Sisters Red

I have a confession. While I ended up going to library school and becoming a children's librarian, I almost went to grad school to study English Lit. Specifically, I wanted to look at fairy tales and the way that they have grown and changed over time. I really love fairy tales in all of its forms. The oldest versions of the tales we know today are fairly dark, and Little Red Riding Hood and among most perverse of the bunch. It's also one of my favorite tales, and I've always thought that this fairy tale would lend itself well to a modern retelling.

Good news: Jackson Pearce's version, Sisters Red, has proven my theory correct.

In this modern version of Little Red Riding Hood, there are actually two girls who fill the title role. The two sisters witnessed the murder of their beloved grandmother by a vicious Fenris as young children, and in the attack the oldest sister, Scarlett, was injured and lost an eye. Since that day Scarlett has devoted her life to hunting down and killing the Fenris, one werewolf at a time. Her younger sister, Rosie, is just as strong as Scarlett, but seems to long for something other than the hunt. When the two girls find themselves caught in the Fenris' search for a new potential wolf, how will the two girls reconcile their desires? And how will Silas, the son of their old woodsman friend, play into the mix?

This book really pleased me. This version of the story takes all of the classic themes that make Little Red Riding Hood interesting and molds them into something unique. Scarlett and Rosie are both strong characters and their alternating voices are smooth and distinct. It was also refreshing to see a supernatural story where a romantic relationship plays second fiddle to another relationship (in this case, the sisters') while still containing plenty of spark. The book has a few minor flaws (How many times can one really use the word "dilapidated" over the course of 100 pages?) and you have to let a couple of things go (What exactly does the modern woodsman do for a living?), but this book is a real satisfying page-turner.

Overall Grade: A