Red Queen

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Dystopia, Romance, Magic.

Editorial: Orion

Year: 2015

Ranking: 3,8/ 5

  

Synopsis

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...

The Author

After growing up in small town Massachusetts, Victoria attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She graduated with a BFA in Screenwriting, which is exactly the degree being sought after in a recession.

She tries her best to combine her love of history, explosions, and butt-kicking heroines in her writing. Her hobbies include the impossible task of predicting what happens next in A Song of Ice and Fire, road trips, and burning through Netflix.

Personal Experience with This Book

This book has many mixed reviews, some people love it and others hate it. And, the reason for that hate is almost the same for everyone; the book is a combination of several dystopias that had been put on the market before. I find myself on the side of the people that liked the book. The story is interesting; it is a dystopia and thus has many elements that can be found in other dystopian books but I do not think that as a reason to demerit and say that's not a good book.

On the one hand, the plot is interesting, but there comes a time when it becomes predictable. I was not surprised by the way it ended and that made the book lose many points with me. In fact, I was just waiting for the “twist” to happen. It was too predictable. I think the author has a lot to improve in that sense because when they want to give these twists in the story one must know how to do it well for the reader to not expect it at all.

On the other we have the protagonist. Mare is sometimes hard to stand as a main character. Although she improves the story progress and comes to acquire a very good maturity. I think it will be interesting to see how she will continue becoming a stronger character as the series progresses.

What I liked the book was one of the protagonists. I felt in love with his personality and although I know that he also have much to learn I think great things will come for this character.

 I will continue with the trilogy because I think it will improve much from now on. I think it's a story that will get better with each book and I hope that the author knows to take a good way in the next books so the trilogy won’t go downhill.