Blood separates the lowly from the elite in the Kingdom of Norta in Victoria Aveyard’s young adult novel “Red Queen,” the first book in the series. It focuses on 17-year-old Mare Barrows, a pickpocket who threatens the system by her very existence.

The name of commoner rushes through Mare’s veins because her blood is red. Referred to as “Reds,” citizens born with red blood are considered poor; their only purpose is to serve the “Silver,” aristocrats whose blood is silver. However, that is not the only indication of the social hierarchy.   

Silvers possess supernatural abilities, making them gods.

Living in a village called the Stilts, Mare steals whatever she can to support her family. Her father, Daniel Barrows, and three older brothers, Bree, Tramy and Shade, have fought or are currently fighting in a war against Norta’s enemies. The breadwinner of the Barrows household is her younger sister, Gisa, who is a seamstress apprentice. Mare’s only confidant is her best friend Kilorn Warren, an orphan who works as a fisherman’s apprentice.  

Teens who do not claim a profession or apprenticeship by age 18 are conscripted into the army, forced to fight in war. With pickpocketing her only skill, Mare is waiting to be drafted.

One night, as Mare attempts to steal coins from a man, he grips her wandering hand but does not chastise her. Instead, he escorts her home, inquiring about her life as a poor commoner.

When she arrives at her home, Mare sees a grief-stricken Kilorn who tells her his master has died and as a result, he is to be conscripted into the army.

Wanting to save her only friend, Mare strikes a deal with Diana Farley, the leader of the Scarlet Guard, a resistance group that plans to overthrow the hierarchy, to smuggle both her and Kilorn out of Norta.

Mare’s plan to save Kilorn fails when the king asks her to become a servant. She is devastated, not wanting to spend the rest of her life serving the people she despises. Adding to her shock, the man she had attempted to rob was Prince Calore, the king’s oldest son, who wanted Mare come to the palace to live a better life.

Mare is sent to cater to the Silver families during the Queenstrial, a competition in which daughters of aristocratic Silver households offer themselves to Calore in hopes of becoming the next queen. During the event, Mare falls into an electric field in front of all the Silvers. The shocks were supposed to have killed her.

But, she survived.

Instead of dying, Mare finds herself controlling the electricity. This shocks the aristocracy. Reds were not supposed have to supernatural powers — so why did Mare?

The king of Norta immediately seizes Mare, telling her that in order to maintain the status quo, she must assume the identity of a lost Silver princess and be engaged to his youngest son Maven or face execution.

Trying to stay alive in a world that wants her dead, Mare must wear a mask to appease the beast, all while supporting a rebellion that plans to destroy her new life.

“Red Queen” places a new twist on the division of social classes, presenting a story of raw emotion, survival and betrayal. The end may shock readers and have them rushing out to buy the second book. The characters in the series are reliable and will find their own places in readers’ hearts.

“Red Queen” is recommended for teens 13 and older due to violence.