book report on red queen

Victoria Aveyard

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Mare Barrow is born and raised in the Kingdom of Norta, which is characterized by a sharp class divide: the Silvers, who have silver blood , live lives of glamor and riches. Reds, who have red blood, live in poverty in villages like the Stilts. Mare, a Red who has grown up in the Stilts, must pick pockets to support her family. She brings stolen goods home every day to her mother , who disapproves of her daughter’s quasi-profession, her younger sister, Gisa , who has an actual job as an apprentice to a seamstress, and her father , who uses a wheelchair and an iron lung because he came home injured from war. Mare’s three older brothers, Bree , Tramy , and Shade , are absent because they, too, have been conscripted to act as faceless bodies in the ongoing war. The war has been raging on the border of Norta for over a hundred years, and Reds have no stake in it—except insofar as they provide the Silvers with the human fuel to keep their war going. Any Red who is not apprenticed or employed by the age of eighteen (which is most Reds, because jobs are few and far between, and the school system does not teach many skills that could win an apprenticeship) is sent to the war front. Most of them either do not come back, or come back severely injured. The Silvers have the resources to treat many of these injuries, but they choose not to invest in doing so, because there is a steady supply of fresh Reds from which to draw.

The Silvers are able to use the Reds in this way because the Silvers’ special gifts to manipulate fire, metal, earth, water, and more has given them enough of an edge over the gift-less Reds to force them into poverty. The Silvers stage Feats every month in giant arenas in Red villages, at which Silver champions fight one another. The spectacle is entertaining, but Mare knows that it doubles as a reminder to the Reds that they are powerless in the face of this fantastically gifted ruling class. Still, when Mare’s best friend, Kilorn , finds out that he is about to be conscripted, she decides that she will do everything she can to fight back. She goes to Will Whistle , the man who usually buys her stolen goods to sell on the black market, and asks if he can smuggle her and Kilorn out of the Stilts so that they might go on the run from the Silvers. Will refuses at first, but then introduces Mare to Farley , a woman who claims to be a first-rate smuggler. Farley accepts the task of smuggling Mare and Kilorn out of town, but only if Mare pays her two thousand crowns in the next two days. This sum is a veritable fortune to Mare, but she accepts Farley’s offer, resolving to steal the money.

Mare gets Gisa, who works in the Silver metropolis where the king lives during the summer, to help her sneak into the city. While Mare is attempting to pick pockets in a bar there, a broadcast comes on the television. Mare sees Farley claiming credit for a terrorist attack on the Silvers, on behalf of a group called the Scarlet Guard. The Guard is allegedly working to advance Red rights. Chaos breaks out in the bar and all over the city as Reds try to flee and Silvers capture them, torturing them for information they do not have on the Scarlet Guard. Mare finds Gisa and has almost managed to make it out of the city with her when Gisa decides to pick a pocket. Less adept than Mare, she is caught. As punishment, a Silver security officer smashes Gisa’s sewing hand.

That night, feeling that she has betrayed her family by getting Gisa into this mess, Mare sneaks off to some bars on the edges of the Stilts. She does not go to drink, but rather to steal from the patrons. The last person whose pocket she picks catches her. Instead of getting angry, he gives her a silver coin, walks her home, and gives her a second silver coin. He introduces himself as Cal , and says that he works at the palace. Mare does not think she will ever hear anything from him again, but in the morning, security officers and a royal servant show up at the Barrow house to escort Mare to the palace. At first, she is terrified that she is about to be tortured for information on Farley. However, she soon finds that Cal has arranged for her to have a serving job at the palace.

Mare’s first task as a royal servant is to serve the Silver crowd at an event called Queenstrial, at which the eligible young Silver noblewomen compete for the two princes’ hands in marriage. Mare runs around a stadium similar to, but far more ornate than, that in which she has seen the Feats every month in the Stilts. When the royal family enters, Mare feels shocked and betrayed to find that the crown prince is Cal. As she reels from this discovery, she observes the young women competing in the depressed arena below, separated from the crowd by a vast electric shield. It strikes her that the Silvers are more powerful than she ever thought. The last contestant, Evangeline Samos , seems favored to win, although her power of manipulating metal does not impress Mare as much as some of the others’ powers. Evangeline then makes the entire arena begin to collapse in on itself. Mare falls over the edge and has resigned herself to dying upon collision with the electric shield. When she collides with it, however, it is not Mare but rather the shield that suffers the most damage. She seems to burn through it. Before all the Silvers’ eyes, she falls through the shield to the arena below. Evangeline, terrified, goes on the offensive. Mare deflects her shards of metal with some sort of electric shield of her own. King Tiberias yells for sentinels to seize Mare, and she runs. However, Cal catches her by using his own gift: manipulating flames.

Mare wakes to find that Queen Elara has invaded her head using her talents as a “whisper” who can read and control minds. Elara and the king seem threatened by Mare. They tell her that from now on, they will conceal her identity as a Red by peddling the story that she is a Silver whose parents died in the war during her infancy; she was raised by Reds who concealed her identity from her until now. She will marry the second-born prince, Maven , and live the rest of her life as a Silver.

Mare does not feel like she is living a fairy tale, but rather like she is a prisoner. As she learns the ropes of life at the royal court, she constantly looks over her shoulder, sure that she is going to be betrayed by someone close to her. Despite her mistrust of them, she feels alternately drawn to both the princes. She eventually decides to trust Maven, who claims to work with the Scarlet Guard and desire equality for Reds and Silvers. Mare herself joins the Scarlet Guard and becomes party to a terrorist attack at the palace. In the aftermath of the attack, however, she feels unsure that she should have trusted Maven. Cal, by contrast, is willing to maintain the unjust status quo, but his objections to murder seem more in line with Mare’s views. Throughout the novel, as Mare attempts to learn who she is and what her values are, she remains unsure of who her actual friends are, apart from the direct family members she is no longer allowed to see.

