First published in February 2015
The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers. To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change. Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?
An interesting power struggle set in a well-built dystopia...
I found myself really enjoying this book at first. The world-building is wonderful - red blooded slum dwellers are held down by the silver blooded nobility; who have different powers, and those with the stronger powers hold the higher chairs in society. It reads much like political and social satire, and the imbalance of power between the two classes could be a lesson for young adults and teens that decide to pick it up.
But, it was all knocked down a peg or two by the insta-love that everyone seems to feel for the protagonist; by the 'betrayal' of a character that every reader will have spotted as deceptive from act 1; and by the strange whirlwind of an ending that didn't make much sense because one or two characters make really odd decisions. It also looks as if the title of the book has given the game away before you even read the first page.
I'm glad that this is book one of a trilogy however, because I think that there is a lot of potential in some of the ideas Aveyard puts to us, and in some of the relationships that are formed between the main characters. Aveyard's writing style is good - descriptive and full of action. A book for teens that I could safely recommend.
Thank you to Orion Books for the reading copy in exchange for R&R
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