Red Queen
In a world split by the color of blood, Reds are common laborers and Silvers are a ruling caste born with godlike abilities. Seventeen-year-old Mare Barrow is a Red pickpocket in the slums of the Stilts, stealing to keep her family fed until her brother ships out to a war the crown has been losing for a century. A chance job at the royal palace ends with Mare discovering that she has a power no Red is supposed to have, one strong enough to shake the hierarchy if anyone saw it. To hide her, the king announces that she is a lost Silver noble betrothed to a prince, and Mare is forced to play the role while secretly feeding a growing rebellion called the Scarlet Guard. Victoria Aveyard's 2015 debut is a YA fantasy built around political court intrigue, doubled loyalties, and a heroine who cannot trust either side.
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What you might want to know about Red Queen
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
First in Victoria Aveyard's series. Mare Barrow is a red-blooded thief in a kingdom ruled by silver-blooded elites with powers, until she accidentally reveals a power of her own at the royal court.
Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen series has four main books plus a novella collection: Red Queen, Glass Sword, King's Cage, and War Storm. The series is complete.
Yes. Red Queen is YA dystopian fantasy, suitable for readers 13 and up. There is no explicit content. The series rode the wave of post-Hunger Games YA dystopia.
Red Queen was written by Victoria Aveyard, published in 2015 by Scholastic.
Red Queen is 416 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Red Queen takes most readers 6 to 9 hours to finish.
Red Queen is a standalone novel by Victoria Aveyard, not part of a series.
Red Queen is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
