April Reading Recap

How has your April been?

I felt like I was getting right back on track...until I wasn't.  :)  That's the way life goes, though.  I managed read a decent amount, but got sidetracked by what books I wanted to read this month and didn't find too much time to write.  My husband was gone for a bit and I have pretty successfully incorporated a workout routine into my daily life, but in order to make that happen, something else had to give.

Now that things are getting back to normal, I'm looking forward to finding some time each evening to work on my blog.  Plus summer is coming soon!  That means more time to read and more time to write.  Better start working on my Summer Reading List!!

Books Read

   

Re-read

Reviews Posted

The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
The Inn Between by Marina Cohen
Sky Raiders (The Five Kingdoms #1) by Brandon Mull
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
The Forbidden Orchid by Sharon Biggs Waller

Other Posts and Highlights

A look at DNFs and my plan to embrace them, sort of
Anxiously Awaiting --books I can't wait to read!
Book Art: Embrace it or Hate it?

Favorite Links

9 Websites for Readers Who Think About Books All Day, Every Day
This was a fun list if you're looking for another bookish site to follow.

230+ YA Books to Pick Up April-June 2016
Yes. 230.  Did I read this entire list?  No.  I could not.  I dared not...or my TBR would grow exponentially.

The Whole Class Novel: To Read Together or Not?
Kylene Beers offers teachers an alternative to the whole class novel.  Actually she offers a few alternatives.  This is in my realm for next year.  I NEED to reign in our novel studies.  

What's Coming Up in April
Although I'm never really sure what I'll be reading and when it'll be posted, here are some books on my TBR for the next month.

This is still here.  I got sidetracked this month!

My Netgalley read for this month.  Again, sidetracked so it's here again!

I can't wait!  In fact, it may be finished before April ends as I'm writing this on Tuesday and will start reading it as soon as I'm finished with my re-read of TWATD!!!  

I only just started this so I'll be finishing it at the beginning of this month.  My heart is already breaking and I've only read one chapter.

Of course there will be plenty more books read this month, but you know me!  I don't tend to really follow any kind of schedule with choosing books.  When I try I just end up frustrated!  Here's hoping I find a really good book this month.  

Book Review: The Forbidden Orchid

The Forbidden Orchid
Sharon Biggs Waller
Viking, 2016
Genre: historical, YA, romance
Source: I won this copy from Brittany at Please Feed the Bookworm
Rating: 3 out of 5

~What It's About~

When Elodie's adventuring father fails to return to their home after his latest disastrous trip to acquire a rare orchid for his employer, Elodie finds herself trying to keep her family together.  Her mother has just had another baby and has fallen into a depression, the local Deacon is paying quite a bit attention to their family, and a man has come looking for her father, demanding a debt be paid. In 1860s England, Elodie has little say in what happens to her or her family.  She convinces her father that he must return to China to search gather the orchids his employer desires so that their family will be out of financial danger.  It doesn't take her very long to realize that her father will need her help, but will he accept it?  With the help of a new friend, Elodie will travel to China and help her father--whether he will allow it or not.  She knows what is expected of her in society, but she's not yet willing to bow to those expectations--not while her family's livelihood is at stake.

~The Good~

I liked Elodie a lot.  She's stuck in 1861 with a bunch of men telling her what to think and what's good for her, and she's smart enough to realize that she knows more than they do.  The best part is that she doesn't just keep her mouth shut--sometimes she attempts to do so, but usually she just tells them what she thinks in as polite a way as possible.  While her father is away, her mother is sick and Elodie is in charge.  She's keeping her younger sisters occupied, finding time to study her flowers in her little green house, and searching for answers about her father and why he refuses to come home to them.  When she finally finds him, he is broken and she realizes how much more she will have to take on and this excites her.  She wants to travel and to ride on a ship and see China and the orchids in their natural habitat.  Elodie longs to be free and adventuring, away from men who warn her against looking at orchids due their impropriety.  She is strong and able and manages to get herself on board a ship and stow away for weeks until the captain finds out.  

The Forbidden Orchid is entrenched in historical events about which I know very little.  Part of this book takes place in China immediately after The Second Opium War, and Elodie's father had been in China during the war while searching for orchids.  I also enjoyed the historical notes at the end of the novel that gave more information on various events and settings in which Elodie and other characters found themselves.
      

