Book Review: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date: June 2010
ISBN: 978-0316068680

Source: Library

Sisters Red 

Scarlett and Rosie March are Fenris hunters.  As two of the few people who know werewolves exist, they feel obligated to fight and kill them to protect innocent girls.  Scarlett wants to spend the rest of her life fighting them - it's the only thing that makes her feel whole.  Rosie, however, is finding that she'd much rather live a normal life, especially when their old friend Silas returns and she finds herself falling for him.  But all three of them must focus on defeating the Fenris when they begin to mysteriously appear in greater numbers.

Things I Liked:
I have to admit, there is something so delightful to me about a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with werewolves.  Perhaps it's that I myself wrote a short story along those lines, though with some differences.  Or maybe it's that I don't in general even like the fairy tale, so the fact that this book made me like it was good.  I loved how the story was about the sisters more than anything else.  Books about sisters always get to me, since I have four sisters myself.  Their interactions were excellent, though I found myself angry at Scarlett more often, even while I sort of understood why she was so single minded.  Interesting and fun story.  I'm super excited to get in on the discussion over at Today's Adventure.  Here is one of my favorite parts:

When we were little, Scarlett and I were utterly convinced that we'd originally been one person in our mother's belly.  We believed that somehow, half of us wanted to be born and half wanted to stay.  So our heart had to be broken in two so that Scarlett could be born first, and then I finally braved the outside world a few years later.  It made sense in our little pig-tailed heads - it explained why, when we ran through grass or danced or spun in circles long enough, we would lose track of who was who and it started to feel as if there were some organic, elegant link between us, our single heart holding the same tempo and pumping the same blood. p 46
Things I Didn't Like:
It ended rather quickly and abruptly to me.  Perhaps it was that I figured out the end before hand and was expecting it, but it came to a rather neat conclusion, considering all the build up.  Still, satisfying nonetheless.


Read-alikes:

Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde 
and any of a number of other fairy tales (see my Listless Monday list of them)

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
some


mrg-factor: X
implied mostly


v-factor: ->->->
rather a lot of fighting and stabbing


Overall rating: ****


Do you like sister books?  Why or why not?



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I Actually NEED It 6: Fairy Tale Style


It's been a while since I've done one of my NEED it lists.  And, since I'm celebrating fairy tales this week, I thought I'd share a few upcoming fairy tale(ish) books I'm interested in.

Cloaked in Red
Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde
This one looks so delightful!  It's a collection of retellings of Little Red Riding Hood and I'm super thrilled just thinking of all that fairy tale delights I will experience in October 2010.



Entwined by Heather Dixon
Hello, retellings of Twelve Dancing Princesses?  Yes, I love them.  And the cover for this is absolutely fabulous.  Too bad I have to wait until April 2011 before I can get my hands on this one! 


Just as a side note, I thought I'd send you for a little blast to the past with my Why We Love Fairy Tales post from last year's Once Upon a Week celebration.

What fairy tales are you waiting on?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Book Review: Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Publication date: May 2010
ISBN: 9781599904788

Source: Library

Princess of Glass 
Princess Poppy isn't too thrilled to be participating in a royal exchange program that takes her to a foreign court where she may be called upon to dance.  You see, having been forced to dance for many years makes it less desirable.  She manages to avoid dancing for a while, instead playing cards and meeting a handsome prince, until a young maid starts getting in the way of their budding friendship.  This servant not only is showing up to balls in gorgeous gowns but all of the young men seem to be falling for her.  Can Poppy figure out the mystery behind this maid before she finds herself caught in another deadly trap?

Things I Liked:
This was a fun, sweet story.  I like Poppy because she isn't a good, perfect, ladylike princess - she swears, she plays cards, she has an attitude and she
is also quite blunt.  The story itself is very cute - I especially enjoyed the Cinderella twist that makes for a interesting new view of the original tale.  Plus, it's also refreshing to have the main character not actually be Cinderella.  Lots of fun for younger girls and fairy tale lovers.
"All in all a most satisfactory evening," Marianne announced.  
Poppy had to laugh.  "It ended with us standing in the garden, looking over an unconscious prince and a red-faced Jasper Antwhistle."  She paused, making sure that Lady Margaret was asleep before continuing.  "Who was attacked rather haphazardly, by Prince Christian after I slapped him for trying to kiss me and pinch my bottom at the same time." p 33
"Any girl with a dowry is told from the day she's born that she has to marry just the right person for just the right reasons at just the right time."  She grimaced.  "All you can hope for is that he's got teeth.  And hair." p 61
Things I Didn't Like:
I didn't think it had quite as much sparkle and life as
Princess of the Midnight Ball, which is essentially about Poppy's older sisters.  Poppy was a delightful character, but the story was almost too simple and the ending fairly obvious from the start.  I liked the humor and sarcasm, but it definitely lacked the magic of the first book. 

Read-alikes:
My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none
though apparently Poppy can swear with the best soldiers, she never actually does so on page


mrg-factor: none

v-factor: none

Overall rating: ****

Got a favorite Cinderella story?

 For more reviews - click on the image!

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
 
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