Finally, Mare decides that Maven’s radical views are the only pathway to true justice. She chooses him over Cal, both politically and romantically. Mare makes one final appeal to Cal to convince his father to be a more just ruler, but Cal declines. Just when Mare feels sure that she has chosen the right brother, Maven reveals that he has been in league with his mother, Queen Elara, the whole time. They have been planning a coup, not to instate a more just regime that treats Reds as equal citizens, but rather to put Maven on the throne for personal gain. Queen Elara controls Cal’s mind, forcing him to kill the king, his father. She then immediately yells out in shock and grief so that sentinels rush in and believe that Cal and Mare are the traitors.

The novel ends with Cal and Mare on a train with members from the Scarlet Guard, who have snuck them out of the capital. Mare finds out that the Silvers have kept from her an additional secret about her identity: she is not the only Red who displays Silver talents. Silvers have been keeping on lockdown that there is an entire subset of citizens with red blood who also have the genetic markers of these magical gifts. Mare finds out that her brother Shade, who she thought was executed for involvement with the Scarlet Guard, is in fact alive and one of them. Mare decides that she should not trust any one person, but that the work the Scarlet Guard is doing to organize a Red resistance underground is the work she wants to do as well. She could never be romantically involved with Cal, she decides, because they have betrayed one another too many times. However, she knows that they share a goal moving forward: both of them have a vendetta against Maven. If they ever get close to him, they will kill him.

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Red queen: book 1, common sense media reviewers.

Action-packed fantasy will grip fans of powerful heroines.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Readers will learn about the way monarchies work a

Readers will ponder the idea that being different

Mare's court tutor Julian encourages and helps

The Silver court hosts gladiator-like fights where

Some brief kisses, many lingering looks, and a cou

Insults: "weak," "coward," &qu

Adults (including teens who are of age) drink at s

Parents need to know Red Queen is the highly anticipated debut by Victoria Aveyard. A blend of fantasy and dystopia, Red Queen will appeal to fans of The Selection , Divergent , and Shadow and Bone . The story of Mare, a young woman in a world divided by blood -- the Silvers…

Educational Value

Readers will learn about the way monarchies work and why caste systems are so limiting for those at the bottom.

Positive Messages

Readers will ponder the idea that being different is valuable and important. Mare's abilities make her special and unlike others in her society.

Positive Role Models

Mare's court tutor Julian encourages and helps her to fit into the society while being honest about the way Silver society has failed. Cal is a rule-follower who believes in the monarchy and the idea that he can make things better for everyone. Mare is bright, quick, and selfless, even when it might not necessarily keep her safe.

Violence & Scariness

The Silver court hosts gladiator-like fights wherein two Silvers use their special powers to defeat each other. Certain Silvers can see inside your mind and turn you insane/unable to think. A bomb kills innocent civilians. Revolutionaries fight silvers with weapons; Silvers kill with their powers or their weapons. Characters are tortured.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Some brief kisses, many lingering looks, and a couple of slow dances.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Insults: "weak," "coward," "liar," "nothing."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults (including teens who are of age) drink at social functions.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know Red Queen is the highly anticipated debut by Victoria Aveyard. A blend of fantasy and dystopia, Red Queen will appeal to fans of The Selection , Divergent , and Shadow and Bone . The story of Mare, a young woman in a world divided by blood -- the Silvers are the rulers and the Reds the commoners -- is full of court intrigue, sociopolitical commentary, and social unrest. There are several violent gladiator-type fights, confrontations, torture scenes, and revolutionary/terrorist strikes that kill characters. With its courageous protagonist, action-packed plot, and romantic possibilities, Red Queen is a winning series start for fantasy and dystopia lovers.

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Based on 15 parent reviews

A review of the series

What's the story.

In Victoria Aveyard's debut fantasy novel RED QUEEN, Mare is a 17-year-old pickpocket in a world where caste is determined by blood color; she and other commoners are Reds, and the ruling class are Silvers (who literally bleed silver). She faces a grim future without an apprenticeship or a career. When she turns 18, her only option as a Red will be to join an army at war. When her best friend Kilorn loses his apprenticeship and faces conscription, Mare attempts a plan that fails spectacularly. The night her plan goes awry, she meets a handsome young man who catches her stealing and questions her about her life. The next day, Mare is mysteriously hired as a royal servant to the Silvers, who've gathered at a palace festival to determine which aristocratic girl will be betrothed to the two eligible princes -- one of whom is the mysterious stranger Mare met the previous night. During the competitive display of rich girls' powers, Mare discovers that she possesses supernatural powers unheard of in a Red. To cover up the existence of Red with "Silver" skills, the King forces her to pretend she's a long-lost Silver brought up by Reds. She's also betrothed to a prince, but not the older one she knows and likes. As Mare learns how to appear as a Silver when she's actually a Red, she's drawn to the underground rebellion that seeks to overthrow Silver rule.

Is It Any Good?

Aveyard packs a lot into a first novel: world building, court intrigue, caste divisions, superpowers, and a main character with multiple possible love interests. Like Tris or Alina, Mare is unique: She has amazing powers in a world where Silvers boast powers but Reds do not; like Katniss in The Hunger Games , she bears the burden of playing a part for society's rulers but secretly feeling a kinship with subversive revolutionaries. She's beautiful but doesn't see it; she's desired but can't maturely navigate her feelings for the Princes: Maven, the sensitive second son she's been tied to, or Cal, the fiery firstborn who's engaged to a nasty, but politically advantageous, match. And like most 17-year-olds, she can occasionally grate on readers' nerves with her indecision and insecurity.

While Aveyard's world-building starts off slow, it grows more complicated as the book continues. Even by the end of the book, readers may not master all the Silver powers, but by then the story is so page-turning those details don't matter so much as figuring out who's lying and who's going to survive to see Book 2. Aveyard's pacing starts off reflective, as young Mare discovers everything about the Silver court for the first time. By the last third of the book, the story is so compelling you can't stop reading. Don't bother trying to figure out the end game; Aveyard is a crafty writer who sneaks in twists and makes readers care, despite a few niggling plot holes and the occasionally exasperating shifts in Mare's romantic feelings.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the popularity of fantasy-dystopian books that take place in totalitarian or caste-based societies. Why are these stories so compelling to readers?

