Red Riding Hood - Review

Title ~ Red Riding Hood
Series ~ Single Title
Author ~ Sarah Blakley-Cartwright, Catherine Hardwicke
Release Date ~ January 25, 2011
Age Group ~ Young Adult
Publisher ~ Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source ~ Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

GOODREADS SUMMARY

The body of a young girl is discovered in a field of wheat. Her flesh mutilated by telltale claw marks. The Wolf has broken the peace.

When Valerie learns that her sister has been killed by the legendary creature, she finds herself at the center of a dark mystery, one that has plagued her village for generations. It is revealed that the werewolf lives among them, and everyone in the village immediately becomes a suspect. Could her secret love Peter be behind the attacks on her town? Is it her betrothed, Henry? Or someone even closer to her?

As the men in the village hunt for the beast, Valerie turns to her grandmother for help. She gives Valerie a handmade red riding cloak, and guides her through the web of lies and deception that has held her town together for so long. Will Valerie discover the werewolf's identity before the town is ripped apart?

This is a dangerous new vision of a classic fairy tale, the happy ending could be hard to find.

REVIEW

Retellings of classic fairy tales always get my attention. I love to see where the current author is going to take the story and what unique twists they will add. This time around, I had mixed feelings.

What I liked best were the plot, tone, and main character. I really liked how the authors played off the classic (a red riding cloak, a grandma, an evil wolf, a cunning young girl), but made it their own. They took the story and made it much darker with a wolf that seems to randomly choose victims with gory results.

The tone is one of paranoia. The members of the tiny village all become suspicious of each other. The tension is thick as they not only fear the wolf, but each other. I really liked how the madness spread among the entire village.

Valerie was a good main character because she spoke her own mind. I liked that she wasn’t as quick to point her finger at others in the village, but she could also be rebellious.

What fell short for me would be the perspective. The story is told from multiple points of view and jumps around because of it. I would have either liked for it to be just from Valerie’s point of view or to have alternating chapters.

The ending? Well, there really wasn’t an ending at all. Wow. It turns out that a final chapter will be released online (HERE) to coincide with the movie release. I’m looking forward to reading it because I am DYING to know the end, but I wish it had been included in the book the first place. 

Here is a trailer to the movie. It releases March 11, 2011. I hope to see it so I can compare it to the book.  I hope it has the final chapter included too.

RATING

3 So-So

COVER COMMENTS

Look at that big bad wolf! With blood stains and a bright red cloak, this cover goes perfectly with the story.