Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Rating: 4/5
This novel’s world is separated between two groups: the Silvers, who are the higher classes and have special powers, and the Reds, who live to serve. Enter Mare Barrow, a Red who suddenly displays the special powers that the Silvers prize. Mare, who’s sympathies obviously will lie with the Reds, must now infiltrate the Silvers and pretend to be like them.
This is a really good mix of genres — it has fantasy, romance, mystery, action and drama all rolled into one with a healthy dose of dystopian tropes. Although I feel like we could’ve used more world building, the general storyline was very interesting. It does have a bit of The Selection and Hunger Games into it — I mean, some aspects quite literally made me stop and briefly wonder if it was a fanfiction blown out of control — but that just made me love it so much more. I loved The Selection, and the Hunger Games remains one of my favourite YA trilogy, so to read a book in between was a lovely treat.
On that note, it’ll make a kick-ass movie someday (because yes, the rights have been purchased)!
I read several reviews that gaped at the few plot twists… but I saw them coming a mile away, unfortunately. There’s a lot of foreshadowing to the ending, however, so it’s hard to get completely blindsided by this book, in my opinion.
I definitely recommend picking up a copy of this book this summer!