The romance in Red Queen is understated even though the main character has three potential love interests. Did you like the way the romance was handled? Do you expect more romance in the upcoming installments?

There's quite a gap between the lives of the Reds and the Silvers. Do you think there are still class disparities and discrimination today?

Book Details

• Author : Victoria Aveyard
• Genre : Fantasy
• Topics : Brothers and Sisters , Friendship
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : HarperTeen
• Publication date : February 10, 2015
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 13 - 17
• Number of pages : 400
• Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
• Last updated : June 25, 2018

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74 pages • 2 hours read

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Chapter 28 and Epilogue

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Summary and Study Guide

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (Harper Teen, 2015) is the first book in the Red Queen series, which follows one girl’s battle to bring equality to her people in a dystopian fantasy world where the power hungry Silvers oppress the lower Red class. The book won the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award for Debut Goodreads Author and was nominated for the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction.

New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard grew up in western Massachusetts before moving to Los Angeles, where she obtained a degree from the University of Southern California’s screenwriting program. She writes young adult science fiction and fantasy, including the Red Queen series and the Realm Breaker series (2021). This guide follows the 2015 Harper Teen version of Red Queen .

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Plot Summary

Red Queen is set in the world of Norta , a country divided into Red and Silver classes. Reds have red blood while Silvers have silver blood and supernatural powers. Each Silver house has a different ability (such as superstrength or fire manipulation), and the Silvers believe these powers elevate them above Reds. As a result, Reds are oppressed while Silvers live in luxury. Seventeen-year-old Mare Barrow is a Red living with her parents and younger sister. Her three older brothers were conscripted into the war between Norta and its neighbor, a fate that also awaits Mare when she turns 18. Mare spends her days skipping school and pickpocketing to provide for her family.

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Mare and her friend Kilorn Warren attend the First Friday televised fight between two Silvers, one of the many ways the Silvers keep the Reds in line. Later that night, Kilorn learns his employer was killed in an accident, which means Kilorn will be sent to the war. Desperate, Mare makes a deal with the Scarlet Guard, a rebel group of Reds, who agree to smuggle Mare and Kilorn to safety for a hefty fee. The next day, Mare accompanies her sister to the Silver city, where she works embroidering silks. Mare plans to pickpocket the Guard’s fee. While there, a news broadcast comes on, which is interrupted by a member of the Scarlet Guard threatening the Silvers. Fearful Silvers round up Red workers to demand information, many using their powers to torture Reds. While trying to escape the city, Mare’s sister attempts to steal money, but she is caught and her hand is broken as punishment.

Mare hides out at a nearby tavern, where she pickpockets drunk patrons. A boy a bit older than her named Cal catches her but doesn’t turn her in. Instead, he gives her a few coins before disappearing into the night. The next day, Mare is given a job working at the Silver palace. She learns it is Queenstrial, the day where the daughters of noble families compete to wed one of the princes. As she works the trial, Mare learns Cal is the crown prince and that his wife has already been chosen.

During the Queenstrial, it becomes clear that Mare has her own Silver-like powers. As a coverup, the royal family outfits Mare with the identity of a long-lost noble daughter and betroths her to Cal’s brother, Maven. Mare spends the next several weeks among the Silvers, learning to use her powers and lying to keep up appearances while she seeks a way to undermine the Silvers from within. Mare joins the Scarlet Guard and learns Maven also supports the Guard’s cause of Red freedom. Together, they form a plan to kill key figures in the Silver ranks at the grand ball before the royal family returns to the capital.

The assassinations at the ball are successful, but Kilorn and other members of the Guard are captured. Knowing her secret identity is in danger, Mare helps the prisoners escape. The next day, the royal family leaves for the capital.

Maven proposes the Guard stage a coup. The Guard agrees, but the coup doesn’t go as planned. Mare and Maven are captured. While Mare’s powers are suppressed, Maven reveals he has been double-crossing her the entire time. Maven and his mother force Cal to kill his father and then spin the story that Cal is a murderer. Mare and Cal are sentenced to death by public execution.

The execution is a televised fight. Cal is allowed his powers but Mare’s are again suppressed. While Cal battles, Mare tricks one of their opponents into killing the Silver restraining her powers. Mare and Cal win the match, but Maven sends in a contingent of soldiers to kill them. The Scarlet Guard rescues Mare and Cal, and the story ends with the Guard in retreat.

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Red Queen Summary, Characters and Themes | Victoria Aveyard

In the novel “Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard, readers are plunged into the divided world of Norta, where society is split along the lines of blood color—Red and Silver. 

This gripping tale, set against a dystopian backdrop, unfolds the story of Mare Barrow, a Red girl born into poverty and oppression under the Silver elite’s rule. Aveyard weaves a world that is as fantastical as it is reflective of our own, making “Red Queen” a compelling read that resonates deeply with contemporary themes of inequality and the fight for social justice.

In this dystopian realm, people are split by the color of their blood: the elite Silvers and the impoverished Reds.

Mare Barrow, a Red from the poverty-stricken village of the Stilts, is a resourceful pickpocket, stealing to support her family. 

Her life contrasts starkly with the opulent world of the Silvers, known for their supernatural abilities to manipulate elements like fire, metal, and water. 

These powers have allowed them to subjugate the Reds, using them as disposable soldiers in a century-long war that has little to do with Red interests.

As Mare grapples with the injustices around her, she faces a personal crisis when her best friend, Kilorn, faces conscription into the endless war. 

Desperate, she turns to the black market, where she encounters Farley, a smuggler linked to the Scarlet Guard, a group fighting for Red rights. Farley agrees to help Mare and Kilorn escape, but at a steep price.

Mare’s plan goes awry when her sister Gisa is caught and punished for pickpocketing in the Silver city. 

Guilt-ridden, Mare ends up working in the Silver Palace, where she accidentally discovers her own extraordinary power during a dramatic event called the Queenstrial. 

This revelation shocks the Silver elite and forces the royal family to fabricate a story: Mare, a Red, is to be presented as a long-lost Silver and betrothed to Prince Maven.

