A book about an alternate universe that inspires hope

Danny Edwards, A&E Editor
Originally published November 4, 2020

In 2019, the romance novel “Red White & Royal Blue” was published by author Casey McQuiston. The book takes place in 2019 and 2020 in an alternate universe where, in 2016, Texas Democrat Ellen Claremont wins the presidential election.

The story follows 21-year-old Alex Claremont-Diaz, first son of the president. When his mom first took office, Alex was immediately cast as a young royal. He’s handsome, smart, charismatic—and the American public eats it up. 

However, there is an issue: Alex’s “archnemesis” happens to be 23-year-old Prince Henry of Wales; the actual young royal across the pond.

After a physical altercation, tabloids release a photo of the incident between the two, and everything takes a nasty turn.

Handlers and heads of state come up with a plan to fix it: a truce including a very instagrammable friendship. What begins as fake soon turns into something much more intense and perilous than anyone could have imagined.

The two soon find themselves involved in a Shakepsearn-like romance that could very well dismantle Alex’s mom’s re-election campaign and Prince Henry’s entire royal life.

Smart, sexy, hopeful—this book has everything. While a sweet romance seems to be the main plot, that doesn’t stop it from being outrageously hilarious. 

Each character is so well written that I feel like I know them personally—from Henry’s anxieties to Alex’s mischief.

I burn, I pine, I perish.

While the romance is one for the ages, I also enjoyed the rich setting. I found myself swept up into the alternate universe where the president is both a Democrat and a woman, and the first son and daughter are half Mexican. A far reach from what we have now, obviously.

The book ends in November of 2020, which is why reading it right now felt so weird. As I read, I kept thinking to myself: Why am I not in this universe? How did we end up here?

While our current political status is nowhere near that of “Red, White & Royal Blue,” the sentiment still struck a cord of hope within me.

This book has made its way into my heart, and subsequently onto my short list of favorite books of all time. I recommend it to anyone wishing, if only for a short while, to exist in a different political atmosphere than what we have now.