Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen, the first in a series, is a fantasy, dystopian novel which follows the story of a teenage girl, Mare, as she discovers that she, a "Red-blooded" person, has special powers similar to those of the elite "Silver-blooded" class. Mare's life is turned upside down when her power is revealed as the Silvers attempt to disguise the fact that she is a lowly Red by telling the public that she is the long-lost relative of a dead Silver general. She is to be engaged to one of the Silver princes and leave behind the life she knew. Unknown to her, Mare's new path will lead to love, rebellion, and betrayal.
Red Queen is a fascinating read because of the world-building and the ideas proposed by the book. The characters seem to be interesting but, personally, I did not find many of them appealing. The main character is off-putting but some of the side characters make up for it. The plot does not seem entirely original, there is quite a bit of repetition, and many aspects of the backstory are left unanswered. However, the style of the book is simple and elegant and the villains are morally ambiguous and left me wanting to continue reading. The world building is distinguished and, despite being a little unlikeable, the protagonist is strong. I loved that Aveyard reimagines features of dystopian story even though she sometimes succumbs to traditional tropes associated with the genre.