In the palace, Mare navigates a treacherous web of politics , power, and intrigue. She grows close to both Prince Maven and his brother, Cal, but her trust in Maven leads her into the heart of a devastating betrayal. 

Maven, in collusion with his mother Queen Elara, orchestrates a coup for personal power, framing Mare and Cal for the king’s murder.

The novel culminates in a dramatic escape, with Mare and Cal joining forces with the Scarlet Guard. Mare learns a stunning truth: she’s not the only Red with Silver abilities. 

Her presumed-dead brother, Shade, is alive and part of this unique group. Resolved to fight against Maven’s tyranny, Mare sets aside personal entanglements, focusing on her new mission with the Scarlet Guard and her shared goal with Cal: vengeance against Maven.

Mare Barrow

Mare Barrow, the protagonist of “Red Queen,” is a tenacious and resourceful Red girl from the impoverished village of the Stilts.

She possesses a strong sense of justice and is initially driven by the need to support her family. Mare’s life takes a dramatic turn when she discovers her unique ability to control electricity, a power unprecedented for a Red. 

This discovery thrusts her into the heart of the Silver elite, where she navigates complex political and personal landscapes, while grappling with her new identity and the responsibilities it brings.

Cal, or Tiberias Calore VII, is the crown prince of Norta and a Silver with the power to manipulate fire. He is portrayed as a character torn between his duty to his kingdom and his personal beliefs, especially after meeting Mare. 

Cal is complex, often struggling with the injustices within his society, yet feeling bound by tradition and his position. His relationship with Mare introduces him to perspectives that challenge his worldview.

Maven, Cal’s younger brother and the second prince, initially appears supportive and understanding towards Mare’s cause. As the story progresses, his more manipulative and ambitious nature is revealed. 

Maven’s character is pivotal to the novel’s exploration of betrayal and the corrupting influence of power. His actions are central to the plot’s twists and turns, deeply affecting Mare’s journey.

Queen Elara

Queen Elara is a powerful and cunning antagonist in the story. As a Silver with the ability to invade and manipulate minds, she plays a critical role in the political machinations of the Silver court. 

Her manipulative nature and cold demeanor make her a formidable figure in the novel. 

She is deeply involved in the plot against the Reds and is the mastermind behind many of the betrayals that occur.

Gisa, Mare’s younger sister, is one of the few Reds in the Stilts who has secured an apprenticeship, working as a seamstress. 

She is a symbol of the limited but possible upward mobility for Reds within the Silver-dominated society. Gisa’s character is significant in showing a different, more conformist side of the Red population, in contrast to Mare’s rebellious nature.

Farley is a key member of the Scarlet Guard, a rebel group fighting against Silver oppression. She is strong-willed, determined, and fiercely dedicated to the cause of Red liberation. 

Farley’s interactions with Mare expose the larger resistance movement within the kingdom and serve as a catalyst for Mare’s involvement in the fight for Red rights.

Kilorn is Mare’s childhood friend, whose impending conscription into the army serves as a critical turning point in the novel. 

His character represents the average Red youth, forced into dire circumstances by the oppressive Silver regime. Kilorn’s situation propels Mare into action and underscores the personal cost of the Silver’s tyrannical rule over the Reds.

1. Class Struggle and Social Injustice

“Red Queen” delves deeply into the theme of class struggle, portraying a society sharply divided along bloodlines – the affluent Silvers and the subjugated Reds. 

This division is more than just economic; it’s about power, privilege, and access to resources. Aveyard skillfully explores how such a divide leads to systemic social injustice, where the Silvers, endowed with supernatural abilities, exploit the Reds for labor and warfare. 

This theme is not just a backdrop; it’s integral to the story, driving the characters’ motivations and the plot’s trajectory. 

The Reds’ plight, mirrored in real-world issues of classism and inequality, resonates with the struggles of marginalized communities globally, making the theme both fantastical and strikingly relevant.

2. The Complexity of Power and Corruption

The novel intricately examines the nature of power – its allure, its ability to corrupt, and the moral ambiguities that come with wielding it. 

Through Mare’s journey and her interactions with the Silver elite, Aveyard explores how power can be both a tool for change and a weapon of oppression. 

The Silvers, despite their extraordinary abilities, are shown to be deeply flawed and susceptible to corruption, while the seemingly powerless Reds, like Mare, discover strength and abilities that challenge the status quo. 

The book doesn’t shy away from showing how power can corrupt even the most well-intentioned individuals, encapsulating the adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

This theme adds layers of complexity to the characters and their decisions, making the narrative thought-provoking and morally challenging.

3. Betrayal and Trust

Central to the story is the theme of betrayal and the fragile nature of trust. 

Mare’s journey is riddled with betrayals that reshape her understanding of her world and herself. 

The relationships she forms, particularly with the royal brothers Cal and Maven, are fraught with deception and hidden agendas. 

These betrayals aren’t just personal; they have far-reaching implications on the political landscape of Norta. 

Aveyard uses these betrayals to advance the plot and develop her characters, highlighting how trust is a delicate and sometimes dangerous commodity in a world rife with power struggles. 

This theme resonates deeply, as it touches on the human experience of being betrayed and the challenge of whom to trust, especially in a world where alliances shift like sand.

Final Thoughts

“Red Queen” is a tale of power, betrayal, and resistance, where a young girl’s awakening abilities become a symbol of hope for an oppressed people, setting the stage for a larger rebellion against a cruel and unjust order.

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Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

From the Red Queen series , Vol. 1

by Victoria Aveyard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 10, 2015

An inventive, character-driven twist breathes new life into tired fantasy trends.

Amid a war and rising civil unrest, a young thief discovers the shocking power within her that sparks a revolution.