~The Not-So-Good~

I thought there was going to be more adventure, but the first half of the book was Elodie at home dealing with belittling men, or Elodie finding her father and helping him prepare for his journey.  I was waiting and waiting for her to just get on the boat already, but man it took forever.  When she finally did find herself on the boat, I felt like things had finally started to move and the story was beginning.  I wish that it had gone faster or that we started already there. I felt like there was a lot more I would have liked to see in the end that wasn't given as much time as her home life in the beginning. 

~Final Thoughts~

The Forbidden Orchid is a great historical romance.  Elodie is a strong female voice with opinions and ideas of her--ahead of her time.  She is impressive and likeable and makes it easy to want to find out her story--even if you have to wait awhile to truly get into it.  I enjoyed it.

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Book Review: Glass Sword

Glass Sword

Victoria Aveyard

Harper Teen, 2016

Genre: fantasy, YA

Source: purchased

Rating: 5 out of 5

~What It's About~

In Glass Sword Mare embraces who she is, trying to save as many Reds that are like her, born with a power that aren't supposed to have. Mare has found the Red Guard and escaped, along with Cal, but are they safe with them?  Maven is always a threat, but there is something about this group that Mare isn't ready to accept.  Are they really what they say they are and how will Mare convince them that Cal is on their side?  With a small band of allies, Mare sets out to gather as many Reds who have been born with similar powers as she can, hoping she can reach them before Maven.  At each turn, she's presented with the question of who she can trust and how will she keep everyone she cares about safe from the evils of Maven.  

~The Good~

I could not stop.  I needed to know and I needed to know immediately what was happening to Mare.  I was angry at her one minute and the next my heart broke for her...mostly it broke for her.  

       "If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter."

I was along with Mare for the ride and every time so he made a heart wrenching decision, I was with her.  I didn't always agree, but I was with her.  And I could feel her shattering.

Her relationship with Cal is completely debilitating. By the end I had a hard time reading those parts because it was just so tormenting.  I felt like it had built up so much that by the end every time they were together it was painful for them, but they also wanted to be there with one another.   I cannot say more about this without spoiling things, even though I want to.  My heart hurts.

I was also anxious throughout most of the book as I waited to see what would happen, because I couldn't tell--not completely.  And I was surprised at the ending of this book, even though there are parts you are sure are coming, you'll still be shocked.  There were plenty of moments where I stopped and thought, "No way is that going to happen."  And then something very similar to it would.  

~The Not-So-Good~

I'm not finding anything negative to say, except that it's way too long until the next one. :)

~Final Thoughts~

Mare has come into her own in this second installment of Red Queen Series.  She is strong and able and determined--and flawed.  In the midst of a world in which people are born with super powers and use them against one another, Victoria Aveyard has still made Mare seem so real and true.  She isn't perfect, even with her spectacular power, and in Glass Sword we are able to see her transformation into a leader.

Book Art: Embrace It or Hate It?

Book Art is a thing now.  Folding books into artwork, cutting through the cover and the pages to create 3D images, tearing and cutting out pages and using them for sculptures, and drawing on, painting on, or somehow altering those pages.  If you're not sure of what I'm talking about, check out pinterest and you can see tons of images of book art--ones you can purchase even. Here are a couple of examples I found.




At first I'm always in awe of how someone took so much time and created something so intricate out of something else.  And then I cringe.  What book did they use?  I think of a girl somewhere who has no books of her own who may have loved to delve into that book, hold it in her hands, smell it.  It could have gone to her.  Or a boy who loves to learn about everything and read everything, but doesn't have the money to buy all the books he wants.  He could have read that one.  Because obviously no one wanted it to read.  They altered it so that it could no longer be read.

I realize that there are ebooks and digital is the way our world is going...but I can't go along with this.  How do you build a love of reading in a child?  Not through a device.  A device is impersonal and separate.  It has movies and songs and apps and so many other things to distract.  Holding a book in your hands, though, you can shut out the world--all of it.  A kid can bury their nose deep in that book and not come out until they've discovered something new.  It's a physical act of holding a page and turning it in their hands, touching the pages. But we're now using books as if they are just found objects with no other worth anymore so that they have to be created into something beautiful.  Weren't they already beautiful?  And so interactive.

I'm sad when I see book art.  It makes me sad that books aren't as valuable and precious as they once were.

What do you think about book art?  I'm sure I have a few book art lovers out there.  What is the draw for you?

