Thursday, January 31, 2013

Fairy tale review + news!


I'll start with the news/announcement. Alice from Alice in Readerland is having a "magical month" at her blog where she will be doing all sorts of fairy tale things. She'll be reviewing and reading fairy tale retellings and featuring fairy tale features which you do not want to miss. 

If you have read any previous posts of mine, you know I absolutely adore fairy tales and their retellings. Beauty by Robin McKinley? Amazing. Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce? Hey, I'm actually reviewing that down below so keep scrolling and see how I like it! 



Title: Sisters Red


Publication date: June 7th, 2010

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Review:

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead. 

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?


You know, when I started this blog, I told myself that I would never read any vampire or werewolf book. My prejudice mind said, "Ugh, not another Twilight thing." Well, I didn't even pay attention that this had werewolves when I read the synopsis because all I thought was that it was a fairy-tale retelling. 


Courtesy of Gillian Berry @ Writer of Wrongs
The book starts off really good. The prologue is set in third person and about how Scarlett lost her eye. Then every other chapter after that is first person from either Scarlett's or Rosie's perspective. I was glad for that because I was able to see inside their thoughts. If not, I don't think I'd like the other character nearly as much. 

While they are described as being so close that one sister is the other half, they are opposite. Scarlett lives, breathes, and loves hunting the Fenris. Since her attack, she's determined to not let any girl, no matter how stupid they are, be attacked again. Of course, she's also very protective of her younger sister, Rosie, as would any big sister. Rosie, on the other hand, wants to go on a solo hunt, but she doesn't love hunting. Unlike Scarlett, she wants something else to do in her life then train and hunt.


Then Silas comes into the picture. First, I love his name. My mom has always loved the name (if I was a boy, she would've named me that actually) so I guess it's stuck on me. He's a woodsman, Scarlett's hunting partner, and her best friend. He's back from out of town and instantly, he and Rosie are attracted to each other. 

I liked a lot of things from Sisters Red. The book was addicting and great, but the violence added to it. Maybe because at one scene near the end, there was so much love and hatred behind the actions that it made me go "YEAH! GO GO GO! OH NO!"Other things I love included the drawing class scene with innocent Rosie, which made me laugh, and the origami flower. The relationships were sweet and how Silas was there for the girls melted my heart. 

At the beginning, I figured that Ms. Pearce was actually doing a Little Women + Red Riding Hood twist. They're called the March sisters. That's clue numero uno. Clue number two is the whole Silas and sisters complex. If anyone has seen or read Little Women, you know how the sisters are. Jo is the main character and tough. Amy is the weaker one, but still strong in her own right. Laurie is the boy next door who, while he is friends with the whole March family, he's best friends with Jo. I have seen the movie bunches, but I still hate Amy. Hate her. Not only does she do some despicable things like with the fire and book and I want to reach in the screen and yank off her head, she also marries Laurie! SHE GETS LAURIE. I know Alcott, the author, thought Jo was better off without him, but I never liked it. 


Amy is her sister. 'Nuff said. 
So you can clearly see how the Scarlett + Rosie + Silas complex is very similar to the Jo + Amy + Laurie complex. At least Rosie is more likable than Amy ever was. Also, you see that even though she does wrong things (lies) and Scarlett gets mad, their sisterhood is greater. 

I did figure out the end surprise early, but it didn't ruin anything. I think Jackson Pearce even did it on purpose...or it was just me trying to figure things out way before they're supposed to. But even though I was right, Ms. Pearce pulled me into a false peace when she led me to believe something else. Then WHAM, I was actually right and now I'm devastated. Bravo, Ms. Pearce, bravo. 

A bonus point goes toward an epilogue because I absolutely adore epilogues. Who doesn't? It feels as if they don't have as many of them anymore. They usually make a trilogy then go, "Okay, well you've had three books of these characters, why do you need an epilogue?" 

Verdict: Pros definitely outweighed the cons in this captivating retelling.


Word to Parents: violence, language, creepiness 

Have you read the book? If so, what did YOU think? 

12 comments:

  1. 1) THANK YOU for posting the news!!! :)
    2) I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed 'Beauty' because I just got it from the library!
    3) I completely understand about Amy. The whole thing with the book?! I have no words. But, seriously, the first time I read the book I was so surprised when she got Laurie.
    I haven't read it yet, but there's a YA book called 'Little Women and Me' where the main character gets sucked into the story of 'Little Women' and tries to change what she doesn't like about it.

    Alice @ Alice in Readerland

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1) My pleasure!
      2) Well, I'm glad to hear that you got it from the library because I did really enjoy it :)
      3) Exactly. Amy haters are all around the world because I think she SO deserves it.
      I read that one! It was right before I was a blogger and it was alright from what I remember.

      Delete
  2. When I started reading this review I thought no way, killing wolves; I love werewolf stories, but this sounds like a good book. The interaction sounds intence, it is on my to be purchased list, after all who doesnt like the Little red riding hood story when we were children
    vera28546 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I LOOOHOOOOVE fairytales and retellings <3 This was a great book! I liked the twist on Red Riding Hood. You should read Sweetly soon, that one was even better :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, I'll have to look into Sweetly, thank you!

      Delete
  4. I just couldn't get into this one. It wasn't a favorite of mine. I'm glad you liked it =) It just wasn't for me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Have not read this book yet but always love fairy tale or retelling book, looking forward to read this one :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. OMG love the blog! The name is great and your design is super pretty <3

    New follower!

    Jasmine

    ReplyDelete