Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
In this twist on Edgar Allen Poe's gothic short story, a wealthy teenaged girl who can afford a special mask to protect her from the plague that decimated humanity in the mid-1800s, falls in love, becomes caught up in a conspiracy to overthrow an oppressive government, and faces the threat of a new plague.
Is The Masque of the Red Death appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
This YA dark fantasy retelling features a plague-devastated 1800s world with themes of class inequality, political conspiracy, and rebellion. Contains moderate violence related to plague deaths and political oppression, plus a teen romance subplot.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include death, mass death, and plague/epidemic (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens will be drawn to the privileged protagonist who must choose between her comfortable life and fighting for justice in a plague-ravaged world.