Review of "Sisters Red"

"When I spin around, there's no man behind me, only a monster."

     Jackson Pearce's Sisters Red takes the story of Red Riding Hood to a whole new level. For one thing, this isn't just a rerun where the hooded girl has to watch her grandmother die at the hands of a werewolf. This time there are two girls--and they're fighting back. Meet Scarlett and Rosie March, orphans whose grandmother died at the claws of a Fenris, one of the many charming men who turn into wolves and devour humans. Scarlett is hard, sharp, and determined that no one else will share the same fate as herself and her sister. Rosie is her bait, luring the Fenris in so she can bury her hatchet into their canine forms. But things take a grim turn when it becomes clear that the werewolves are seeking out a new member to their ranks, and even the March sisters might not be able to stop them.

     Scarlett and Rosie are complete opposites. Scarlett is tough, focused, and completely invested in the chase. Her sister, on the other hand, is a teenaged girl stuck in a war she isn't sure she wants to fight anymore. Rosie keeps on because she feels like she owes Scarlett for saving her life when they were kids, the day the Fenris killed Oma March, but she craves a life outside of the hunt. So when they move to the city to track down the soon-to-be-Fenris, known as the Potential, she's thrilled. And when Scarlett's close friend, twenty-one-year-old Silas, begins to show interest in her, it's like life couldn't get any better. The only problem is that Scarlett doesn't want her lowering her guard--and Silas may be more than he seems.

     Pearce paints her characters with vivid colors that allow readers insight into every aspect of their souls, each angle admirable or unlikeable enough to flesh them out and lend them a firm sense of roundness and realism. No character is perfect: Rosie is naïve, fun-loving, and curious, with a splash of rebellion and not enough survival instincts. Scarlett is unpleasant but relatable, her love for her younger sister visible in everything she does. Even Silas, whose mind we don't get to see firsthand, is concrete and believable. Together, the three make a perfect team, though they have plenty of conflict to spice up the lulls in the plot.

     As for action, this book has plenty. Scarlett does most of the fighting, though the others do join in. Her preferred weapon is a hatchet--as you can imagine, there is a good amount of gore. However, this isn't overdone and is balanced out by the slow, higher points in the story. The romance, on the other hand, is kind of awkward, due in part to the large age difference between Rosie and Silas. The two feel a strong urge to hide their relationship from Scarlett, which adds to the tension and the ever-growing rift between the sisters. Although it does play its part in the end, the romance feels somewhat forced and its contribution to the plot could have been approached from a different angle, making it feel rather pointless at times.

     I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a strong, kick-butt revamping of Red Riding Hood. With her complex characters and great action, Jackson Pearce has done a great job with Sisters Red. However, there is a bit of gore during the fight scenes and the romance doesn't always feel necessary to the plot. This book is pretty realistic, gritty, and thrilling, features that earn it four stars.