Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Series: The Red Queen Trilogy (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Subjects: abilities, superpowers, supernatural, magic, war, rebellions

Setting: Norta (All of New England, New York, Pennsylvania)

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, present tense: Mare Barrow

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 440 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $19.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?”

My Review: The Glass Sword is the sequel to Red Queen. I really enjoyed Red Queen. It was exciting and unique. This book for me suffers a bit of a sequel slump. There’s a lot of cool stuff in it, but it lacks some of the excitement of the first book. I think finding other Newbloods with abilities is cool in an X-men kind of way, but it becomes hard to keep track of them. I had to make a list to keep track of characters, their appearance and powers. Some stuff is just brushed over to quickly. It’s possible that this sequel was less exciting because it took me a week to read it because I was so busy with school and work. It’s kind of a long book with too many little words on each page (each page could easily be 2 pages).

I did enjoy it though. I loved all the different abilities, from illusions to invulnerability, the Newbloods had powers that no Silver had. The training and the missions were pretty awesome. There are a lot of similarities with other series about people with special abilities, like The Young Elites series by Marie Lu, but that was high fantasy, and this is dystopian-fantasy. The world building is amazing and it’s about 350 years I the future. Global warming happened, as well as nuclear warfare, and radiation possibly resulting in the existence of the Silvers. It’s never explained completely.

There’s some romance, but I don’t think there’s enough. Cal seems like a great guy, despite being the prince. He’s like a Fire-Bender in Avatar. His brother is kind of evil, what with tricking Mare, and making Cal kill his father. I was kind of hoping Maven was secretly a Whisperer like his mother, and other pretended to be a Burner, but I’m mistaken. Mare is a badass, but less likable in the sequel. I guess she’s more flawed with all the stuff she had to go though. Kind of like Adelina in The Young Elites. The book got a lot more exciting and fast near the end, when Mare’s team tries to break out the Newbloods that Maven captured, as well as wrongly imprisoned Silvers. It makes up for all the slow parts that could have easily been left out and made this book shorter. So, I give this sequel 4 stars.

I recommend Red Queen to fans of the following types of books. Books about rebellions, dystopian or otherwise: The Young Elites or Legend by Marie Lu, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Pawn by Aimee Carter, Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page. Dystopian books with fantasy elements: The Selection by Kiera Cass, Crewel by Gennifer Albin, The Jewel by Amy Ewing, Defiance by C.J. Redwine. Books in which superpowers/magic powers play a big role: Glitch by Heather Anastasiu, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Illusive by Emily Lloyd Jones, Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, Blackout by Robsion Wells, Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini (also has character with lightning powers). Unique fantasy books: Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch, Shadow and Bone by Leugh Bardugo, Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Cover Art Review: I love the simple photo illustration of the glass sword-crown dripping blood. The cover is a larger size and it’s metallic and the background mimics light blue silk. The crown and title is embossed.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Series: The Red Queen Trilogy (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Subjects: abilities, superpowers, supernatural, magic, war, rebellions

Setting: Norta (the northeastern U.S.) A summer palace near what once was Boston, Massachusetts (Though they never mention it). The mention Delphie, which is likely Philadelphia. The Whitefire palace in either in New York City or D.C.

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Mare Barrow

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 383 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard's sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king's palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood--those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard--a growing Red rebellion--even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.”

My Review:  Red Queen was something I wanted to read completely based on the cover and all the buzz. I didn’t know what I was going to get when I started reading it. I expected fantasy, maybe a unique fantasy. I did not expect this to be dystopian also. It’s set in the future, over 320 years.

Society is separated by the color of their blood. Silver bloods are powerful, and red bloods are the workers. There’s plenty of technology and magic mixed in with the unique world building. I’m 90 percent certain that this is set in the USA near what once was Boston, Massachusetts (Though they never mention it). The also mention Delphie, which is likely Philadelphia. The Whitefire palace in either in New York City or D.C. I’m not sure. Much like in the Hunger Games, you just have to guess for yourself.

The main characters are unique in many ways. Mare, our narrator, is a thief and doesn’t have many other skills. She kind of falls into a situation that leads to her discovering her lightning powers. It may be kind of cliché, but it’s well executed. There are the two princes: Cal and Mavin. Cal’s into honor and Mavin is resentful of his father. Marrow is forced to become Mavin’s fiancé because her unfortunate circumstances of discovering her powers. The romance is not very prominent in this story. She does kiss Cal, but never get romantic with Mavin. There’s no love triangle.

