Red Queen

Red Queen is the fantasy series by Victoria Aveyard — set in a world divided between Silvers, who have superhuman abilities and silver blood, and Reds, who serve as their powerless underclass. When Red girl Mare Barrow discovers she has Silver-level powers despite her Red blood, she is thrust into the Silver court and the political intrigue of a world on the edge of revolution. The series became a major YA fantasy phenomenon following its 2015 debut.

Aveyard builds a detailed class-based fantasy world that uses the blood distinction to explore themes of privilege, resistance, and the corruption of power in ways that resonated strongly with readers during a politically charged decade. Mare's position — neither fully Red nor able to pass as Silver — gives her a perspective on both sides of the divide that drives the political complexity of the plotting.

The series is part of the wave of dystopian and divided-world YA fantasy that followed The Hunger Games, but Aveyard's specific world-building and her willingness to complicate Mare's moral position give Red Queen a distinctive identity within the crowded genre.

Begin with Red Queen (2015) and read in order.