Red Queen

mags - "Rise, as red as the dawn" --The Scarlet Guard THIS IS LITERALLY THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ. Well, The Young Elites is tied with this book. Well anyways, this book is amazing and everyone NEEDS to read this book. Mare Barrows is a poor girl living in a poor community. She lives with her torn-apart family. She has 3 brothers that are on the war front, a dad missing a lung and a leg, a normal but tired mother, and a younger sister who is very talented at sewing. Mare has no special abilities that could make money for her family, so she resorts to stealing. Her younger sister Gemma, who is apprenticed to a shopkeeper in the rich district, asks Mare to accompany her on a trip there. While they are there, they are caught up in an revolt. During the revolt, Gemma's sewing hand is crushed, thus ending her apprenticeship and the money. Mare became really ashamed. Soon, her best friend Kilorn, who was apprenticed to a fisher, gives her more bad news. His master had died, leaving him with no choice to go to the war front unless they got a lot of money in one evening. Mare goes to a trader, who then introduces her to the leader of the Red Guard, a secret society who is determined to overthrow the Silver crown. Silver people have special magic that Red people don't, which is how they control them. A twist of fate leads Mare right to the palace when she meets the king's son under the disguise of a commoner. At the castle, she lets out an ability out that she never knew she had. In order to hide that impossibility, the king betroths her to one of his own sons, Maven. At first, they weren't friends, but after a while, they start becoming friends and maybe even start liking each other. Mare, along with Maven, decide to join the Scarlet Guard and become spies. I don't want to say the biggest plot twist ever, it will change your whole point of view on the character, but I still love that character. My summary isn't the best, but it basically explains what led Mare to show royalty her hidden power to control lightning. What I love about this book is the love triangle. This isn't a normal love triangle either. She is betrothed to Maven, but she likes both Maven and Cal (Maven's older half-brother the crown prince). Cal is engaged to another person, who just so happens to control metal, which is very very dangerous and powerful. At the end of the book, Mare is betrayed by one of the brothers and ends up hating him. This book is fantasy, but if it was in the real world, I think this would take place in old Rome. In the beginning of the book, Mare and Kilorn are at an arena watching people fight, just like people in Rome did. This book is amazing. It keeps you in suspense, it adds dashes of mystery, and sprinkles of romance. Victoria Aveyard sure knows how to write a good book. I reccommend this book to anyone who is old enough to take bloodshed. EVERYONE READ IT! :) Thank you

November 24, 2014
In the dystopian future of Aveyard’s debut, those who bleed red are the impoverished underclass, meant to serve silver-bloods who boast supernatural gifts that have helped them maintain control. But a rebellion is rising, and 17-year-old Red narrator Mare Barrow is the spark to ignite the Scarlet Guard’s cause after she discovers she can summon lightning from her fingertips. Aveyard is adept at describing Mare’s psychological struggle, forced to live as a captive among the royal family after her powers manifest ceremony to choose a future queen. Mare’s journey as reluctant poster child and mutant becomes as much about fighting for what is right as about untangling the deceit of the privileged upper echelons. There’s an unmistakable feeling of deja vu to this first installment in the Red Queen trilogy, which shares several plot points and similarities with the Hunger Games series, with more arenas for barbaric televised slaughter and honed survival skills swapped out for preternatural powers. Fortunately, Aveyard’s conclusion leaves the story poised to depart from this derivative setup. Ages 13–up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media.

January 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-Seventeen-year-old Mare Barrow lives in a world where one's lot in life is determined by the color of one's blood. She was born a Red and has to make a living by pickpocketing and trying to dodge "the conscription" and being sent off to fight an ongoing war. Mare's resigned herself to the fact that she'll always serve the Silver, a genetically gifted group of people with supernatural abilities. A chance encounter with the prince causes Mare to suddenly find herself at the royal palace as a servant, where she discovers in front of everyone that she also has a unique gift. She is Red and Silver, and could be just the spark the Reds need to rise up against the oppressive Silvers. The king and queen quickly cover up Mare's anomaly by presenting her to the rest of the Silvers as a long-lost princess and betroth her to their second-born son. Now Mare is torn between playing the part of a Silver, and helping out the Scarlet Guard rebellion. The story has touches of the usual dystopian suspects. However, it's formulaic elements are far outweighed by the breakneck pace and engaging characters. There's a bit of teen romance, but luckily the characters are self-aware enough to realize its frivolity among the story's more important plot points. A solid debut from Aveyard and a welcome addition to the plethora of speculative teen lit.-Kimberly Castle-Alberts, Hudson Library & Historical Society, OH

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2014
Amid a war and rising civil unrest, a young thief discovers the shocking power within her that sparks a revolution.At 17, Mare knows that without an apprenticeship or job, her next birthday will bring a conscription to join the war. She contributes to her poor family's income the only way she can, stealing from the Silvers, who possess myriad powers and force her and her fellow Reds into servitude. The Silvers literally bleed silver, and they can manipulate metal, plants and animals, among many other talents. When Mare's best friend, Kilorn, loses his job and is doomed to conscription, she is determined to change his fate. She stumbles into a mysterious stranger after her plan goes awry and is pulled out of her village and into the world of Silver royalty. Once inside the palace walls, it isn't long before Mare learns that powers unknown to red-blooded humans lie within her, powers that could lead a revolution. Familiar tropes abound. Mare is revealed as a great catalyst for change among classes and is groomed from rags to riches, and of course, seemingly kind characters turn out to be foes. However, Aveyard weaves a compelling new world, and Mare and the two men in her life evolve intriguingly as class tension rises. Revolution supersedes romance, setting the stage for action-packed surprises. An inventive, character-driven twist breathes new life into tired fantasy trends. (Fantasy. 13 & up)

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January 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 Mare Barrow is many things: a sister, a fighter, a thief. She is also a Red, a lower caste in a fantastical society split by blood color. Silvers are the elite ruling class whose blood gives them magical powers, while Red bloods are born to serve and are often conscripted to fight in a distant war. Mare resigns herself to the war, until a chance encounter lands her in front of the Silver court and she discovers she has powers of her own, an unheard-of phenomenon in a Red. To cover this up, the Silver monarchs claim Mare as a lost Silver princess, and she soon finds herself caught up in a world of politics, betrayal, and rebellion. First-time author Aveyard has created a volatile world with a dynamic heroine, and while there are moments of romance, they refreshingly take a backseat to the action. Anticipation is already high for this debut, and with the movie rights already acquired and two sequels to come, it will likely only grow.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)