Book Review: The Good Girl

The Good Girl
Mary Kubica
Harlequin MIRA, 2014
Genre: mystery, thriller
Source: borrowed
Rating: 4 out of 5

~What It's About~

The Dennett family is devastated when Mia, their youngest daughter and an art teacher at a school Chicago, disappears.  Her father, an important judge, believes she is just off gallivanting around and Mia's sister, a lawyer, agrees.  Eve Dennett knows better and she wants Detective Gabe Hoffman to find her and bring her home.  But Mia has been taken by Colin Thatcher and he has her hidden in a secluded cabin somewhere in the middle of Minnesota.  

Told in alternating perspectives and time frames, the story of Mia's kidnapping and the after effects are slowly pieced together, revealing only a little at a time.  Both the story of her disappearances and the Dennett family is slowly unraveled through the telling of this story.

~The Good~

Mary Kubica has done an excellent job of revealing little bits of evidence here and there.  They're subtle details that cause you to start thinking chapters later and going back to search for that possible clue you might remember.  Although it seems like you've got it all figured out, you're not quite sure and need the ending to confirm your suspicions.

The Dennett family is an interesting group of characters and through flashbacks we begin to understand how they work as a family unit.  Even though we only hear from Eve (Mia's mother) she gives us a pretty comprehensive understanding of her view of the family dynamics.  This is mostly because she is looking back at her life and her relationship with her daughter and how she went wrong.  Couple with Detective Hoffman's interactions and study of the Dennetts, you feel as if you understand how they work.  However, it's obvious that all of our narrators are keeping something from us and truly trusting any one of them is not a good idea.

Colin, Mia's kidnapper, almost seems to be the most honest narrator, revealing much more to the reader than he does to Mia.  It's easy to trust him.  I felt like Colin was a character who, if he said something, I could trust it.  If he wanted to keep it from me, he wouldn't say it all.  I was unable to say this about either Eve or Gabe.

~The Not-So-Good~

I did figure it out pretty early; however there were things that I didn't completely know of had questioned until the end.  I would have actually likes to hear from Mia's father, but understand how and why that didn't happen.  I believe his perspective (even if it had not been completely honest) would have cleared up some questions I still have at the end of the novel.  I'm not sure if having those questions unanswered is good or bad.  It's okay for there to be things I'm unsure of or that are left up to me to make that decision based on what I know, but I haven't' decided if the questions I still have are ones that should be left up to me to discern.  

~Final Thoughts~

The Good Girl is another story that will bode well for readers of Gillian Flynn and fans of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.  There are many secrets and clues to unravel before you can feel like you know what's really going on with Mia Dennett's disappearance.

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Book Review: Sky Raiders

The Sky Raiders (Five Kingdoms #1)

Brandon Mull

Aladdin, 2014

Genre: fantasy, adventure, middle grade

Source: Borrowed from a student

Rating 3 out of 5 stars

~What It's About~

When Cole follows his friends through a manhole in an attempt to save them from kidnappers, he doesn't expect to find himself in another world, but that's exactly what happens.  The Outskirts is a world of slaves and trading and of "shaping" whatever you could imagine.  There are dangers Cole could never think of, but also wonders that could only be a part of a dream.  When he's traded to the Sky Raiders, a group that jumps from flying boats onto moving clouds filled with castles, he's sure he'll be dead within a week.  Luckily he meets a new friend, Mira, who helps him find his way in this strange new world and he might just be able to help her out as well.

~The Good~

Sky Raiders is full of adventure!  Cole is not only in a new world trying to figure out how to navigate this place, but he's also trying to find a way to save his friends.  There are a lot of evil and cruel people in this world, but there are plenty of helpful people as well.  I loved the idea of "shaping."  In The Outskirts there are people called "shapers" who have the ability to create things--magnificent things--from their imagination.  They can easily fuse together or alter already existent objects to form some other object that can help or hinder.  This idea really comes to light when Cole travels through a land that a young child created from his imagination filled with skeleton armies and plastic dinosaurs that attack, but also a babysitter who can help keep you safe.  

~The Not-So-Good~

 I found it hard to get into this book for the first chunk of it.  The very beginning where Cole and his friends are kidnapped wasn't compelling and I can see kids being turned off by this right away.  It didn't really get better for me when he landed in The Outskirts and tried to save his friends.  I was glad when he was traded into the hands of The Sky Raiders because things finally started to pick up for me as a reader.  Luckily it didn't take too incredibly long to get to that point, but I am an adult reader.  

