Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: HarperTeen
Year: 2015
Genre(s):historical fiction, contemporary fiction, romance
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 1
Rating:
Why I read it: I picked it up at NY Comic Con a few years ago and finally got around to reading it.
Summary: People are divided into two classes—those who red blood and those who have silver. A majority of the people have red blood and they toil for those with silver, who have set themselves above the others as the silver blood coursing through their veins has granted them superpowers. It is a delicate balance, one that could tip if the red bloods ever realize the strength in their numbers and no longer fear the powers of the silvers.
Mare is the daughter of a red family. Her brothers have been sent to fight in the war that has raged between their country and another for generations. All reds who do not find suitable employment end up conscripted—and since jobs are scarce, it ends up being most of them. Mare’s only skill is her ability to pick pockets and she worries that she will be sent to the front lines as well when she meets a stranger in a bar. After confiding in him, she is brought to the palace and given a job. There, she learns her mysterious benefactor is Cal, the future king.
Not long after her arrival, Mare discovers she has powers—but her blood is decidedly red. Fearful of how she could upset the balance, it is decided to pass her off as a long-lost silver princess and arrange a marriage between her and Cal’s brother Maven. Mare is caught between two worlds and two brothers. Will she help sustain the status quo or finally upheave it for good?
Review: This was a novel full of twist and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. Even the final reveal was a complete surprise to me, though once I looked back, I realized it shouldn’t have been. Kudos to Ms. Aveyard for that!
The reason the twists all work is because the story is told from first person, with our narrator being our heroine, Mare. So we only know what she knows, learning it with her. And so we are betrayed the same way she was, though she too comes to see the clues just like I did.
Mare also has an interesting character arc, one that is interesting to read. She starts off with no purpose, only driven by her need to survive and to provide for her family as best as she can. Over the course of the story, she still needs to survive but the stakes get higher and she finally finds a purpose—overthrow the silvers who have kept other reds like her underfoot and forced them to live miserable existences or even die for them. It’s a classic arc but Aveyard makes it feel fresh and new.
Cal and Maven are intriguing as well, especially in their presentation and how Mare comes to view them. Both seem to understand the injustice in the way their world is set up, seem to understand that reds shouldn’t be subjugated just because they don’t have powers the way Silvers do. However, it seems Maven is more willing than Cal to change something. Mare suspects Cal, though she has feelings for him, and trusts Maven—though she is in a place where she can trust no one. As Mare’s feelings for the brothers change, so to do the readers, keeping us on edge the entire time.
Aveyard creates an amazing world that feels real. It has clear social constructs and each place feels different from the last. There is also still a fantastical feel to it, which goes well with the magic that imbues most of the novel. She did a great job creating this world and the people who inhabit it.
Bottom line: An intriguing story that keeps you guessing set in a fantastic world.
Sex: None
Moonlight Musing
If you could have a special ability, what would it be?
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