Red, White & Royal Blue Review
Finished Red, White & Royal Blue (audiobook), narrated by Ramón De Ocampo, and I want to share my thoughts about it! (Since this is, ya know, a book blog)
This is not my first time experiencing the story. I have read the book before in high school and watched the movie when it came out. In fact, rewatching the movie recently is what inspired me to listen to the audiobook. I'll just be talking about the book today, though.
Overall, I rate Red, White & Royal Blue 4 out of 5 stars. McQuiston has always been skilled at writing lovable and well-rounded characters that I can't help but get attached to. Some people find Alex obnoxious but his charisma and his passion make him so likable to me. His smartassery makes me roll my eyes, not because I'm annoyed, but because I'm amused by his "quirks" (i.e. flaws). I think a lot of people forget that he's 21, which absolutely floored me when it was mentioned (since I last read it when I was 4-5 years younger than him). They definitely age the characters up in the movie, which I think leads people to expecting absolute adult maturity from him and Henry...but they're 21 and 22 at the start of the book. People in their early 20s can be very, very dumb (I say this from experience).
Opposed to Alex, Henry is everything Alex is not. He's composed, quiet, and reserved. One of my favorite things in this novel is the process of seeing Henry unravel, his passions revealing themselves through texts and emails, that show he has the same fire inside as Alex. I also absolutely adore all the supporting characters in the book, June by far being my favorite (it's an absolute crime they cut her from the movie and I'll never forgive them for it) and after that night in LA, I am a Nora/June/Pez poly truther.
Plot-wise, the romance is solid. The whole enemies to lovers trope was over advertised; they're only enemies for like 30% of the book (I was keeping track with my audiobook app, Libby). Not a big deal to me, as that is mainly a part of the advertising, which I don't really care about as a second time reader of the story. The whole book industry is overrun with advertising books as lists of tropes, imo. I personally prefer the secret dating situation they're in for most of the book, because that also creates a juicy amount of conflict. As a couple, I love Alex and Henry. Their emails are one of my favorite parts of the books, we just get to learn about their personal struggles and their thoughts and their passions... it's really great in making you feel attached to them.
The main issues I have seen people have with the plot is the politics, something I find understandable. The politics of the story are portrayed in black and white; democrats are absolutely good and republicans are absolutely evil. There is no nuance to the characterization of the political spectrum which is....a spectrum. I agree with the morals of the book, obviously, but you can't ignore the simplification of a very complicated political system is not necessarily a good thing. You can't always trust politicians and you can't trust everyone who is "on the same side" as you; you absolutely shouldn't idolize them and assume they're always doing something for the sake of it being morally good either.
However, I also think we should consider the context in which Casey McQuiston wrote this. The book was written in a post-2016 political climate where the cheeto man won the presidency (unfortunately a political climate that exists again today...) and McQuiston wanted to create a world where a democratic woman won and became president. I don't think she really intended the story to be realistic. Instead, it's more of a "let's pretend the world really isn't as shitty as it is" scenario, where corruption and bigotry still exist but we're able to overcome it. Therefore, while I understand and agree that there are problems with the flat portrayal of United States politics, this might be a situation where we can suspend our disbelief and enjoy a fictional win for the LGBTQ+ community. Despite it being fictional, it does give me hope that this is a future that we can one day achieve. I totally get that not everyone wants to suspend their disbelief in that way though, so if you don't like the book because of the politics, that's perfectly fine.
As mentioned, this isn't my first time reading the book, but this is my first time with the audiobook, and I absolutely adored Ramón De Ocampo's narration. His voices for the characters and his acting choices for them were absolutely brilliant. The only time it got awkward was during the karaoke scene, when Henry's dialogue is just the lyrics of a Queen song, and De Ocampo has no choice but to say the lyrics in the least copyright strikable way he can. Strange, but very funny to hear the lyrics of a song I know very well lacking absolutely any of the rhythm and notes that should accompany it. Anyway, De Ocampo adds so much personality to the characters through his voice that I want to recommend it to anyone who found Alex and Henry unlikable when reading the book. De Ocampo just...absolutely rules. (I have also learned that he narrates the Diary of a Wimpy Kid novels and.....the range of this man)
That sums up the last of my thoughts regarding the book! Thank you for reading my review and have a wonderful evening, morning, day, or night!
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