Red Queen

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Genre: dystopia, action, YA
Pages: 388
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Mare Barrow lives in a world divided by two blood types: red and silver.  The reds are the laborers- the workers.  They slave away in their grimy villages, supplying the silvers with every leisurely need.  The silvers are the nobles.  They sit in their mansions, or their expensive flats in the capital of the country, laughing at the insignificance of the reds.  There is one special thing about the silvers, though: they have a special ability, each of them.  Some have the strength of a giant, some can bend the rays of the sun at their will, some can leek into the minds of their neighbors.  It is these abilities that create a rift between society.  The kingdom is so cleanly divided that nobody quite knows what to do when one day, Mare Barrow, common red, quite obtrusively shoots lightning out of the palm of her hand directly at the new queen-to-be- by accident. 

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This book was fantastic! It was choke full of action, and there was a twist around every corner. This was definitely worth my time, and I can't wait for the next one to come out. 

As you can see from the summary, this book is a dystopian book.  I for one, love dystopia, and if you do to, you should definitely pick this book up. What drove me to read this was probably just how popular it was, so, I figured, I might as well see what all the hype was about.  It definitely has a Throne of Glass feel to it, along with a Hunger Games sort of social system.  That being said, this is a book entirely of its own sort, so don't be afraid of picking up some repeat dystopia book. 

The actual story telling of this book was down right phenomenal. When you start reading a dystopian book, or at least a book that takes place in its own world with its own ways of society, you usually get some amount of information dump.  The author explains all the rules and ways of society all at once, or as needed. That never actually happens in Red Queen.  This is how you can see just how great of a writer Victoria Aveyard is. She doesn't tell you all the background information, she shows you it. If you're a writer, you've probably heard that term before: Show, don't tell; and that's exactly what Aveyard does.  She doesn't tell you that Silvers are viewed as superior to Reds, she shows you through the two interacting in society.  She doesn't tell you that only Silvers have abilities, she shows you when everyone is shocked at Mare possessing a power. Having a good story is only half of the equation, you also need to be a good storyteller. 

So.... moving on to the characters. There are a lot of characters in this book, and sometimes it can be a little hard to keep track of them all, especially since a lot of them have odd names.  However, the major characters are very complex, and their personalities are strongly developed.  There is no bad guy and good guy.  Every character has a little bit of each in them. 

The action and suspense in this book is great, and you should definitely give it a shot!  It also has a great lesson in treating all people as your equal.  So go read this book, and remember, "power is a dangerous game".