At 17, Mare knows that without an apprenticeship or job, her next birthday will bring a conscription to join the war. She contributes to her poor family’s income the only way she can, stealing from the Silvers, who possess myriad powers and force her and her fellow Reds into servitude. The Silvers literally bleed silver, and they can manipulate metal, plants and animals, among many other talents. When Mare’s best friend, Kilorn, loses his job and is doomed to conscription, she is determined to change his fate. She stumbles into a mysterious stranger after her plan goes awry and is pulled out of her village and into the world of Silver royalty. Once inside the palace walls, it isn’t long before Mare learns that powers unknown to red-blooded humans lie within her, powers that could lead a revolution. Familiar tropes abound. Mare is revealed as a great catalyst for change among classes and is groomed from rags to riches, and of course, seemingly kind characters turn out to be foes. However, Aveyard weaves a compelling new world, and Mare and the two men in her life evolve intriguingly as class tension rises. Revolution supersedes romance, setting the stage for action-packed surprises.

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-06-231063-7

Page Count: 400

Publisher: HarperTeen

Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

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IF ONLY I HAD TOLD HER

by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024

A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.

In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me , three characters tell their sides of the story.

Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781728276229

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE

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by Laura Nowlin

IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME

by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.

The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.

Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.

Pub Date: April 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5

Page Count: 336

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

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Victoria Aveyard

New York Times Bestselling Author of "Red Queen"

June 27, 2019 by

Red Queen, by #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard, is a sweeping tale of power, intrigue, and betrayal, perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series.

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.

Praise for Red Queen

School library journal.

Breakneck pace and engaging characters.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

[Aveyard] sets her audience up for a gaspworthy twist that reconfigures nearly every character’s role and leaves Mare with no one to trust but herself… This blend of fantasy and dystopia will be an unexpected and worthy addition to many genre fans’ reading list.

A sizzling, imaginative thriller, where romance and revolution collide, where power and justice duel. It’s exhilarating. Compelling. Action-packed. Unputdownable.

A volatile world with a dynamic heroine.

Aveyard weaves a compelling new world of action-packed surprises… inventive, character-driven.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

Fascinating world building… Readers will be intrigued by a world that reflects today’s troubling issues concerning ethnic inequality, unfair distribution of wealth, pollution, warfare, political corruption, and the frightening power of the media.

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Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - review

Every couple of months in the vast and wonderful kingdoms of Booktube and Bookstagram, there is one book which everyone, and I mean everyone and their pet goldfish, loves. It's everywhere you look, everyone is raving about it and everyone is telling you to go and buy this book or cry for eternity that you never jumped on that bandwagon when it first started rolling.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard was this book. I bought it a few days after it was first released, but wasn't too motivated to pick it up as I'd been suffering with a rather bad case of the 'Reading Slumps'. Nevertheless, two days ago I decided enough was enough, and that the only way to get through this horrible time was to charge headfirst into a book with a premise of gold and bags full of hype surrounding it.

All of this hype is deserved, 100%. Red Queen takes place in a fantasy setting where people are divided into different groups, depending on the colour of their blood. The silver blooded are blessed with extraordinary powers (think X-men meets Vampire Academy) and live in the lap of luxury, whilst those with red blood are victims of extreme poverty and are treated as inferiors to the Silvers. Mare Barrow is a 17 year old Red girl, but through extreme circumstances discovers that despite the shade of her blood, she possesses an ability no one, not even a Silver, has ever seen before.

Red Queen is an incredible start to an electrifying new series, managing to merge the two worlds of fantasy power and gripping action into one powerful gust of awesomeness which is taking the world of YA by storm. Victoria Aveyard writes with an iron fist, thrumming with veins of heart-stopping twists and turns, and she sure isn't afraid to use it to keep her readers on the edge of their seats for the duration of the book. For the first novel in a series, Red Queen is a fantastic debut which makes me extremely enthusiastic about the rest of the books to come. The character of Mare was such a joy to discover and unravel. She was so much more than what she seemed at the beginning, and I honestly had to stop a few times whilst reading and whisper into the night 'I freaking love this girl, all hail the Red Queen'.

Amazing world building. Snarky characters. Fearless plot twists. Epic fight scenes (seriously, some of the best I've read to this day). If you still need persuading, which I highly doubt, but hey, I'm not you so I'll take that into account, there is nothing like this out there at the moment. Red Queen is a unique blend of genres, and creates a concept which will make some of you hardcore fantasy fans weep with joy. If you're going to pick up a book, pick this one up. Join the Red Guard, and rise as red as dawn!

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by Victoria Aveyard

Red queen analysis.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Lily Jones and other people who wish to remain anonymous

Red Queen is a novel written by Victoria Aveyard. Victoria managed to both write and publish the book in less than a year. It is the first book in a quartet. The story follows Mare as she embarks on an adventure, trying to free the Reds (people born with red blood) from the oppression from the Silvers (people born with Silver blood). There are several themes and even symbols that show the heart Aveyard must have had writing the book, and what values she has.

The color of the blood shows the difference between those who are born with powers and are privileged, and those who are powerless and poor. The Reds are heavily oppressed and treated badly by the Silvers. Yet, they all have the characteristics that makes them human; will, love and life. They have to fight for their independence and freedom, much like African Americans have done in America and Africans have done in many of the colonies in Africa.

Mare also wear mismatched earrings, no matter how rich she becomes, in order to remember where she had come from. This shows that remembrance and honor is important, believing in who you are and what you can become all stems from the beginning of who you are. Even though she grew up to become a royal, it was still as important for her to make sure the Reds were taken care of.

Aveyard is often quoted for “anyone can betray anyone” quote that she wrote in the first book. The books have been written parallel to the revolutions in the middle east, as she explores how the people might be feeling, needing to fight for their basic human rights. She also included the anxious tension she felt in the country during the American election in her book.

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Red Queen Questions and Answers

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Figurative language sentences from red queen, cited.

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What dystopian genre is Red Queen?

Young Adult, Dystopian Fantasy

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Study Guide for Red Queen

Red Queen study guide contains a biography of Aveyard, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Red Queen
• Red Queen Summary
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Red Queen Summary & Study Guide

Red Queen Summary & Study Guide Description

“Red Queen” is a young adult fantasy novel by Victoria Aveyard which follows how seventeen-year-old Mare Barrow’s discovery that she, a peasant-born Red, has the special powers of the elite ruling Silvers and changes the course of her country’s future. When the novel begins, Mare is a lowly peasant pickpocket of the Red-blooded class in the country of Norta. The Reds carry out most of the dirty work of the world, ruled over by elite Silver-blooded humans with special powers and ability. Mare hates the Silvers.

