Steph Reads: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Steph Reads has gone digital!!! My sister and brother-in-law were flabbergasted that I hadn't converted to reading books on my phone or iPad and told me it was a cheaper and easier way to get my bookworm on. They live about an hour away from me by subway and I had nothing to read or study on my journey back home from their place.  My brother-in-law so kindly gifted me the digital version of Red Rising by Pierce Brown to read on my phone on my way home. Knowing very little about this book, I dove right in, and let me just say... I flippin' loved it.

This story takes place in the future where Earth is dying and the main character, Darrow, is working as a miner to find precious elements to make the surface of Mars habitable. Darrow is a Red, a color marking him as the lowest in a system of classes ruled by Golds, the elite super humans. Darrow's perception of everything is shifted when he learns one day that the whole system is a lie--Mars is habitable and has been for years. The Reds working underground are slaves promised a future of living on the surface with other classes that will never be realized. Teamed up with a group of rebels, Darrow infiltrates the Golds' academy and undergoes a series of tests to prove himself worthy of being a leader. The final test is a true battlefield where more players than just Darrow have their own agenda.

This book had everything. War, love, humor, acts of vulgarity, acts of violence... this sci-fi novel fulfilled every requirement it takes to be a page turner filled with gasp worthy moments. I haven't read a novel in a while that gave such vivid descriptions of the characters, setting, and time, which is why this novel is easily my favorite I've read in the past 2 years.  I definitely recommend this novel if you're into science fiction and are looking for something more adult than Hunger Games or Divergent. This book is part of a series and is currently in pre-production for a movie!

xxSJ

Check out my other Steph Reads posts!
The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
Someday Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarty
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
Splintered by AG Howard
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler