Page Turners: Red Queen

3 Things:

Rebellious female character.

Dystopian set up with fantasy elements.

First person point of view.

The Red Queen begins a series of novels that change the game of fantasy and dystopian writing for teens. Victoria Aveyard establishes a world in which main characters Mare Barrow and her family clearly live very different lives than the other half of the

population. The “Reds” appear to be seemingly normal people, but are poor both in wealth and ability in comparison to “Silvers,” those who are treated with respect and like royalty. With this interesting dynamic, reading through happened to be much quicker than I anticipated. All of the book is packed with action and adventure, which is great for those who loved books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or fans of The 100.

As in other adventure/action books of the same caliber, violence becomes a main aspect of the plot. The Red Queen is no different, although nothing is described in gory detail. Much of it consists of fantasy violence with a variety of powers that the author created and establishes. An underlying rebellious tone continues the action and keeps much of the

narrative moving. Many names and titles at times confuse since the world building takes much more detail than the average book. The entirety of the series builds the rest of the world into more detail, I’m sure.

Places and abilities described throughout the book seem so vivid that the reader can imagine practically every detail about the scenes. The character’s emotions tend to be described just as well because of the first person perspective following Mare. The book envelops the reader and takes them on a journey with the main character through her family and friend’s situation, along with the rebellion that they dive into.

A few of the themes discussed include the value of friendship, of speaking out, and challenging the authority. Mare isn’t necessarily a good role model for young people to follow, but many things that she does and that she values are good causes. To her, the family is one of the highest priorities and she does what she can to keep them safe, which

many teens can follow after and value.

The series continues with the second edition, Glass Sword and will soon have another novel to follow, Kings Cage set to release in Feburary of this year. Victoria Aveyard has also written prequels for the main series, novellas, which are much shorter than the actual books. The three novellas include Queen’s Song, Steel Scars, and Cruel Crown, each giving more world-building details for an interested reader. I look forward to continuing the series sometime soon, and will be buying the newest edition when it comes out.

The book can be purchased online here.

For my last book review, read Stargirl.

This author can be reached on Twitter at: @julz_lozano19