Red, White & Royal Blue Review

Rating: 5 stars

Well shucks, I didn’t expect to love this that much!

I have a tendency to judge a book not by its cover but by its target audience. Literary fiction? Must be great. Contemporary fiction? Romance? Mystery? Horror? Thriller? Eh, walking a fine line there. It could be a hit or miss. My philosophy is there are too many good books to waste my time on the bad ones. I want to grow and learn as a writer and reader and my time is precious; I don’t want to waste it a mediocre book.

Yes, don’t worry, I know how presumptuous and pompous I sound. I have a lot to learn. Red, White & Royal Blue was that lesson for me.

I digress.

Alex Claremont-Diaz is the First Son of the United States. He is ambitious, intelligent, and determined to help his mother, the first female President of the U.S., win her re-election. He is Mexican-American. His father is a congressman from California. His sister June is his best friend. His life is fast-paced, on the go, and full of work, school, and coffee. Just the way he likes it. He is determined to do anything to help his mother win her re-election unless it involves playing nice with Prince Henry of Wales, the heir to the throne and a constant thorn in Alex’s side. Why is he a thorn in Alex’s side? Because one day many, many years ago at an Olympic event, Prince Henry was rude to Alex.

“It’s not a grudge, really. It’s not even a rivalry. It’s a prickling, unsettling annoyance. It makes his palms sweat.”
Red, White & Royal Blue

The book starts with a bang – or a splatter, if you will – when Alex and Prince Henry fall over one another into the royal wedding cake of Prince Henry’s brother and his wife. Damage control is necessary on both sides if either family hopes to come out of this unscathed in the eye of the public.

What starts as an annoying arrangement slowly, steamily, turns into something more.

Here’s the thing: Was the prose pristine, exquisite, or breathtaking? No. But were the characters authentic, unique, and vibrant? Yes. Was the storyline moving, touching, and inspiring. Yes! I may be wrong, but I think that was the intent of the book anyways.

I wish this story had been around when I was a kid. (It’s a tad R-Rated so maybe not too young, say, high school). It’s such a good book for LGBTQ youth. It pours hope and possibility and ACCEPTANCE into our hearts. We need more of than in American Literature. Not the kind of acceptance that stems from loving someone EVEN THOUGH they are gay, or IN SPITE OF being gay (because that implies it’s not right to begin with) but loving them BECAUSE OF IT and ALL THE MORE FOR IT. If I had read this when I was, say, 14 or 15, I might’ve grappled less with my own sexuality. I would’ve hated myself less, degraded myself less, and accepted myself more. For that, a big thank you to Casey McQuiston.

The romance aspect was just the right amount of cheesy. Sometimes with romances, the real-life consequences characters face for their actions are unbelievable and unrelatable. McQuiston did a wonderful job of bringing real, believable scenarios, dialogue, and responses to her characters and the situations they faced. If I disliked a character it was because they were doing harmful things to the characters I admired, not because his or her actions were unbelievable or unrealistic. That’s what made this novel successful. Everything felt realistic. I believed somehow that the first son of the United Staes could fall in love with the Prince of Wales and…

[SPOILER ALERT… stop reading]

…the world could love them for it, not despite it.

[END OF SPOILER – CONTINUE READING]

Who doesn’t want to live in a world like that, even if only for 418 pages? It was a nice place to be in the midst of everything going on in today’s climate.

I don’t usually use books as an escape (they’re more of a learning tool for me – I’m constantly learning about storytelling, English, and grammar) but Red, White & Royal Blue was pure escapism and I loved every minute of it. I even shed a tear or two because the romance was so sweet, so authentic. When I started this book I gave myself strict instructions not to rate this purely from an emotional standpoint, but how could I not? I mean, come on. This one gets five stars because it made me FEEL. Not every book can do that.

Oh, and those love letters between Henry and Alex?! Um, excuse me. So well done. There was a clear distinction between the two very different speaking styles, so naturally, I respected McQuinston even more for that, but more than just that, I SWOONED. Swooned people. I can’t even remember the last time I swooned. I’m not a swooner.

That’s all. Buy the book! You can thank me later.