The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
"In school, we learned about the world before ours, about the angels and gods that lived in the sky, ruling the Earth with kind and loving hands. Some say those are just stories, but I don't believe that. The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind."
This is a world divided by blood - red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.
X-Men powers in a dystopian world. Red bloods are powerless, silver bloods hold all of the super powers. Or so we think, until Mare is discovered to have powers AND red blood (dum dum dum...) Hang with her as she is forced to deceive the world and pretend she actually has silver blood. Better hope she doesn't get cut...
Why is Mare the world's best girl? Maven, Cal, and Kilorn are all obsessed with her. We know she's not particularly pretty by the way she describes herself in the book. And the whole thing is from her perspective so we also know that she's not a charmer. What am I missing...?I'm surprised I like this series bc mare kind of sucks. Like a paragraph of her thinking and then an italicized succinct thought. That sums up mare pretty easily. Don't believe me? Here's a random excerpt from the book.
"That sends a new stab of fear through me. If I'm captured, if I tell them what little I know - what will they do to my family? to Kilorn? To the Stilts?They cannot catch me."
Regardless the series (even upon rereading this book in prep for book 4) holds something in it. It's not completely original but it's still fresh. It's world building is realistic and you can feel the weight of oppression the reds have to bear. The characters are written well and the twists aren't predictable - you know there is going to be a twist, but you don't know what it's going to be.If you're into dystopian tales this would be enjoyable for you . If you hate love triangles or squares, like me, you can make it through this book and still enjoy it. It just makes it a little less amazing.
Eat: grapes (it just seems like something the luxurious silvers would be eating)Watch: The Gladiator (Watch is a strong term. Maybe watch the trailer)Listen to: Jolene (I like the Miley Cyrus cover myself but feel free to go full on Dolly Parton)
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Keep reading to read guest blogger's, Hawk, review of this book!