Mare and her family, like most Reds, barely manage to scrape by. Her three brothers are off at war. Her sister Gisa is apprenticed to a seamstress and is the primary source of income for the family. Mare assists with money earned from pickpocketed items. Her father is a heavily-disabled war veteran. Mare’s best friend, Kilorn, is nearing the age of conscription when he must go off to fight. This breaks Mare’s heart. Mare, herself having been arrested numerous times for petty crimes, knows her fate will soon be the frontlines as well. She decides to meet with Will Whistle, a member of the underground black market to see if he can offer help.

Will introduces Mare to Farley, the leader of an underground group called the Scarlet Guard. Farley says she will help Mare and Kilorn escape conscription, ferreting them away to safety, for the price of two thousand Crowns. Mare has limited time to obtain the money. She accompanies her sister Gisa to work in Summerton, where the Silver royals and elites hold their summer court, intending to land a big score. However, a terrorist attack back in the country’s capital puts Summerton on edge, and Reds are rounded up across Summerton. Gisa is caught attempting to pickpocket and has her hand crushed in punishment. She can no longer work as a result. Unable to face her family, Mare does not go home right away.

She ends up near a pub, where a man of about nineteen or twenty named Cal—evidently wealthy by his clothing and manners—speaks to her. Cal feels badly for Mar and promises to do what he can to help her. Soon after, Mare is stunned to learn that she has been taken on to work in the Royal Household. She is also amazed to see the Royal Family in the palace. There is King Tiberias the Sixth; his second wife, Queen Elara; their youngest son Prince Maven; and the eldest son and heir to the throne from Tiberias’s first marriage, Cal (who will become Tiberias the Seventh upon assuming the throne).

The Queenstrial gets underway at the palace, where girls from the most elite Silver families, from the age of fourteen and up, compete in a demonstration of their power to win the hands of the princes in marriage. The most powerful girl is Evangeline, from the House of Samos. She has the tremendous power of controlling, reshaping, and manipulating metals. She uses this power to shake the viewing boxes of the attending Silver families and the Red servants, causing Mare to fall. As Mare falls, she emits a massive shield of lightning which protects her. She is instantly seized and brought before the Royals.

The king and queen do not know what to make of a Red with Silver powers. A cover story is decided upon, where Mare will portray the orphan daughter of a slain war hero, raised in poverty by a Red. In exchange, Mare’s brothers will be brought home from the war, and her family will be take care of. Mare reluctantly agrees. It is then announced that Mare will marry Prince Maven, while Evangeline will marry Prince Cal.

Mare is in disbelief. She has hated the Silvers for so long that she cannot imagine living among them. She is put into a strict schedule of learning how to be a lady, and how to wield her power. She begins meeting with Julian, brother of the dead queen, who recognizes Mare is something different, though he doesn’t know exactly what. He tells her that not all Silvers are bad, and warns her that anyone can betray anyone. As time passes, Mare develops romantic feelings for Cal and for Maven, though she tries to keep hating them. She ultimately comes to join the Scarlet Guard in order to make things right for the Reds and to end the ongoing war. Surprisingly, Maven joins her, telling her that it is time for change.

Mare and Maven agree to become part of a coup to seize the king and force reforms. Mare attempts to use Cal’s feelings for her to get him to turn against his father, but he will not do so. He orders troops after the Scarlet Guard instead. Cal’s troops capture Mare and Maven, and bring them before the king and queen. The king says that both must be killed, but the queen will not allow this. She uses her powers to force Cal to kill his own father. Maven reveals himself as a traitor, having used Mare to help him destroy the Scarlet Guard and become king on his own. Mare and Cal are then sentenced to death, but manage to escape when they are aided by the Scarlet Guard. As the novel ends, Mare vows to kill Maven.

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Introducing Antonia Scott --- the most compelling and original detective since Lisbeth Salander --- in Juan Gómez-Jurado's RED QUEEN, the #1 international award-winning bestseller and thriller that has taken the world by storm. 

Antonia Scott --- the daughter of a British diplomat and a Spanish mother --- has a gifted forensic mind, whose ability to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling murders is legendary. But after a personal trauma, she's refused to continue her work or even leave her apartment.

Jon Gutierrez, a police officer in Bilbao --- disgraced, suspended and about to face criminal charges --- is offered a chance to salvage his career by a secretive organization that works in the shadows to direct criminal investigations of a highly sensitive nature. All he has to do is succeed where many others have failed: Convince a recalcitrant Antonia to come out of her self-imposed retirement, protecting her and helping her investigate a new, terrifying case.

The case is a macabre, ritualistic murder --- a teenaged boy from a wealthy family whose body was found without a drop of blood left in it. But the murder is just the start. A high-ranking executive and daughter of one of the richest men in Spain is kidnapped, a crime which is tied to the previous murder. Behind them both is a hidden mastermind with even more sinister plans. And the only person with a chance to see the connections, solve the crimes and successfully match wits with the killer before tragedy strikes again...is Antonia Scott.

Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado

• Publication Date: March 14, 2023
• Genres: Fiction , Mystery , Suspense , Thriller
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• ISBN-10: 1250853672
• ISBN-13: 9781250853677

• Teen & Young Adult

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The Red Queen Collection Series Books 1 - 5 Box Set by Victoria Aveyard ( (Red Queen, Glass Sword, King's Cage, War Storm & Broken Throne) Paperback – January 1, 2021

Purchase options and add-ons.

The #1 New York Times bestselling series!

Red Queen , by #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard, is a sweeping tale of power, intrigue, and betrayal, perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series.

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.

And don’t miss War Storm , the thrilling final book in the bestselling Red Queen series!

• Language English
• Publisher HarperTeen Ltd
• Publication date January 1, 2021
• ISBN-10 9124143065
• ISBN-13 978-9124143060
• See all details

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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperTeen Ltd (January 1, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9124143065
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9124143060
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.53 ounces
• #3,827 in Teen & Young Adult Books

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About the author

Victoria aveyard.

