In this startling follow-up to her debut, Aveyard sends readers hurtling back into the world of Red Queen with a fierce battle scene, reunions with old friends, and a story arc fraught with deception and betrayal. The powerful Silvers continue their reign, but the Red rebellion is rising, led by Mare Barrow. She plans to track down other mutant "newbloods" like herself to form an army capable of defeating the crown. Collecting newbloods is dangerous work, and the death toll mounts in a race against King Maven, a manipulative man who is slaughtering the mutants in a bid to force Mare back under his control. The story exposes painful truths about real-life bias and bigotry as well as the brutal costs of war, and children are not always spared gruesome fates. At the epicenter, Mare is an exquisitely flawed heroine who at times gives into her basest desires for revenge, raising questions about her own morality and revealing striking similarities to Queen Elara, whom she so despises. A cliffhanger finale should leave fans anxiously awaiting the next installment. Ages 13-up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Anyone can betray anyone. It's a lesson that thief-turned-revolutionary Mare Barrow learned the hard way in Red Queen (2015). After she learns the truth about Maven, now the king of the powerful Silver court, Mare and the displaced Silver prince, Cal, flee the city, tenuously joining up with a resistance group. But Mare has learned that she is not the only Red with magical Silver-like abilities, and soon finds herself on a journey to find and recruit the others, determined to form a powerful army, if only she can find them before Maven does. But to do so, she must become a leader willing to make sacrifices, and the cost may be higher than she ever anticipated. While the story of a powerful young woman facing her own darkness is done a bit more effectively in Marie Lu's Young Elites series, high-stakes excitement and sharp plot twists, nevertheless, make this a fast-paced, exciting read and a thrilling sequel.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2015 Booklist

Mare's paranoia and hurt over Maven's betrayal in Red Queen threaten to turn her as dark as her enemies as she rushes to recruit others who have red blood and powers before Maven can find and kill them. Characterization and emotional consistency are sacrificed to move the plot, but readers wanting drama, action, and a strong emotional hook will still appreciate this second volume. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 8 Up-Does saving some lives justify sacrificing others? This is the main question asked in this second installment of this series. Picking up right where the first volume left off, Mare and Cal are on the run from the usurper King Maven and his army of Silver bloods. Armed with a list of other "newbloods" like herself, Mare takes on the mission of recruiting them for the Scarlet Guard before they can be found by Maven. However, as her journey progresses, Mare learns that the lines between right and wrong aren't so clear, and she begins to become exactly the kind of person the Scarlet Guard is fighting against. While the kill count seems to be excessively high, it does end up raising some interesting points: namely, the question of who, if anyone, really deserves to die. And do the ends truly justify the means? As with her first effort, Aveyard certainly has a flair for the dramatic, which teens will eat up. The action hits the ground running and doesn't stop until after the last page is turned. And while some might recognize several familiar plot-related beats that resemble the novel's dystopian contemporaries, they shouldn't lessen the story's appeal. VERDICT Fans of Red Queen (HarperCollins, 2015) who have been clamoring for the sequel will be sated.-Kimberly Castle-Alberts, Hudson Library & Historical Society, OH © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Reborn as the infamous "lightning girl," Mare struggles to build an army of newbloods to face the murderous new king. After narrowly escaping the burning city of Naercey, Mare and her friends make their way to a secluded island where her family and the Scarlet Guard lie low. Bruised and beaten, Mare quickly realizes she can't trust anyone, not even her closest friendsmaybe not even family. But Mare has a plan: she's going to track down the rest of the newbloodsReds with unknown powers that rival the strongest Silvers'and build an army. She sets out with those closest to her, including Cal, the now disgraced prince. Feeling incredibly alone, she can't help but gravitate toward him; they share an ache for the person they both believed Maven to be before he became a treacherous king. As her conviction rises, so does the body count, and it isn't long before Mare becomes eerily like the killer she's trying so hard to destroy. Though her friends are disturbed by what she's become, not even they can stop her now. Her quest is fraught with trials and bloodshed, but the action lags; the traps begin to feel too familiar, and the first-person, present-tense narration spares no detail. Tragedy seems to be a certainty before the end, but the spectacle still packs a surprising punch. This too-long heroine's journey requires that the next volume provide sufficient fireworks to keep readers invested in the planned four-book series. (Fantasy. 13 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.