Red Queen By: Victoria Aveyard
Wow! It’s been a while since I read a book in one sitting! I completely consumed this book and there wasn’t a single thing that could pull me away from it, except food I guess!
Red Queen takes place in a war driven world where the elite are more than just wealthy and powerful, they are evolved super-humans, with abilities and even silver blood to separate them from the lowly and powerless Reds. Reds are forced to join the King's army once they become of age at 18 if they don't have a job. Mare Barrow, a seventeen year old Red from the poverty filled Stilts, finds herself working at the Silvers palace in the audience of the King, after a series of complications forces her to stop stealing in the streets. However, her first day on the job couldn't go any worse, pushing her into a situation that reveals she isn't an ordinary Red. Mare Barrow had abilities, and everyone knows now. Forced into a new identity by the royals to hide her Red origin, she must live like a Silver and become one if she wants to keep her head on her shoulders, and protect those she loves. But what happens when she could be the key to change the way her world is... a symbol of hope and change for Reds? A Red Queen?
Red Queen has been a refreshing read filled with all types of metaphors and social-reflections that even I had to go back and count. The separation between Reds and Silvers can be seen as both the rich and poor, and even as a representation of racial discrimination. Having Silver blood makes you “better” than Reds, and it’s not their fault they were “born better”. There were phrases along the lines of Reds only being good to work and send to die at war. These are very similar to how people spoke during the Jim Crow Law days. I would have gone as back as during slavery, but the book takes place in a socially divided world, not actual slavery in the sense of ownership over a human being, but more in the way we can see the injustice today. The suppression of minorities through laws and unfair odds and obstacles. One of my favorite quotes from the book was, "Thinking all silvers are evil is just as wrong as thinking all reds are inferior."
Having the main character be both Red and Silver, it strongly reflects on the rise in mixed blood and how they don’t fit in a predetermined spot in society, assigned by the elites. This is a book I would recommend a hundred times and already have! I loved it and cant wait to read the next one. 5 out of 5 for pure brilliance, relevance, and metaphoric excellence. Can't wait to see this become a film, (dangerous words I know!~~).
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