~Final Thoughts~

Cole's story is built well for an epic adventure that is compelling for fans of fast paced stories with danger around every corner.  Fans of adventures will definitely enjoy this one and if they make it through this 400+ pages long book they will probably find their way to the next one in order to see what kinds of adventures Cole gets himself into again.

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Book Review: The Inn Between

The Inn Between
Marina Cohen
Illustrations: Sarah Watts
Roaring Book Press, 2016 Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Source: ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

~What It's About~

Quinn has had a rough time and now her best friend is moving, but at least they have this one last trip.  She's traveling with Kara and her family as they head out west to move into their new home.  It's their last time to be inseparable.  On the way there, they find themselves at a strange inn that seems to appear out of nowhere and Quinn has her suspicions about its guests as well as the staff.  When Kara's parents disappear, Quinn knows she is right and is determined to find out what's going on in this strange place.  She's also slowly peeling back clues from her past that might help her understand herself as well as the Inn Between.

~The Good~

Quinn and Kara have a strong friendship that cannot be broken.  They are both trying not to think about being torn apart when they finally arrive in Kara's new town and Quinn will have to go back home alone.  They trust one another.  Even when Kara isn't so sure of what Quinn is trying to do in her search for the truth of this strange hotel, she trusts her.  This is a good and not so good thing, which we see throughout the book, but I like it because of their strong friendship.

~The Not-So-Good~

The story is set up to be a mystery, where there are only bits and pieces revealed at a time so that you can slowly figure out what's going on with this strange inn.  It's pretty obvious, though.  I realize this is written for middle grade readers, but it still seemed too obvious for them as well.  I was actually waiting for something unexpected to happen to challenge my idea, but it never came.  

There is almost constantly some kind of major crisis or event throughout the story.  After the opening where we're learning a little bit of the background of our characters, there isn't much actual story telling, as it relies heavily on action and a steady flow of conflicts and running around attempting to discover the truth.  I also found myself wanting to roll my eyes at the conclusion. 

~Final Thoughts~

I wasn't that thrilled with Inn Between.  With the carefully laid out clues, it made it obvious what was happening from well on in the beginning.  The story was trying too hard to be something else.  If you're truly looking for a mystery, this probably won't fulfill that desire.  However it may be good for young readers who would need something a little more predictable, but I'm doubtful many middle grade and up readers will fall for it.

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Sunday Status

Sunday Status is a weekly (ish) post where I let you know what I'm reading and what I'm thinking about it as I go along.

~At Home~

The Forbidden Orchid

Sharon Biggs Waller

Viking, 2016

Source: I won this copy from Brittany at Please Feed the Bookworm

Genre: historical fiction, young adult

I'm not too far in, just about 70 pages or so, but I'm enjoying this book.  Set in the 1860s, Elodie's father gets paid to travel to far off places in search of rare and expensive plants and flowers.  But now he hasn't come home. Something terrible happened to him on his last trip and although they know he is okay, Elodie and her family have not heard from him.  The last thing he ever gave them was an orchid, beautiful and enticing, but also not appropriate for a young woman to set her eyes on and now Elodie is in danger of losing it--her one last connection to her father.  I don't know what happens next, but I do know (based on the Goodreads synopsis) that she will travel to China to help her father find another rare flower.  I really like Elodie so far and have already laughed out loud a few times at her wit and her fire.  She's smart and realizes that the men of her time are not as smart as she is, but she's being forced to play dumb and innocent in order to help her family and keep them together.  But at times it all just slips out.  

~At School~

Since You've Been Gone

by Morgan Matson

Simon & Schuster, 2014

Source: purchased

Genre: realistic fiction, young adult, friendship

Where have I been?  I'm absolutely loving this book.  I was going to bring it home and try to finish it this weekend, but I forgot it as school!  ARGH!  I am loving how the main character Emily is so anxious.  Okay, no that came out wrong.  I don't love that she's anxious--I don't wish that on a person.  What I love is that I can completely and totally connect to her anxiety.  Emily barely speaks to others because she's so shy, and the thoughts that run through her head during a conversation (which are painful most of the time) could have been my inner monologue as a high schooler and college student.  And even now, when I'm 34.  I hope my conversations aren't as painful as hers, but the inner monologue of "What in the world did I just say?" is dead on.  

I'm loving this book.  Can't wait to finish it this week!

