RED QUEEN

Aveyard, V. (2015). Red Queen. New York: HarperTeen.

The protagonist of this fantasy novel is seventeen Mare Barrow. In Mare’s world there is a distinct divide amongst the citizenry. People are either red-blooded (Reds) or silver-blooded (Silvers.) The latter group is the ruling class because they have special powers and abilities. The elitist Silvers thus subjugate the Reds to a harsh life and war service.

Mare and her family are Reds and are on the brink of utter poverty. Her father was heavily wounded in war and her older brothers are all on the frontlines. The family gets by on what her sister Gisa makes as a seamstress. Mare contributes what she can via pickpocketing, but she is wary of getting jailed again and she is also worried about the fast approaching date of her military conscription.

She and her best friend Farley meet the leader of the clandestine Scarlet Guard. He agrees to help them escape military service for the price of two thousand Crowns. She plans to obtain this by robbing from the royals during their summer vacation. Unfortunately, the only thing she is able to obtain is a crushed hand when she is caught attempting to pickpocket. When she shares her story with the wealthy Cal, he arranges a job for with the Royals. (Turns our Cal is actually PRINCE Cal and heir to the throne.)

During the Queenstrial- a marriage competition to see who is worthy of the princes, Mare falls and it is discovered that she had latent lightning powers. No one can explain how a Red can have Silver powers so an elaborate story is fabricated, Mare is pledged to Cal’s brother Maven and her brother’s safe return from the frontlines is bartered. She, however, cannot get over her hate for the Silvers and joins the Scarlet Guard. Surprisingly, her betrothed joins her stating but he soon betrays her. He used her to destroy the Guard so that he could become king. The cliffhanger ending finds Mare avowing to kill him.

This book is reminiscent of the Graceling trilogy and would be a good match for high school students with a penchant for swashbuckling adventure and strong female leads.