Book Review: Red Queen

by Victoria Aveyard

Tweet Synopsis: Reds, the working lower class and Silvers the magical upper class have never seen eye to eye #untilnow #strongfemale #amazingbook 

Why Did I Pick It Up: A perk of working at the library is that to kick off the Summer Reading Program we have a party called "Sneak Peak." The best part is that we save back books and we get to "pre-read" them. This book has been on my list since the beginning of the year and I was so excited to take it home. 

Favorite Character: Maven ... especially in the middle

Genre: Historical-ish Fantasy

Suggested Age Range: 7th grade and up

Romance: There is either no romance or there is a love-triangle ... I'm still not sure

The Good: This book is best reviewed in this phrase from Rachel E. Carter on Goodreads, "Graceling meets Selection” Whatever marketing team came up with that tag for this series clearly never read the book. Red Queen is Game of Thrones with Katniss as the Mockingjay with X-Men in a tantalizing YA twist of magical perfection."

Now, the "Graveling meets Selection" is a part of the official description of the book and it made me want to read the book. However, I'm with Rachel in that the book is so much bigger, so much better than that description. 

Some people say it is like some other books ... but I haven't read any of those books so this was new and fresh to me. I love Mare. She doesn't fit in, she isn't responsible, she fights against the grain of her society and although she feels she is letting her family down, she isn't that driven to change. 

After a terrible accident a stranger in a bar changes her life forever. This book was intense, I read it in one day (and I worked 6 hours that day, so it really is a quick read) because I couldn't put it down. Every page something happened, something that drove me forward. I stayed up late, too late to finish the book. #noregrets 

The best part of this book is the ending and before that a twist ... a glorious twist. But that ending, I cheered so much the dogs barked at me (remember, this is pretty late at night, they were feeling disturbed). 

The Bad: The lower class seems content with their lot and it left me wondering why ... why?? There isn't much on the history of how the classes got here. I guess I'm stuck on Dystopian novels that really set up a change from the past and this is a whole different world. I would have liked to have some information on why the "reds" don't riot or at least deeper knowledge of what would happen if they did. 

The Ugly: Well, the most terrible part is this book is brand-spanking new, so it will be a year (or so even) until the next book comes out. After that ending, you'll be feeling like I am, quite anxious about the next book. Sigh. How do I get a pre-reader copy? I really should figure that out. This was excellent. Incredible. I can't wait for the next book and find out ... well, you'll know after you read the book :)

Who will love this book? Lovers of Dystopian fiction who are looking to break out of that rut. Anyone who likes a good story that isn't focused around a romance. Pretty much if you thought that description above sounded interesting, you'll like this book.

How much did I like it?  9.5/10

Will I read more? Yes, waiting anxiously

Bingo 2015: Book published this year