Goodreads synopsis

~Listening To~

Orbiting Jupiter
Gary D. Schmidt
Narrator: Christopher Gebauer
Recorded Books, 2015
Source: purchased
Genre: realistic fiction, young adult, family

Audiobooks usually take me a bit longer to get through because I save them for when I walk outside, but I've been doing a lot of walking as of late due to the lovely weather.  Thank goodness because I haven't had to wait too long to find out what's going on with Jack and Joseph.  Jack's family has decided to foster an 8th grade boy named Joseph, and for sixth grader Jack, this is a big change for him.  He lives on an organic farm and has always been an only child.  He's a good kid.  No one would say that for Joseph, who was kicked out of his first home for trying to kill a teacher after he took some drugs, got in many fights in his detention center, and is the father of a little girl named Jupiter.  And the way most adults treat Joseph is that he's already so bad that he doesn't deserve their time.  MOST adults.  There are some absolutely wonderful adults that come into Joseph's life when he moves with Jack's family, most importantly Jack's parents.

I only have an hour left of this audio and it's breaking my heart.  I have so many thoughts and feelings about it already and it's only building more and more.  I'll have to save more of my thoughts and feelings for when I write a review.  Absolutely heartbreaking.

Goodreads synopsis

Anxiously Awaiting...

I'm looking forward to reading a few books this spring.  I will be dropping all my other reading obligations in order to read them.

First, I will be re-reading The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh later this month.  I just ordered a hard backed copy of it because my original was on my nook and I no longer use it, plus I LOVED it so much that I have to have a hard copy.  And it's gorgeous.









I am re-reading it because on April 26th The Rose and the Dagger is supposed to arrive!!! How exciting is that?  I don't often order books before they're published (because I'm behind on the times and I don't hear about them until they've already been out for months) but I ordered this back in January.  I made myself wait until the new year.  I need to know what happens to Shahrzad immediately!  I've been waiting to find out and I must be ready and prepared when it gets to my house to read it immediately.






I'm also receiving another pre order on the same day!  I heard about The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi a month or so ago and decided to jump at and it pre order.  Like I said, I don't usually do that, but I loved the description and what everyone has been saying about it.  So as soon as I'm finished The Rose and the Dagger, then I'll move onto The Star-Touched Queen.  







What books are you waiting to arrive this spring?

Book Review: The Thing About Jellyfish

The Thing About Jellyfish (Audiobook)
Ali Benjamin
Read by Sarah Franco
Little, Brown and Company, 2015
Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Grief
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

~What It's About~

Suzy has made a resolution not to speak after her best friend--former best friend--died in a tragic drowning accident over summer break.  She has been told that "sometimes these things just happen" but Suzy will not accept that and becomes obsessed with the idea that her friend, Franny, may have died from a jellyfish sting.  Delving into research on jellyfish and how to prove her theory is correct, Suzy is also tackling her first year in middle school while not speaking.  This story is about Suzy dealing with her grief, but also about changing friendships.

~The Good~

Ali Benjamin tells Suzy's story through the scientific process, introducing chapters as different parts in a science experiment because that's how she's able to deal with processing Franny's death.  She needs to have a reason that makes sense for why Franny died.  Woven throughout are flashbacks to the story of Suzy and Franny's friendship and how they grew together throughout the years and then eventually how they grew apart.  Not only is Suzy dealing with the grief of the actual death of her friend, but she's still not understanding how their friendship died before that moment.  The way Ali Benjamin deals with Suzy's grief is delicately, opening up one little piece of her heart at time. She allows not only the reader to fully understand what happened, but it allows Suzy to understand too.

Suzy has some great help along the way.  She finds kindred spirits in unexpected people who help her just by being there and allowing her to be silent.  That's also something I appreciated.  Suzy's choice to not speak is disturbing and upsetting to her parents, and although she knows they love her, Suzy really just wants them to understand.  Which they don't--not due to any fault of their own.  Without meaning too, though, she finds others who do understand--or at least accept.  They just accept her silence and still speak with her and interact with her.

Friendship and its complexities is at the heart of this novel, which is so important for a middle grade book.  Friendships become more complex when kids start moving up into middle school and it's a difficult path to wade through for kids.  Our journey with Suzy attempts to untangle and understand what went wrong and how to accept it.

Audio: Sarah Franco, brought Suzy to life.  Her performance of the novel and the voice of Suzy presented us with a girl who isn't sure of herself or anything really anymore.  She showed us a girl who is trying to understand the world, but just doesn't get it--and is hurt that it doesn't quite get her.  Her performance really made the audio.

