What if little red riding hood was more like Buffy the Vampire slayer only slaying wolves instead of vampires? Jackson Pearce’s novel Sisters Red is a fabulous contemporary take on the classic fairy tale.
What you can expect from this book:
- excellent characterization
- gruesome battles
- sisterly bonds
- trapping of family business and the responsibility of knowledge
- Werewolf mythology
- Social commentary
- about how people respond to the disabled and disfigured
- about the dragonflies (club hopping young women with shiny clothes and little thought of consequences) of western culture
- Love, & it’s power to motivate change in your life
- People who never give up on those they care about
- Creative Use of Plato’s theories
- A predictable twist (sorry but I knew that was coming when I was barely into the book)
- Fantabulous cover art- I mean seriously can I hang this on the wall, maybe frame it with Jackson Pearce’s next book’s cover?
If you’re a fan of the show Supernatural (I loved the first couple seasons) you will find that Sisters Red shares some plot lines. I coul hear “saving people, hunting thing, the family business” tagline in my mind as I read. Scarlett is like Dean-completely absorbed by life as a hunter, living for the kill. Whereas Rosie is like Sam and wants a chance at a normal life despite the knowledge of monsters.
Pearce did not choose character names arbitrarily. Aside from the fact that Scarlett and Rosie both have names deriving from shades of red (apropriate for the red riding hood story) each individual’s name is very fitting for their character.
SCARlett is a scarred character. She is physically marred and emotionally traumatized by the violence she experienced at a young age.
Rosie sees the world with rose coloured glasses. She’s an optomist, who believes there is more to life than revenge and work. She is the youthful rosie cheeked sister that is great bate for the wolves.
Silas means “man of the forest”, something his Pa would have named thinking he would keep up the family profession of being a woodsman. This name takes on more meaning later but I’ll try not to spoil things for you.
If you like Sisters Red you might also like
- Crazy beautiful because it’s a fairy tale adaptation
- Supernatural because it’s about sibling hunters of supernatural monsters
- The Once Upon A Time Series fairy tales for teens
- Sweetly companion book to Sisters Red
Libraries & YA 