Book Review: Red Queen  

By Victoria Aveyard 

4 Stars 

In a world segregated by blood, Mare Barrow finds herself caught between her role as a 'Silver' and her duty to fellow Reds. When she discovers that she possesses magical abilities known only to Silvers, Mare Barrow, a young Red girl, is forced to abandon her life of poverty to uphold the false image imposed on her by the Silver Royals. I really enjoyed reading this book because of the subtle politics between the characters. I found it really interesting to see how Mare adjusted to the sinister politics of Silver Royals, learning alongside them about the danger that comes from being powerful. With rich personalities and hidden motives, I found it hard to put the book down. Each character Aveyard presented had a different perspective on the issues of the world, and different motives for acting out against them, or allowing them to continue on. I usually dislike fantasy worlds as I find them foreign and hard to understand, however Aveyard does a good job explaining the world of Red Queen, making it very easy to follow. While the story was a bit predictable, I would say that the numerous side plots and well-written characters made up for this, ultimately making it a good read. My only critique would be about the writing style, which in my opinion, was a little melodramatic when emphasizing the metaphors rooted in the story. Because of this, and because the story was in first person, I felt that Mare always made a ‘Big Deal’ out of everything. In all, I enjoyed this first book of Red Queen, and would recommend. 

Reviewed by Sophie 

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