~The Not-So-Good~

I can't find anything to be bothered with about this book.  I enjoyed it!  I really enjoyed it.  And it even forced me to go on a walk a few days when I didn't want to so that I could hear more from Suzy.

~Final Thoughts~

The Thing About Jellyfish is heartbreaking and beautiful.  If you have a 5th-8th grader I think they would very much enjoy and relate to this story.  Even if you don't have a child of that age, read it.  Remind yourself of what it's like to be different and to just want people to understand you, so you can understand the world.

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Another DNF

Although I like to say that I am okay with not finishing a book and just putting it aside, I'm not.  In theory I want to be okay with a DNF (did not finish) because I don't want to waste my time; however when it comes down to it, I feel as if I gave up.

It's like a flashback to high school when I had to read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.  I HATED it. (Sorry Mr. Sinclair.)  I didn't finish it.  I read enough to get by in the class, but to this day I feel guilty for not reading it.  Partly because it was required reading and I did not read it.  Also because it's been instilled in me that if you start something, you finish it.  No matter what, you give it your all until it's over and then you may move on.

As an adult I have promised to not take this outlook with books.  If I don't like it, I'm going to stop reading it.  It's okay. (It's okay. It's okay. It's okay--just keep repeating.)  I don't owe anyone anything.  Plus I have other books to read--that hopefully I'll enjoy.  I have other things to do.  I have posts to write and papers to grade and a baby girl to play with.  I will not spend time reading something I really don't like at all.  

So I'm proud to say that I've already DNF'd two books this year.  Usually it's not so many--at least not because I really don't like them.  These are true DNF's because I will not be going back to these at anytime in the future.  Doesn't make them bad or terrible--just not for me.  

How do you feel about DNF's?  Do you embrace it?  Are you wary?  Do you avoid it at all cost?  

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Book Review: The Red Queen

The Red Queen

Victoria Aveyard
Harper Teen, 2015
Genre: YA, fantasy, dystopian
Source: Purchased
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

~What It's About~

Mare Barrow lives in a world separated by the color of your blood.  The silver bloods rule, with their powers that can crush a Mare in just a moment.  Suddenly, Mare finds herself pulled in the world of the silvers when it is discovered that she has powers of her own.  Now she must discover how to navigate the Silver world as the king and queen have plans to use her to calm the rebellion around her.  She is to marry the younger prince and, when it is time, convince all the Reds that they should remain under the control of the Silvers and not rebel.  Torn between the life she once led and the powers she now possesses, Mare must figure out who to trust and how best to change the world around her.

~The Good~

  Victoria Aveyard has built a world that is terrifying and believable.  Mare has made her way by being a pickpocket in her small town, waiting for the day she'll be sent to the army, where all Reds go unless they have a job--which there aren't many of.  If they come home, it's never good.  The war their country is fighting has been fought by Red soldiers, used by the Silvers.  The Silvers sit up in glass castles and beautiful homes while the Reds fight to get by each day.  Mare has seen all this and resigned to her fate.  Until one day she is given a job in the castle.

The Silvers are terrifying, with powers like controlling metal, having immense strength, reading and controlling minds, controlling fire, and many more.  They learn to battle one another and they will use their powers on Reds when they step out of line.  Mare shouldn't have these powers, but she does.
Now that she has been discovered, she has to pretend that she is a Silver.  If anyone realizes what she is, then she and her family will be killed.

There is also a very weird love triangle of sorts.  Mare's friend from home, Kilorn, isn't presented as a love interest really at first, but she does feel a connection to him because they have grown up together and know one another so well.  Now that she resides in the palace, she has been engaged to the younger prince, Maven, who helps her learn how to fit into her new world and keep her secret safe.  But there is also Maven's older brother and the future king, Cal, to whom she is drawn, but he is engaged to another Silver with strong powers.  Although love triangle is there, it isn't central to the story.  Mare is central to the story and it's her story--not a love story.

~The Not-So-Good~

I really loved this story and am having a difficult time finding a not-so-good.

~Final Thoughts~

I was thoroughly impressed with the world that Victoria Aveyard has built in The Red Queen.  The powers of the Silvers are incredible and diverse and terrifying.  It is a world that I would not enjoy living in, yet I am intrigued by it.  Definitely a good read and one that I would suggest to any fan of the dystopian novel.

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