Glass Sword

Reviewed by: Cidney Mayes - Memorial Middle School Library, South Portland, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 15, 2016

Review

The second installment to Victoria Aveyard's fantasy series, Glass Sword details Mare Barrow's quest to gather an army of newbloods - those with Red blood who posses Silver abilities - before the new murderous king eliminates them first. After narrowly escaping her own execution; Mare, Cal (the now exiled Silver prince) and her friends recuperate at the camp of the Scarlet Guard, but Mare quickly realizes that she can not trust anyone. Battling feelings of overwhelming isolation, Mare turns to Cal for support in her quest. However, as Mare's ambition to recruit newbloods grows, so does the number of people she has killed and she becomes eerily similar to the dictator she is trying to overthrow. Though her companions are concerned, Mare's ambition will not be curbed.

Although the action lags at times, readers will be pleased with the next installment in the Red Queen series and Mare’s character development. With a cliffhanger ending and the promise of two additional books to come, readers in grades 9-12 will quickly devour this title.

Overall Book Score: very good