Red Rising (Red Rising, #1) by Pierce Brown

Synopsis:

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.

Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
 

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I don't always know how to write five star reviews. With one, two, three, even four star reviews, there are flaws to talk about, thoughts to explain, and opinions to impart. But when a novel has such fabulous characterization, thorough world-building, and an intoxicating plot, what is there really to say besides read the damn book it's amazing PLEASE?

Red Rising is that kind of book.

I marathon read this thing. I stayed up until 1 am on a weekday reading like I was kid again. I couldn't put this book down, and even when I did, I dreamed about the story continuing from where I left off. In less than 24 hours, I finished it.

This novel is phenomenally good. It's mind-blowingly good. I'm honestly surprised this is a YA book, considering how deep and dark it gets. I feel it fits more in the vein of Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind or Jay Kristoff's Nevernight - written for adults, even though the main character is sixteen.

I've seen some criticism for the abundance of rape and almost rape in this novel, but surprisingly it didn't bother me. It's obvious that Brown himself doesn't condone it, nor does it feel like its placed in the novel to be "edgy." This is a novel about politics and war. And, unfortunately, those are prime breeding grounds for sexual violence. I don't think a novel should be bashed for realism, no matter how awful the act portrayed is. It isn't graphic or gratuitous, and the novel treats it how it is: a horrible, cruel act.

This book was so good. SO GOOD. I'm so excited to read the second one.