Glass Sword

Mare and Cal are working with the Scarlet Guard to find powerful "new bloods" before the vengeful Maven can destroy them all. As Mare's confidence in her ability to fight Maven and his army wanes, Amanda Dolan's narration becomes more subdued, matching Mare's strained emotions but also losing the forcefulness that carried the narration of the earlier work, THE RED QUEEN. Though Mare gathers many new bloods to help bring down their tyrannical king, few of the secondary characters are given distinctive tones. Those who loved the first audiobook will stick with the second for the story, but its narration is unlikely to draw in a new audience. J.M. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

April 25, 2016
In this startling follow-up to her debut, Aveyard sends readers hurtling back into the world of Red Queen with a fierce battle scene, reunions with old friends, and a story arc fraught with deception and betrayal. The powerful Silvers continue their reign, but the Red rebellion is rising, led by Mare Barrow. She plans to track down other mutant "newbloods" like herself to form an army capable of defeating the crown. Collecting newbloods is dangerous work, and the death toll mounts in a race against King Maven, a manipulative man who is slaughtering the mutants in a bid to force Mare back under his control. The story exposes painful truths about real-life bias and bigotry as well as the brutal costs of war, and children are not always spared gruesome fates. At the epicenter, Mare is an exquisitely flawed heroine who at times gives into her basest desires for revenge, raising questions about her own morality and revealing striking similarities to Queen Elara, whom she so despises. A cliffhanger finale should leave fans anxiously awaiting the next installment. Ages 13âup. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media.

December 1, 2015

Gr 8 Up-Does saving some lives justify sacrificing others? This is the main question asked in this second installment of this series. Picking up right where the first volume left off, Mare and Cal are on the run from the usurper King Maven and his army of Silver bloods. Armed with a list of other "newbloods" like herself, Mare takes on the mission of recruiting them for the Scarlet Guard before they can be found by Maven. However, as her journey progresses, Mare learns that the lines between right and wrong aren't so clear, and she begins to become exactly the kind of person the Scarlet Guard is fighting against. While the kill count seems to be excessively high, it does end up raising some interesting points: namely, the question of who, if anyone, really deserves to die. And do the ends truly justify the means? As with her first effort, Aveyard certainly has a flair for the dramatic, which teens will eat up. The action hits the ground running and doesn't stop until after the last page is turned. And while some might recognize several familiar plot-related beats that resemble the novel's dystopian contemporaries, they shouldn't lessen the story's appeal. VERDICT Fans of Red Queen (HarperCollins, 2015) who have been clamoring for the sequel will be sated.-Kimberly Castle-Alberts, Hudson Library & Historical Society, OH

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2015
Reborn as the infamous "lightning girl," Mare struggles to build an army of newbloods to face the murderous new king. After narrowly escaping the burning city of Naercey, Mare and her friends make their way to a secluded island where her family and the Scarlet Guard lie low. Bruised and beaten, Mare quickly realizes she can't trust anyone, not even her closest friends--maybe not even family. But Mare has a plan: she's going to track down the rest of the newbloods--Reds with unknown powers that rival the strongest Silvers'--and build an army. She sets out with those closest to her, including Cal, the now disgraced prince. Feeling incredibly alone, she can't help but gravitate toward him; they share an ache for the person they both believed Maven to be before he became a treacherous king. As her conviction rises, so does the body count, and it isn't long before Mare becomes eerily like the killer she's trying so hard to destroy. Though her friends are disturbed by what she's become, not even they can stop her now. Her quest is fraught with trials and bloodshed, but the action lags; the traps begin to feel too familiar, and the first-person, present-tense narration spares no detail. Tragedy seems to be a certainty before the end, but the spectacle still packs a surprising punch. This too-long heroine's journey requires that the next volume provide sufficient fireworks to keep readers invested in the planned four-book series. (Fantasy. 13 & up)

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