Glass Sword
by Victoria Aveyard
In a land divided by blood color, Mare Barrow, a Red with a surprising ability, builds an army of new bloods to challenge the powerful Silvers. Prison, killing and the threat of King Maven stand in her way.
Best for: Readers of dystopian-style rebellion stories who want to continue a series
Glass Sword ranked #25 on BookWard's Best Books of 2016 when we last measured it, in October 2026.
What Glass Sword is about
In Norta, people are divided by blood. Silvers are wealthy, hold power, and have special abilities, while Reds are poor and often serve them. Mare Barrow is a Red who has joined the Scarlet Guard, a group of Reds rebelling against the royal family and the Silvers. She has also discovered, to her shock, that she has an ability of her own.
This sequel follows Mare as she searches for as many other people like her as she can find, hoping to build an army to stand against the Silvers. Along the way she tries to hold onto her relationship with the exiled prince, Calore, while facing prison, the weight of having to kill, and the need to stay out of King Maven's reach. Readers who enjoyed the first book and like stories of class conflict and rebellion will want to continue here.
Glass Sword on the Best Books of 2016
Glass Sword came out in 2016. When we last measured it, in October 2026, it ranked #25 on our Best Books of 2016 list. It is not among the top books of 2016 on this month’s list, and the numbers on this page are the latest we have.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 527 want to read it, 29 are reading it now and 59 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4 out of 5 from 33 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 66 | 55% |
| Reader love | 43 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 63 | 20% |
Questions about Glass Sword
When was Glass Sword published?
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard was first published in 2016.
Was Glass Sword one of the best books of 2016?
Glass Sword ranked #25 on BookWard's Best Books of 2016 when we last measured it, in October 2026. 616 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (33 ratings); 29 are reading it right now.
Why is Glass Sword on the Best Books of 2016 list?
616 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (33 ratings); 29 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2016
- It Ends with Us Colleen Hoover, #1
- Dog Man Dav Pilkey, #2
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Mark Manson, #3
- Never Split the Difference Chris Voss, #4
- The Hidden Oracle Rick Riordan, #5
- Born a Crime Trevor Noah, #6
See the full Best Books of 2016, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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