Victoria Aveyard was born and raised in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, a small town known only for the worst traffic rotary in the continental United States. She moved to Los Angeles to earn a BFA in screenwriting at the University of Southern California. As an author and screenwriter, she uses her career as an excuse to read too many books and watch too many movies.

Find out more at www.victoriaaveyard.com or follow her on Instagram @VictoriaAveyard

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Librarians fear new penalties, even prison, as activists challenge books

Tom Bober, librarian and President of the Missouri Association of School Librarians, poses for a photo Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Clayton, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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When an illustrated edition of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” was released in 2019, educators in Clayton, Missouri needed little debate before deciding to keep copies in high school libraries. The book is widely regarded as a classic work of dystopian literature about the oppression of women, and a graphic novel would help it reach teens who struggle with words alone.

But after Missouri legislators passed a law in 2022 subjecting librarians to fines and possible imprisonment for allowing sexually explicit materials on bookshelves, the suburban St. Louis district reconsidered the new Atwood edition, and withdrew it.

“There’s a depiction of a rape scene, a handmaid being forced into a sexual act,” says Tom Bober, Clayton district’s library coordinator and president of the Missouri Association of School Librarians. “It’s literally one panel of the graphic novel, but we felt it was in violation of the law in Missouri.”

Across the country, book challenges and bans have soared to the highest levels in decades. Public and school-based libraries have been inundated with complaints from community members and conservative organizations such as as Moms for Liberty. Increasingly, lawmakers are considering new punishments — crippling lawsuits, hefty fines, and even imprisonment — for distributing books some regard as inappropriate.

The trend comes as officials seek to define terms such as “obscene” and “harmful.” Many of the conflicts involve materials featuring racial and/or LGBTQ+ themes, such as Toni Morrison’s novel, “The Bluest Eye,” and Maia Kobabe’s memoir, “Gender Queer.” And while no librarian or educator has been jailed, the threat alone has led to more self-censorship.

Already this year, lawmakers in more than 15 states have introduced bills to impose harsh penalties on libraries or librarians.

Utah enacted legislation in March that empowers the state’s Attorney General to enforce a new system of challenging and removing “sensitive” books from school settings. The law also creates a panel to monitor compliance and violations.

Awaiting Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s signature is a bill that empowers local prosecutors to bring charges against public and school libraries if they don’t move “harmful” materials away from children.

“The laws are designed to limit or remove legal protections that libraries have had for decades,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Since the early 1960s, institutions including schools, libraries and museums — as well as educators, librarians and other staffers who distribute materials to children — have largely been exempt from expensive lawsuits or potential criminal charges.

These protections began showing up in states as America grappled with standards surrounding obscenity, which was defined by the Supreme Court in 1973.

Ruling 5-4 in Miller v. California, the justices said obscene materials are not automatically protected by the First Amendment, and offered three criteria that must be met for being labeled obscene: whether the work, taken as a whole, appeals to “prurient interest,” whether “the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law,” and whether the work lacks “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”

Eventually, almost every state adopted protections for educators, librarians and museum officials, among others who provide information to minors.

“Until recently, police and prosecutors were unable to pursue charges against public libraries over materials that make certain individuals uncomfortable. These exemptions have prevented spurious prosecutions of teachers over health and sexuality curriculum, art, theater, and difficult subjects in English classes,” stated a 2023 report from EveryLibrary, a national political action committee that opposes censorship.

Arkansas and Indiana targeted educators and librarians with criminalization laws last year. Tennessee criminalized publishers that provide “obscene” materials to public schools.

Some Republicans are seeking penalties and restrictions that would apply nationwide. Referring to “pornography” in the foreword to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a possible second Donald Trump administration, the right-wing group’s president, Kevin Roberts, wrote that the “people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders.”

Arkansas’ version was temporarily blocked by a federal judge after a coalition of librarians and publishers challenged the legality of subjecting librarians and booksellers to criminal charges if they provide “harmful” materials to minors.

Indiana lawmakers stripped away “educational purposes” as a defense for school librarians and educators charged with giving minors “obscene” or “harmful” material — felonies punishable by up to 2½ years in jail and $10,000 in fines. The law also requires public catalogs of what’s in each school library and systems for responding to complaints.

Indiana’s law took effect January 1. It’s likely a matter of when — not if — a lawsuit is filed, and the anxiety has created a chilling effect.

“It’s putting fear into some people. It’s very scary,” said Diane Rogers, a school librarian who serves as president of the Indiana Library Federation. “If you’re a licensed teacher just being charged with a felony potentially gets rid of your license even if you’re found innocent. That’s a very serious thing.”

Rogers said she’s confident Indiana’s school libraries don’t offer obscene materials, but she’s seen reports that some districts have moved certain titles to higher age groups or required parental approval to check them out.

A PEN America list shows 300 titles were removed from school libraries across 11 Missouri districts after lawmakers in 2022 banned “sexually explicit” material, punishable by up to a year in jail or a $2,000 fine. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and library groups challenged the law last year, but it remains in effect pending a motion for the state to intervene.

“Gender Queer” is another title no longer available to high schoolers in Clayton, where district officials recently turned their attention to Mike Curato’s graphic novel, “Flamer,” about a teenager who struggles with his sexual identity and how to fit in at Boy Scout camp. The American Library Association included “Flamer” on its list of 2023’s most challenged and/or banned books .

“We had a lot of conversations about how to interpret the law and not be in violation,” Bober said. “But we also didn’t want to overreach and overcensor our collections. With ‘Flamer,’ we did not feel we were in violation of the law.”

Red states threaten librarians with prison — as blue states work to protect them

Sam Lee, a leader of the Connecticut Library Association, heads to work these days torn between hope and fear.

She’s encouraged because legislators in her state proposed a bill this year making it harder for school boards to ban library books. But she’s fearful because Connecticut, like America, is seeing a sustained surge in book challenges — and she wonders if objectors will see the legislation as a reason to file more complaints.

“I would like to be optimistic,” Lee said. “But having been in my position for the last few years … I don’t know, it really feels like it’s been forever. And I am worried the book banners are just going to be emboldened.”

