Hoooo, boy. I just don’t even know what to say here. That’s not true. I know exactly what to say, but it’s not good. I really REALLY wanted to like this book. A friend recommended this one to me after learning about my frustration with recent YA books. So many of them are just awful. Terribly obnoxious main characters, uncreative plots, etc. I was expecting this one to be great. However, I was so disappointed.
Mare is a Red, meaning she has red blood, an is poor and looked down upon, as all Reds are. She is trying to avoid being drafted by the army, so she conconts this crazy plan which doesn’t work. She’s caught by the Silvers, so named because they have silver blood and are wealthy, but in the process she learns she has powers, as many Silvers (but no Reds) do. Here’s the big gaping plot hole: The Silvers decide to tell people she’s a Silver, but didn’t know her true identity and was raised as a Red. Do you see the hole? If she had ever cut herself as a kid, she would immediately know what color her blood is. Assuming she is raised as a Red, wouldn’t one cut to see silver blood make her think “hm, this isn’t what I was expecting…” and then she would have confronted her parents? Because NO ONE wants to be a red when they are really a silver…..
The rest of the book was okay. Mare poses as a Silver for awhile, crazy things happen where the secret Red Guard tries to overthrow the government, Mare is betrayed by someone, then doubly betrayed by another. It’s just ridiculous. Once again, another YA book is hyped and doesn’t live up to the expectation. Once. Again.
Please, readers out there, find me a good series. I’m begging you.
Pleasant Nights 