red, white and blood blue
red, white and blood blue —Red, white and royal blue, by its original English title—is a contemporary queer romance written by the young American journalist and author Casey McQuiston. The idea for the novel first came up in 2016, during the United States electoral process. Later, after painstaking research, McQuiston's book was published by RBA Publishing in 2019. To the writer's surprise, her title was a huge hit.
The same year it was released, it won two of the most coveted Goodreads Choice Awards: best debut and best romantic novel. red, white and blood blue It's a breath of fresh air within the genre. new adult, then, unlike heterosexual romances like Age, by Anna Todd, or Through my window, by Ariana Godoy, we find ourselves before a good construction of characters, settings and plots.
Synopsis of red, white and blood blue
The evolution of a concept
Casey McQuiston always had the intention of writing a queer story, but she had no idea what her two main protagonists would represent for readers in her country and other regions around the world. red, white and blood blue not only exalts sexual, racial, political and thought diversity, but also does so in a quite realistic way. His characters feel plausible, the situations go from hilarious to dramatic, then to tension and sensuality in a fluid manner, without suddenness.
As in any story geared towards the coming-of-age audience, This novel has several sexual scenes. However, they do not resemble those that might be found in 365 days oeven in fantasies like Of blood and ashes. This is due to the fact that the erotic sequences take place after a slow rapprochement, after the evolution of a friendship built on moments that mark both protagonists.
Can love change the world?
Alex Clarademont-Diaz is the son of America, the consent of the press, and, in short, the eldest son of the first female president of the United States. In addition, he is a winner in all aspects: he is intelligent, endowed with great charisma, kind, attractive, and with a promising political career. He is also one of the key elements in his mother's campaign marketing, a fact that he loves. Alex's only problem is his English namesake: the son of the Queen of England, Henry.
For Alex, an expressive young man, smiling and good with social relations, Henry turns out to be a proud boy, arrogant, rude and arrogant. Both are rivals since they had the misfortune to coincide, years ago. Over the years, the feuds between them have grown quite a bit. Even so, they must meet from time to time at public events between their two nations.
Young people have to attend a particular party where they, after insults and blows, end up on top of a cake, one above the other, with all the cameras around.
A master plan that gets out of control
From that spectacle, relations between the United States and England cool.. In order to improve relations between the two countries, the boys' mothers decide to put together an advertising strategy: turn their children into best friends in front of the public.
For that, Alex and Henry are forced to attend various places together., and let themselves be seen as great companions. Alex Clarademont-Díaz has always wanted to be a politician, and he won't let a pampered man like Henry ruin his dreams.
The prince, for his part, is not happy with his new situation, but his life has never belonged to him, so he must do as he is told. At first, the encounters are uncomfortable for the protagonists.
not enough, as they begin to spend more time together and get to know each other, discover that there are more things in common among them than expected. Alex, for example, realizes that Henry can be kind, sweet, and funny.
About the protagonists
Alex Clarademont-Diaz
At first, Alex is described as a young man who is adored by his family, the press and his country. His parents have been politicians since he was a child, and there is nothing the boy wants more than to succeed in the world where he grew up.
Later, when he is forced to spend time with the prince Henry, the latter makes you rediscover yourself and evaluate certain aspects of which he was not aware. Then a force comes over him that he didn't know he had.
Henry
The life of the prince of England has always been planned. Henry is surrounded by people telling him what to do, and how, when and where to do it. His routines have made him a rigid and formal young man, but also someone who is a bit haughty and rude to others. The only escape routes from him are literature, the movies of Star Wars and Alex, his old nemesis, who, little by little, became his best friend and then some.
About the author, Casey McQuiston
Casey McQuiston
Casey McQuiston was born in 1991, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. He studied journalism at Louisiana State University. Before his name was known internationally for his romantic novels, McQuiston worked as a waitress. In addition, she contributed to various local publications and magazines. Later, she received recognition in the United States for her first novel, which was on the best-seller list of the New York Times.
McQuiston considers herself non-binary, and uses the pronouns she and he interchangeably. The reason why she decided to write novels new adult queer is related to the fact that he studied at a conservative evangelical Christian school, where students did not have the right to freely express their sexual preferences. In that context, the author wants to vindicate the sense of belonging of young LGBTQ +.
McQuiston's father passed away in 2014. Since then, the author has struggled with mental health. The same way, He says that he found in letters a very therapeutic job. He has also confirmed on several occasions that he suffers from attention deficit disorder. She maintains that her creative process is not linear. On many occasions, she writes sections that are not associated with the previous paragraphs, because that is what her brain can process at the moment.
Other books by Casey McQuiston
- One Last Stop — one last stop (2021);
- Kissed Shara Wheeler — I kissed Shara Wheeler (2022);
- bloody lovely — bloody, lovely (2022)