are extremely different than others. Her power could expose her to everyone or end the rivalry and segregation of two different colors of blood.

I enjoyed this book so much that I finished reading it within a few days, and I look forward to reading the other books in this book series. The other books in the series include Glass Sword, Cruel Crown, King’s Cage, War Storm, and Broken Throne.

Without a doubt, I highly recommend this romance/violence novel for other teen readers who love independent women protagonists who will fight for their families. I rate this book at a 10/10.

Check out Red Queen from the Newport Beach Public Library!