Imagine a world segregated not by skin, but by blood. This is precisely the world author Victoria Aveyard intended to create when writing the novel The Red Queen. This novel brings to life a world in which the color of your blood determines your social class. Those with red blood are deemed as common and are seen as lower, while those with silver blood rule above the Reds like gods. Furthermore Silver's have the abilities to wield an array of supernatural abilities like controlling fire, metal, and more. Reds have always been on the bottom, considered as inferior until one day something changes. Mare Barrow, a young girl with red blood discovered she has a gift. In an unexpected twist of events she is left facing a shocking truth that threatens to tear apart this society.
Mare and the rest of the royal family discover that she is Red with the power to wield lightning, a supernatural power only born within the royalty of Silver-bloods. The story centers around Mare's growth as an individual as she is thrown into a dangerous game of kings and queens forced into marriage to keep her red-blood hidden to the rest of the world. Even though she is forced to conceal her secret for her own safety she considers the impact she could have on the Silver’s godlike society, a figurehead for rebellion of the common Redbloods. For those that would like a strong feminine protagonist this is a novel for you. The setting and characters are given great depth and are painted as such. If you have not had the chance to read this wonderful story before I highly recommend giving it a try.