The royal family wants to hide the red with silver power that she should not have. Mare decides that she can take this opportunity to help the Scarlet Guard in their rebellion to make reds equal to silvers. Power is a dangerous game, as the tagline says, and Mare must play the game from within the court. The plot is very linear with not flashbacks. It’s written in present tense and has a nice flow. It never slows down.

MINOR SPOILER: Mare’s Ability

I really enjoyed this book, and all the amazing world building. It’s just the kind of book I look for. Crossing generas and cool characters with powers. I think the author’s choice to give the main character electric powers is interesting and unique. I can’t think of any other main characters from books with this power. Mostly just books about characters with enhanced senses/strength, telepathy, telekinesis or illusions. It’s nice to see something different. Mare is like Static Shock (if you recall that superhero cartoon). She can zap you, but she’s still learning. At the beginning of the book, I though she was going to be a whisperer/telepath. She discovers her powers circa page 60, so it’s not really a spoiler. Just know that this is awesome.

END MINOR SPOILER.

I recommend Red Queen to fans of the following types of books. Books about rebellions, dystopian or otherwise: The Young Elites or Legend by Marie Lu, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Pawn by Aimee Carter, Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page. Dystopian books with fantasy elements: The Selection by Kiera Cass, Crewel by Gennifer Albin, The Jewel by Amy Ewing, Defiance by C.J. Redwine. Books in which superpowers/magic powers play a big role: Glitch by Heather Anastasiu, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Illusive by Emily Lloyd Jones, Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, Blackout by Robsion Wells, Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini (also has character with lightning powers). Unique fantasy books: Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch, Shadow and Bone by Leugh Bardugo, Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Cover Art Review: This cover is designed by Sarah Kaufman, a designer at HarperCollins. Michael Frost made the illustration. I love the simple photo illustration of the upside-down crown dripping blood. The cover is a larger size and it’s metallic and the background mimics white/silver silk. The crown and title is embossed. I badly wanted to buy this book, but got it from the library already. The end pages in the book have illustrations. 

UnDivided by Neal Shusterman

Series: The Unwind Dystology (bk. 4)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi/Thriller

Subjects: fugitives, organ transplants, revolutionaries, survival, resistance to government

Setting: Near future, throughout the United States

POV/Tense: 3rd person POV, present tense. Alternates between many characters including Conner, Risa, Lev, Cam, Starkey and others.

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 372 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Summary/ product description: “Teens control the fate of America in the fourth and final book in the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman.

Proactive Citizenry, the company that created Cam from the parts of unwound teens, has a plan: to mass produce rewound teens like Cam for military purposes. And below the surface of that horror lies another shocking level of intrigue: Proactive Citizenry has been suppressing technology that could make unwinding completely unnecessary. As Conner, Risa, and Lev uncover these startling secrets, enraged teens begin to march on Washington to demand justice and a better future.

But more trouble is brewing. Starkey’s group of storked teens is growing more powerful and militant with each new recruit. And if they have their way, they’ll burn the harvest camps to the ground and put every adult in them before a firing squad—which could destroy any chance America has for a peaceful future.”

My Review:  UnDivided is an epic finale to the Unwind Dystology. It brings together all the character, showing us their perspectives (in 3^rd person, present tense). Conner and Risa are living in Sonia’s basement, and Lev is with the Chancefolk. Starkey is leading his storks to take down harvest camps. Cam is in Hawaii. They all make decisions and do things that either help end Unwinding or egg it on further, even unknowingly.

This series is so complex, I can’t even begin to unwind it my self. Neal Schusterman is an awesome plotter and storyteller. He adds horrors to this dystopian series. I find the characters to be interesting and different from each other still. This being the fourth book, no new characters are introduced except a guy who sells unwind parts. There’s so much going on.

There’s so much that seems familiar, yet you’d never think that people today would support something like this. There are quotes from article in this book about human trafficking or kidney and other stuff that relate to this book. This could actually happen if medical science ever has these capabilities. I sure hope this kind of world stays fictional.

As far as series ending go, this was a great one. Compared to the Maze Runner’s final book, the Death Cure, or even Allegiant, or Mockingjay, UnDivided both horrifies and amazes me with how thing worked out. I was worried for the characters. That makes it a page-turner and a thrill ride. When a book care scare you, yet you can’t stop reading, it’s doing its job. I don’t know what else to say. You won’t be disappointed if you’re a fan of the series. Or maybe you will because you never want it to end. Unwind started out a standalone and then a planned trilogy and now this quartet. It’s nice to see it end the right way. If you never read this series and are a dystopian fan, then you’re missing out on some important literature. It’s you liked Michael Grant’s Gone series, it’s written in a similar way.

Cover Art Review:  A better cover than all the previous books, I think. Love the stitched up arm of Liberty. Symbolic and illustrative at the same time.