Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard is the second in the Red Queen series and continues the story of Mare Barrow and her struggle to end the oppression of the non superpowered Reds by the Silvers. When we left Mare at the end of Red Queen she was not in a good place, both in a practical sense and emotionally. She feels betrayed by those she cared about and many of her allies are lost or alienated. Nevertheless, she focusses herself on the goal of rescuing those who, like Mare, are of Red heritage but display Silver abilities. Although that is the goal of the book, the focus is far more on Mare’s psychological distress as she attempts to come to terms with what she has experienced as well as what is expected of her. The title is clearly a metaphor for Mare; she is a weapon, but is very fragile and could easily be shattered. In this respect, Glass Sword is faintly reminiscent of Catching Fire or Mockingjay which also deals with the protagonist’s PTSD. What I liked Vulnerable protagonist. I enjoyed that the main character is struggling to deal emotionally with the situation in which she finds…
