Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce ~ Guest Reviewer!

1:44 PM

So because Geraldine is still in Spain, it has been very hard to keep up with writing two reviews a week, simply because I haven't read enough to review that many books! So I asked my good friend Alyssa from ACReads, she is one of my and Geraldine's very best book-y friends and she is super awesome and has great taste! She is in the process of revamping her blog as well, so go check her out!Also I seriously love the book that she is reviewing so....yeah I just wanted to say that :D

Pages: 328
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316068680
Genre: YA Fairytale Retelling


Review by Alyssa

Synopsis (Goodreads.com): 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?


My Thoughts (Spoiler Free):
I’m not going to lie – I have a really hard time getting into and enjoying fairytale retellings. Most of the time, they come off as forced and it feels as though the author is stretching his/her characters and story line so that they fit into the fairytale story arc. That being said, I’ve been putting off picking up Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce for a very long time – nothing against the author herself… I just haven’t had the best track record when it comes to retellings. I found Sisters Red in the bargain section of a book website and after hearing all of the amazing rave reviews from my bookish friends, I decided to give it a chance… and Oh. My. God. I was totally blown away.

As you can probably guess, Sisters Red is a retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood but in a modern setting with two main characters. The March Sisters, Scarlett and Rosie, live in a world filled with girl hunting werewolves named Fenris. After the Fenris rip apart Scarlett and Rosie’s lives, the two embark on a lifelong mission to rid the world of the monsters, one by one. The girls being to notice that the Fenris are deviating from their normal behavior and, when the number of murders in a nearby city begin to sky rocket, they decide to move there to figure out why.

First and foremost, Pearce’s writing style is what makes Sisters Red fantastic. Unlike other fairytale retellings, Pearce doesn’t feel the need to fill her story with frilly language and outlandish characters. Though the story does deal with werewolves, it was easy to believe that it could actually happen – the Fenris could actually exist in our world, on the fringes and in the shadows of society. Pearce writes in a straight forward manner and doesn’t waste our time with unnecessary descriptions and side plots. And I really loved that.

The world building and character development was fantastic. Both aspects of the story were believable and didn’t force me to suspend reality in any way. Pearce was able to explain how the Fenris existed in “our world” without seeming like she was trying to defend or justify it to us. Pearce also split the Little Red Riding Hood figure into two different characters – Scarlett and Rosie. Each girl embodied a different aspect of the fairytale heroine which allowed me to get really wrapped up in their stories. And even though Scarlett frustrated the heck out of me, I could still relate to her and understand where she was coming from.

Overall, I really enjoyed Sisters Red and have given it a 4/5 stars. It was one of the best fairytale retellings that I’ve read… ever. I can’t wait to read more of Jackson Pearce’s novels!

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