A world divided by the color of your blood, red or silver. Red condemns you to a life of struggle from the beginning, while Silver means a life of godlike powers and luxury. This complex society is turned upside down by the hands of a seventeen-year-old pickpocket.  Mare Barrow; born red, poverty-stricken; finds herself among Silvers in a matter of hours. Luck has found her after what seemed like nothing but unfortunate events and now she works as a servant to Royals. Her new job saves her from the ominous conscription but it seems to make things even worse.  

Reds are humans who have no special powers while Silvers are capable of bending and using elements to their own advantage. This lack of power is what keeps Reds on the bottom of this society and at the Silver’s beck and call. So how, when thrown in the line of fire, does the girl show a power strong enough to frighten her trained opponent. Mare creates a commotion big enough that the Royal family makes her a complete cover up. She becomes the daughter of a dead war hero, raised by reds, and she learns to jump through hoops to fit this role. Mare knows that one wrong step will mean her downfall so she moves with caution, doing what she is asked to do. She is doing fine until she faces the Scarlet Guard. This organization, Red run, plans to take down the throne, to create a world where Reds are no longer stepped on. Once she pledges her allegiance to the guard there is no turning back, she no longer takes the quiet steps to survive, determined to rock their world for the better.

This book, the first of the Red Queen series, written by Victoria Aveyard, has become an addition to the long list of YA dystopian novels. I found myself completely absorbed in the world she had created, shocked with every twist and turn. Dystopian titles all tend to follow similar paths. However, Aveyard finds ways to keep her story original and exciting. I found myself turned around just as the protagonist was, Aveyard’s well-rounded characters make it hard to only have one flat thought about them. On one page you can find yourself feeling the hurt of betrayal through Mares eyes and the next page you feel forgiveness, giving in towards characters because they are so well-rounded. 

This story touches on the topic of romance but it does not overtake the story. The author does not make this her main attention grabber and that is what I admire, I found myself absorbed in the story without romance taking over every turning page. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something to keep you on your toes. With its nonstop action and interesting characters, Aveyard has done an amazing job at creating a must-read series.