gloria
Author: Victoria Aveyard | Publisher: Harper Collins
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Synopsis:
Mare Barrow’s blood is red, the color of common folk, but her Silver ability — the power to control lightning — has turned her into a weapon that the Silver court will do anything to destroy.
With no one left to trust, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join the uprising. But Mare is treading a deadly path. Will she shatter under the weight of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?
“No one is born evil, just like no one is born alone. They become that way, through choice and circumstance.”
Review (spoilers ahead):
Glass Sword picks up exactly where Red Queen left off — with Mare escaping to go out and find “newbloods” in order to bring down Maven.
One of the most significant remarks that can be made about Glass Sword is on the book’s splitting — although the first half of the book is good, it’s not as significant as the second half of this book.
We’re also seeing a darker, more political aspect to the division between the Silvers and Reds — including severe shifts in where power is held and moved. Glass Sword manages to accurately and powerfully portray this deep divide in society and then manages to make the characters reactions and actions follow suit, creating an intense storyline from beginning to end.
I was also definitely on team Mare this book. Looking back through what she faced when she was paraded around as a Silver and recognizing that this mentality is clashing with her Red mentality is quite saddening. Mare is a young girl who is conflicted by who she is and who she was shaped to become, and that dissonance becomes much more apparent as the book progresses.
“If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter.”
The Characters:
Mare also happens to be a character with a remarkable feeling of realness to who she is — throughout the book, we’re faced with her struggle between being the leader of a giant movement and making choices for herself.
Cal is also a character worth noting this time around. Although he was somewhat of a side character in Red Queen, he comes back as a major character. He is definitely shown in a different light here — he is no longer this pompous, perfect prince. Aveyard begins to show him as a troubled, confused guy who just happens to have an insanely evil brother.
Several other characters, including Kilorn and Farley, became characters with much more focus. They became characters you become incredibly attached to — they are fundamental to the cause and they become fundamental to you.
The End:
The end of this book is incredible — undoubtedly so. The twists — all of them — are AMAZING. Some of the twists this book included had me teary-eyed and heartbroken. Others left me feeling proud. And one left me scrambling for the third book of this series. I could not believe Aveyard’s wonderful storytelling, but I sure am anticipating the books that are left.
Love it? Hate It?
Make sure to let me know what you thought of Glass Sword. And make sure to stick around for my review of the third installment of this series, King’s Cage.
All thoughts are my own, but I’d love to hear what you have to say about this book. Tweet us @Fuzzable or comment down below.
