Red Rising: One of the Best I've Read this Year

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book deserves a nice, long narrative as a review. Why? Because I feel like a book that was so awesome for me, I have to be awesome back to. And I had NO idea that I was going to enjoy this one so much. I simply finished the last book I was reading, perused my Kindle shelves, and randomly picked this one up. My initial thought after two pages was that the book reminded me of Dune. Young hero hardened by a hard life, and in a frysuit that reminded me of the stillsuit Paul wore in Dune. I also thought the writing was good and engaging, but in an in-depth way that seems to be lacking in a lot of YA novels. However, I don't want to compare it to Dune (or the later part of the book to The Hunger Games for that matter), because it isn't Dune, and it isn't fair to the author, who came up with a pretty cool concept for Red Rising.

Let me briefly cover what it's about. In this society, people are divided into colors based on their station in life. Reds are at the bottom, Golds at the top. You are born into your color and cannot change to another color (kind of like the caste system), but more interestingly, you really can't because your genetic traits also define your color (all Reds seem to have red hair, for example). Darrow is a Red, skilled at his dangerous job--a job that guarantees him a short life, but is also necessary for future generations to live on Mars, the planet the Reds believe they are colonizing. However, the world as he knows it is soon turned upside down, and he has to move into new circles of society to bring down those he hates. This brings him to a world of pretty smiles and fierce competition, as well as unexpected allies. AND IT'S SUPER AWESOME! I don't mean the world is really cool (though it is), but more that the storyline here is just SO fascinating. Pierce Brown does a good job of exploring different human emotions, and exploring the psyche of why people do things that others might view as atrocities. He is upfront with his characterization, allowing Darrow to be who he needs to be, instead of having him make unlikely decisions just so he can seem the perfect hero. Darrow is flawed, which makes him seem real.

I really can't recommend this book enough. The only, tiny issue I had was that it was a little slow to start off with, but if you're like me, just give it a chapter or so, and it will really start to pick up. I'll also add that I don't know if younger YA readers should read this book quite yet--I suppose it depends on what they've read before this. This just deals with a lot of brutality, as well as a lot of shades of gray in ethical decision making--something important for young adults to understand, but something that can be difficult for them to until they reach a certain maturity. Just be aware that those are a part of this book.

But overall, I am so, so happy that I had a chance to read this! And I recommend that anyone who has a chance to, read it as well!

This digital copy of Red Rising was given to me by NetGalley & Del Rey Spectra in exchange for an honest review.

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