Strap in folks, because we're talking about tropes

Red Queen

By Victoria Aveyard

I feel like it's pretty safe to say that a lot of YA dystopian novels follow a predictable pattern, noticeable even from just reading the blurb. This was what I was expecting of this week's book, Red Queen, or, in my case, audiobook. The recurring theme that I have been coming across generally goes something along the lines of:

“[Protagonist], between the ages of 15-18, is set up to live a happy comfortable life, part of the elite society in which she was raised, however, on the eve of an important turning point she meets dark and mysterious [male love interest], who was raised in the less privileged life she has been sheltered from, who shows her the bleak reality of life outside her privileged bubble, and together they uncover dark secrets about the Capitol/Society/Republic (etc.), and become entangled in a conflict that threatens to change everything. However, [Protagonist] also finds herself embroiled in another conflict – between the dark and mysterious [male love interest 1] and loyal and dependable [male love interest 2]. (Who she's probably been friends with since childhood) [Protagonist] must make a choice that will change her life and everything around her forever.”

Or, it’s the reverse; [Protagonist] is part of the oppressed population, is somehow exposed to the pageantry filled life of the elite ruling class,  joins a rebel group and plays a key role in the following the revolution. And, while the childhood-friend-as-love-interest trope remains, the dark and mysterious love interest is often replace by a prince. As in an actual prince. The genre is very fond of princes. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to every dystopia, of course there are exceptions, but the fact that it's a recognizable pattern is proof enough of its prevalence.

To paraphrase Red Queen's blurb:

Mare Barrows is living in poverty in a society where those who bleed silver and have abilities live in their mansions and palaces as living gods while their red-blooded brethren live in poverty; suffering so the elite can live in luxury. Change and equality seem like an impossibility, until Mare, working for the Silver elite, discovers that she, an ordinary, common Red, has an ability to rival that of the most powerful Slivers. All of a sudden, she is a threat to them, because she could tip the balance of power for good, changing everything forever.

From the summary of the book, I think it's pretty easy to see that Red Queen fits into the second type of dystopian narrative, and as I was listening to it that's where I assumed it was going. At the beginning it felt like it would be a predictable story; all the elements like the class divide, the rebel movement and the pageantry of the ruling class were there. But, although it seemed so formulaic, the beginning of Red Queen was so entirely engrossing, with imagery that almost physically grabs you and pulls you into the story. I became a little bit obsessed, trying to listen to it whenever I possibly could, even if just for five minutes. Because I was so invested in the world, I was completely willing to keep listening, and really curious to see if it would actually deviate from the standard course.

 The further the story got, the more it started to branch off of the conventional path. If you read any of the reviews on Goodreads, you will be met with many exclamations of “THAT PLOT TWIST!!” followed by many dramatic, but apt gifs. I have to agree; I honestly did not see the plot twist coming, and I have to say, being blind-sided with a plot twist is not only surprising and entertaining, but also really exciting. In my book, shouting “WOW I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING,” and then immediately afterwards “OH MY GOD WHY?,” means the book is doing something right. I definitely wasn't expecting the story to take so many turns in all the directions, but it made perfect sense after the fact, not just from a story arc point of view, but also because the characters had been so well realised, and it made so much sense from the way the main character portrayed the events.

Speaking of our [Protagonist], I found Mare really interesting in the way that she subtly defied the traditional role of a female protagonist so frequently seen in cookie-cutter dystopias. All the events of the book are triggered by her efforts to protect her friend (childhood friend, but more on him later), something that she continues to do throughout the book. She also works to protect other male characters from various events and truths. What’s so nice about this is how it’s not some hugely emasculating offence to the guys in question. 

One repeating line throughout the book is “anyone can betray anyone,” and betrayal is definitely a strong theme. It is made clear that Mare is willing to manipulate anyone necessary, and sacrifices of life are made for the greater good, often of sympathetic characters. Red Queen plays with morality and sacrifice in a very blunt, conflicted, and honest way.

Something else I really liked was that Mare’s super bad-ass powers  are offensive abilites. So often, women are the healers, or the shields; they are given bows and arrows that remove them from the heat of the battle, or are left behind entirely. Susan and Lucy from the Narnia Chronicles are perfect examples; given a bow and healing tonic, respectively, while their brothers get swords and armor. Mare discovers the full extent of her abilities, and she uses them to their full potential. In fact, in the world of the Silver elite, everyone is trained to kill equally, and Queen’s Trial, the competition to choose a bride for the two Silver princes, is not a pageant of beauty or social graces, but of strength of abilities. The female antagonists in this book are not stereotypical characters. They are strong, they are forces to be reckoned with, and they are just as deadly as their male counterparts.

Another note-worthy deviation from the convention is the love triangles in the narrative. I've already written (read: ranted) before about love triangles, but this triangle in question is quite different. I guess in the case of Red Queen it should be called a Love… Quadrangle? Maybe just a love square. The love polygon (?) is taken to the max with not only the childhood friend trope but also not one, but two princes. The triangle or quadrangle, or whatever, is almost present but doesn’t come to a big, climactic conflict moment, which works really well because it doesn’t make sense for Mare to be with any of the possible love interests, because of conflicting interests, or wrongs done. It would possibly make sense for conflict to arise in the second book (waiting for 2016… waiting…), but I’m glad that it didn’t happen in this one for the sake of contextual consistency and integrity.

While plot-wise, Red Queen is excellent, the one thing that annoyed me about the book was how often words and motifs were repeated. This works fine in the case of the aforementioned betrayal quote, but not necessarily for the other cases. A lot of characters do a lot of smirking. Also sneering and grimacing. Mare not understanding things, is another heavily repetitive theme, with her not understanding technology, behaviour, or people in general. I couldn’t quite tell if it was intentional, building up to one big moment of clarity, or if it was an easy way to dismiss things the author didn’t want to go into detail on. I wanted the lack of understanding to represent a transition of Mare thinking she was ordinary and selling herself short, to her realising her full potential. Ultimately there was a big moment of clarity, like I’d hoped, but it was difficult to know if it was on purpose, or a coincidence.

All in all, Red Queen is utterly enthralling; another book whose sequel goes on the “Eagerly Anticipated” list. It kept me listening, grabbing for it at any possible moment, and got me through many electricity-less nights. 

Feisty Chick-O-Meter: 9/10
Age Rating: 14+
Rating: Starting a 7/10 with a sharp slide up to a 9/10
Book or Audiobook: Audiobook
Stand Alone or Series: Series
Length: 320  pages
Obsession level: ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT DETAILS ABOUT THE TITLE AND COVER OF THE NEXT BOOK ARE COMING THIS SUMMER AKA. SOON.