Red Rising

I'm a little late to the game with this series, but better late than never!

This sci-fi dystopian novel follows a society that is segregated into castes based on color; the lowest being the reds and the highest being the golds. The novel starts with Darrow, a red who is working to make Mars habitable for the human race, when his wife sacrifices herself for a cause that he hardly knew anything about. His life irrevocably changes, and we follow him as he joins with rebels and fights back against their oppressors.

The beginning of this book instantly gripped me. I loved the concept and already really like the characters. This book gives off strong “The Hunger Games” vibes, which made me excited. However, when the “test” started, which takes up the majority of the book, I lost some of my interest. The ending was predictable, so I felt that all of the time we spent in this test was boring and pointless. What kept me listening was Darrow as a character. He is an incredibly interesting narrator who I feel has a lot of potential in the future books. While I didn't love this book, I gave it a 3/5 stars because of Darrow and because I believe that this series has a lot of potential. I will be continuing the series and have high hopes.

TW: attempted rape, attempted suicide, bullying, eugenics, misogyny, murder, mutilation, rape (mentioned), sexual assault, slavery, violence