Sisters Red: Review

Title: Sisters Red
Author: Jackson Pearce
Release Date: June 7th, 2010
Published By: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Goodreads Rating: 3.83 stars

Synopsis: Scarlet 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?

Review: I absolutely loved the whole concept behind this book. I've read re-told fairy tales before, sure, but I don't think I've ever come across a retelling quite as good as this one. It seems more like it was inspired by Red Riding Hood than actually retold, and that's what makes it awesome. Rosie and Scarlet are two sisters (Scarlet being the older, and the Rosie the younger) who have devoted their lives to fighting the Fenris (wolves who look like handsome men and prey on young women) and protecting other girls.

That's a huge twist from the sickly sweet little girl skipping through the woods and tricked by the Big Bad Wolf! Jackson Pearce is clearly a master at complexity, too. Rosie and Scarlet felt like real people with real personalities. Scarlet is scarred all over from when she protected Rosie from a Fenris when they were young, and all she cares about is slaughtering wolves. But Rosie - the younger one, the prettier one, the slightly-more-innocent one - really just wants to be a normal girl, a girl who can admit her love with Silas and take classes at the community center and be like her old friends. These two personalities were completely believable and well-developed.

This book manages to have both action and plot development and ample character development, making it a near-perfect read. There were just two small things I didn't like as much. One was the plot twist - I definitely saw it coming, but it didn't really ruin the experience too much. The other was that I had a little trouble relating to Scarlet; her POV just didn't convince me of her obsession with killing the Fenris. Rosie was much easier to relate to.

Overall, this is an excellent read (with an absolutely gorgeous cover) that I recommend to everyone! Well, almost everyone. There is some violence. I'm a generally squeamish person by nature, and I did cringe a little at one or two places, but it's honestly not that bad. I hope everyone who's okay with blood finds a copy of this and reads it!

Grade: B