The bill in Connecticut, pending before an education committee, is one of a raft of measures advancing nationwide that seek to do things like prohibit book bans or forbid the harassment of school and public librarians — the first such wave in the country, said John Chrastka, director of library advocacy group EveryLibrary. Legislators in 22 mostly blue states have proposed 57 such bills so far this year, and two have become law, according to a Washington Post analysis of state legislative databases and an EveryLibrary legislative tracker.

But the library-friendly measures are being outpaced by bills in mostly red states that aim to restrict which books libraries can offer and threaten librarians with prison or thousands in fines for handing out “obscene” or “harmful” titles. At least 27 states are considering 100 such bills this year, three of which have become law, The Post found. That adds to nearly a dozen similar measures enacted over the last three years across 10 states.

Lawmakers proposing restrictive bills contend they are necessary because school and public libraries contain graphic sexual material that should not be available to children. Some books’ “sole purpose is sexual gratification,” said West Virginia Del. Brandon Steele (R), who introduced a bill that would allow librarians to be prosecuted for giving obscene titles to minors.

“It is strictly about pornography,” Steele said. “On that limited basis, this isn’t going to have the chilling effect people think it’s going to.”

But other lawmakers say bills like Steele’s are ideologically driven censorship dressed up as concern for children. They note that, as book challenges spiked to historic highs over the past two years, the majority of objections targeted books by and about LGBTQ people and people of color.

“To attack library books, you’re attacking the ability to learn, grow, think,” said Missouri state Rep. Anthony Ealy (D), who introduced a bill this year to prohibit book bans in public libraries. It “has nothing to do with protecting kids.”

Chrastka of EveryLibrary said he fears red and blue parts of America are charting different courses for the future of reading.

“I see an emerging divide about the right to read, the right to access stories about people like you, the right to be yourself in the library,” he said. “We do have two Americas settling into place.”

Banning book bans

The protective library laws being pushed around the country run the gamut: From increasing funding to adding school librarians to campuses to forbidding “discrimination” in choosing which books to stock.

A bill pending in New Jersey grants librarians the right to sue if they suffer “emotional distress, defamation, libel, slander [or] damage to reputation” due to harassment from someone displeased with their books. Another, in California , stipulates public libraries cannot remove books “for partisan or political reasons.”

“We never thought we’d need it in writing,” said Rene Hohls, president of the California School Library Association. “But we’re grateful that our representatives are paying attention to this and putting it out there.”

Many bills lay out procedures to guide book challenges. Some measures say objectors must prove they have read the book they are challenging. Others mandate book review committees must include members of minority racial groups.

Still other measures, focused on public libraries, build on state and federal laws that forbid discrimination in public places due to a person’s race, sex or gender. These bills assert that removing titles about, say, LGBTQ people, would violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

“If we’re not turning people away from the door based on the color of their skin or the fact they’re wearing a rainbow pride flag, we should not be taking their books off the shelf,” said Chrastka of EveryLibrary. His organization developed sample language for this sort of law and has worked with lawmakers in roughly half a dozen states to introduce bills this year.

Other protective bills outlaw book removals. Some draw inspiration from an Illinois law enacted last year that prohibits “the practice of banning specific books or resources.” At the time, Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared his state was “showing the nation what it really looks like to stand up for liberty.”

Across the country, c0-president of the Vermont School Library Association Rebecca Sofferman was thrilled to see it.

This year, Vermont lawmakers have proposed three protective bills. One would prohibit removing library books due to “school board members’ or member of the public’s discomfort, personal morality, political views, or religious views.”

A few weeks ago, Sofferman drove to Montpelier to testify in favor of one of these bills, which she called “heartening.”

“Even if the laws don’t pass,” she said, “they get people talking.”

Librarians face jail time

Some restrictive library bills give parents more power over book selection, for example requiring schools obtain parental sign-off before providing children sexually explicit content. Another common move is to require that libraries post lists of their books for parental review.

But the majority of the bills work the same way. They eliminate long-established exemptions from prosecution for librarians — sometimes teachers and museum employees, too — over obscene material. Almost every state adopted such carve-outs decades ago to ensure schools, museums and libraries could offer accurate information about topics such as sex education.

Removing the exemption means librarians, teachers and museum staffers could face years of imprisonment or tens of thousands in fines for giving out books deemed sexually explicit, obscene or “harmful” to minors. For example, an Arkansas measure passed last year says school and public librarians can be imprisoned for up to six years or fined $10,000 if they hand out obscene or harmful titles.

The law protects children and doesn’t harm librarians unless they’re doing something awful, bill sponsor Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) said at the time: “If they don’t knowingly violate [the law], they’re free and clear.”

Seventeen states are weighing some version of this measure, The Post found. That comes after at least eight states enacted such laws between 2021 and last year, although two were later vetoed and one was blocked by the courts.

The Post could not find an instance in which a librarian has been charged under these laws. But Peter Bromberg of the Utah Library Association pointed out several recent cases in which police were called to schools or launched investigations over books — in Missouri , Texas and South Carolina .

It has forged a poisonous atmosphere for librarians, said Megan Tarbett, a county library director in West Virginia and president of her state’s library association. West Virginia considered a bill this year ending exemptions from prosecution over “obscene” material for schools, public libraries and materials, but it failed to pass.

Even so, Tarbett said, she worries legislators will reintroduce the bill, scaring potential librarians away from the profession: “It’s going to be hard where you could go to jail for doing your job.”

In some places, librarians have already called it quits.

Tara White was appointed Elkhart Community Schools’ director of literacy in 2015. For the first several years, she never fielded a book challenge — until 2021, when community members objected to 60 titles, she said. When she defended the books, a conservative website claimed she was fighting for porn in school.

Then last year, Indiana passed a law declaring school employees can face criminal prosecution — leading to a possible $10,000 fine or 2½ years of jail time — for handing out sexual material that is “harmful to minors.”

White resigned.

“I loved being a librarian and … helping every student find themselves in a book,” White said. But while certain she wasn’t actually “breaking the law, nobody wants to go through that process.”

Nobody wants to go to jail, she said, for giving children books.