Sisters Red (edition 2010)

Sisters Red is about two girl, Scarlett and Rosie, and their besfriend, Silas. Scarlett lost sight in an eye from a fenris, protecting Rosie. Now, Scarlett and Silas hunt and kill Fenris'. when more and more Fenris' run through their small, unknown town, looking for something, Scarlett, Rosie and Silas investigate. They find out the fenris are looking for someone who is perfect to change into one of them, but Scarlett wants to find him and protect him. Are they able to find him in time? If they do will they be able to protect him?

I like the idea of a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood in which Red is a werewolf slayer, and this book was very readable, but also very predictable. I figured out the big twist early on, how the problem would be overcome, and the end. Nonetheless, I think younger teen girls who want a light romance with some action will LOVE this book. ( )

Scarlett March was horribly scarred when she defended her younger sister from a Fenris (werewolf) when they were both young. They lost their beloved grandmother in the same attack. With guidance from the local woodsman, Pa Reynolds, and with Silas Reynolds as a partner, the March sisters become deadly Fenris hunters. Now that the girls are in their older teens, something has the wolves out in masses. Scarlett, Rosie, and Silas decide they can do the most damage by moving to Atlanta, the center of all this wolfish activity, and hunting there. But what bait can they use? Feminine wiles just aren't working as well here for some reason.

Oh, I'm so torn on this rating. I couldn't put the book down. Even when the trio was in the library studying, trying to figure out how to beat the wolves to whatever it is they're looking for, there was still some drama going on between them that kept me entertained. Knocking it back is the fact that I knew exactly what was going to happen. I didn't know how it was going to play out, but once I found out what the wolves were searching for, I got it. There were tons of clues scattered throughout that just kept confirming what I thought. I could have overlooked that and still kept it at four stars, but the resolution felt a little--forced? That's probably the best word. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say that the wolves' behavior made zero sense to me.

Scarlett was the strongest character in the story, but I just couldn't bring myself to like her. She was too focused and too intent on how her way of life was the only viable way. She accuses Rosie of being selfish, but she's completely blind to how she's being selfish by laying a huge guilt-trip on Rosie to keep her hunting. She says that she hunts the Fenris in order to protect the innocent, but really it's just about revenge and power for her. In a twisted way, it's become almost an addiction. She doesn't feel complete until she's out kicking some Fenris ass.

I liked Rosie a lot more because I could understand where she was coming from. She hunts out of a sense of obligation to her sister for saving her life. I get that. She's so lonely though. She adores Scarlett, but she's only sixteen. She wants to meet boys and dance and go to school like a normal girl. As Scarlett frequently points out though, once you come out of the cave of ignorance, there's no going back. Rosie wouldn’t do what she wanted to do, like taking fun classes at the community center, for fear of upsetting Scarlett. That started to get a little irritating, but in all honesty, I would probably have acted the same way. It's easy to get focused on the family drama and define Rosie by that, but then she hunts some Fenris down and reminds you that she's tough-as-nails when she wants to be also.

I'm being way harsher on this than I meant to be. Even though I didn't like Scarlett, she did feel real. We all know those super-intent people who focus on the job at the cost of everything else. Even though I guessed the basic storyline, I did enjoy reading the book and will get to any possible sequels eventually. If I hadn't been able to guess what was going on, this definitely would have been rated higher. I think most readers will like this a lot, so I do recommend it. Oh, and who can resist that cover? Love. It. ( )

In this modern day reshaping of the Little Red Riding Hood tale, Jackson Pearce brings us sisters Scarlett and Rosie who are survivors of a werewolf – or “Fenris” as they’re called in this story – attack that killed their grandmother. The girls are raised by the woodsman who saved them, and along with Silas, the woodsman’s youngest son, they train themselves to hunt the Fenris. Silas does it because it is his birthright, Scarlett does it because it is her life, and Rosie does it because she feels she owes her sister her life. Their differing levels of commitment combine to make for a more in-depth story than you expect from a YA paranormal adventure tale, and although there is some degree of predictability to the ending, that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy reading the book all the way to the end. ( )

Review originally posted here.

Wow. The opening scene of Sisters Red has such an amazing hook. Sisters Scarlett and Rosie are ages 11 and 9 respectively when their family is attached by a Fenris (a sort of werewolf/shifter). Their grandmother, their only caretaker since their mom has taken off, is murdered. The eleven year old Scarlett manages to kill the Fenris in order to protect her baby sister. Flash forward seven years. Both Scarlett and Rosie are hunters, trying to kill Fenris before the wolves kill people.

I freaking LOVED the idea behind this one. Of course, I'm always super excited about anything purporting to be a fairy tale retelling. That's definitely one of my favorite genres of literature. However, there are also a lot of horrendously bad, or at leas unoriginal, fairy tale retellings out there. Sisters Red is gloriously new to me. I loved the idea of red riding hood luring the wolf to his doom, rather than the other way around; that's such a wonderful spin on the tale.

The fairy tale told here definitely hearkens back to the origins of fairy tales, not to Disney's reworkings. If you like the perkiness of the Disney tales, this may not be your cup of tea. The Grimm's fairy tales for example include much more bloodshed, like the evil stepsisters getting their eyes pecked out at Cinderella's wedding as they perform their bridesmaid duties. Jackson Pearce has written a dark, lush, violent fairy tale. Scarlett, for example, is missing an eye and wears an eye patch. Sweet YA paranormal romance this is not, and I like it all the better for that.

As I've mentioned before, writing multiple first person perspectives can be very tricky to get right. Often, the characters come out sounding exactly the same. Scarlett and Rosie have some similarities (they're sisters and very close), but there was no point where I couldn't tell whose chapter I was in. Their narration is different; Scarlett is sharp, predatory and jaded, while Rosie is soft, sweet and hopeful.

Sisters Red has also given me a new ship. I completely adore Rosie and Silas. He's a bit old for her, but he's also an old family friend and a woodsman/hunter. At the beginning of the book, he has just come back to their small Georgia town from a long trip. Before he left, Rosie was still a child, but, now, they are both different people, suddenly attracted to one another where they were not before. The awkwardness of their trying to handle this change is so completely real; I could feel tentative butterflies for them. That whole romance line I want to give two thumps up and a big goofy grin to.

My one issue with the book is a seeming inconsistency that I noticed. I sort of saw the big plot twist coming. In fact, I would have been wholly unsurprised by it, had I not convinced myself that I must be wrong about that since what I was expecting couldn't be the case because of something that happened early on. In other words, they're trying to prevent a particular event, but, so far as I can tell, that event occurred near the beginning of the book. There may be something to explain that, and I do intend to ask Jackson about it, but, for now, it's going to skew my rating down to a 4. Sorry if that whole paragraph didn't make sense, but it was the best I could do without spoilers!

That last thing aside, I devoured this novel like a Fenris devours tasty lady flesh. Okay, that was too much, but I'm rolling with it. I urge those who love fairy tales and incredibly strong ladies to go pick this book up pronto. It is as awesome as this cover; I promise. ( )