Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Masque of the Red Death is a post-apocolyptic novel about a young girl named Araby. After losing her brother to the contagion she becomes reliant on parties and drugs to escape into the oblivion. Determined to deny herself any experiences her brother did not get to have, she remains relatively checked out from the world. Then her best friend disappears, and she is pulled deep into the world of the rebellion, where she will learn that sometimes it's worth dying to stop death.

A truly haunting tale, Bethany Griffin doesn't shelter us from the world of the plague. Not only that, but the plague isn't gone. Everyday people live in crippling fear of contracting the deadly illness, some even never setting foot outside. The world depicted is so depressingly accurate, I feel for the first time that I've been given a look at what life would really be like if humanity was struck by a plague.

The cover art is absolutely incredible. A better cover could not have been chosen for such a numbing book, and you don't understand until the end how truly perfect the red represents everything that happens in the book.

Araby is a wonderful character, and you actually see growth throughout the novel! From a withdrawn and suicidal girl, to someone who cares so passionately she'd sacrifice her own life. It isn't a split second change either. Ms. Griffin takes the time to truly establish the characters before having them change too much. By the end you feel a real attachment to them.

For a young adult novel this is wonderfully written and fantastically unsheltered. I will say that the writing style took some getting used to, but once you adapt it really paints the world in an exciting way. Sometimes the scenes feel a little bit disjointed, and you wonder about things because Griffin doesn't always describe in minute detail every aspect of what's going on. At first it threw me off, but a few chapters in I realized it really provided the room for your own interpretation of what the world looks like.

Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. Normally I really don't like plague books because the idea of a massive disease decimating humanity is truly frightening, especially if you know the truly awesome abilities of bacteria and viruses. Even today disease like Ebola are reminiscent of the Red Plague described in this very book. But Griffin has won me over with a fast paced, exciting book with fun characters that actually develop over the course of the book.

Four Stars.

Rosalie

Masque of the Red Death on Goodreads