Thursday, November 29, 2012

Review: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings #1)
By Jackson Pearce
Publisher:
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

To Sum It Up:

Scarlett March lives for the hunt. Ever since the attack that killed her grandmother and took her eye, Scarlett knows that there is nothing left in the world for her besides protecting her sister, Rosie, and killing werewolf-like Fenris. But Rosie isn't like Scarlett. Rosie loves her sister more than anything, but she would rather be leading a normal teenage life than adorning a red cloak, leading Fenris to their death. When Silas, Scarlett's old hunting partner, comes to town, Rosie is given a chance at being normal. But Rosie is conflicted—Scarlett needs her sister more than ever, especially with the sudden emergence of Fenris in the area. Rosie owes Scarlett her life, but Rosie isn't sure if she's willing to give hers up.

Review:

This cover is just so beautiful! I spent countless hours gawking at it, turning it this way and that. Now, the stuff between the pages did not meet the cover's standards, but it was still pretty good. I love any kind of fairytale retellings, so I knew I had to give Sisters Red a try.

There were two big things in the book that stood out for me. One of them was Scarlett. This girl was beyond cool! I felt so bad for her. Scarlett was always worrying about everyone (besides herself, obviously). So in the book, Scarlett lost her eye; I think this really changed her and kind of defined her future. Reading from Scarlett's point of view, you can really see how much her looks really bothered her. She didn't think she was good enough for anything besides killing. She was horribly embarrassed and self-conscious. Scarlett removed herself from society and distanced herself from almost everyone. As I was reading this book, all I could think about was getting Scarlett a man! A nice, handsome, young lad would work wonders on Scarlett's self-esteem. It also would have made the book loads more interesting.

The other “thing” that stood out for me was Rosie . . . and not in a good way. I did not like this girl! Rosie was so self-centered. What really bothered me was how Rosie treated her sister, Scarlett. Rosie would always complain about hunting the Fenris, which is understandable yet selfish. Time and time again, Rosie would state how she would continue hunting for Scarlett. However, this dedication to her sister did not come out of love but out of repayment. Scarlett lost her eye protecting Rosie; Scarlett basically saved Rosie's life. This fact was the only thing tying Rosie to her sister. I also didn't like Rosie and Silas's relationship. Silas was decently cool, but instead of rooting for the two love birds to get together, I was a little grossed out at the idea of them as a couple.

Despite all the action and Fenris killing, which was completely awesome, the book was slow. I didn't know what the plot was, besides the obvious werewolf hunting. The book was more of a diary or a recount of what they did in that month, la-di-da-da. It was boring when the Fenris weren't involved. I think that if there was more werewolf action, I would have enjoyed the book more. Another thing I wished went differently was how the Fenris were painted. They were made out to be completely bad, no good at all. I would have loved to have seen a werewolf buddy mixed with the hunters, or even some conflict among the pack.

Other than the aforementioned, the book was good. I liked the concept and I liked the killing. I think the reason why I tolerated this book so much was because I wanted to like it. I wanted to find a good series with a modern interpretation of old fairytales. I don't know yet if I found it or not. I guess I'm going to have to read the next book in the series.

All in All:

Even though I didn't especially enjoy Sisters Red, anyone looking for a fairytale retelling should definitely check it out.

9 comments:

  1. Yeah, that's how I felt! The cover really lures you in, doesn't it? The sequel's cover is just as pretty. I'm curious to see what you think of the book.

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  2. The cover is really gorgeous! Making yourself like a book is usually a bad sign for me. Sad to hear the story isn't as good as the story. I hope your next read will be better.

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    1. Yeah, I really loved the cover, it's what caught my attention! I have high hopes for the next two books in the trilogy. It's supposed to be on different characters and the third book is a retelling of the Little Mermaid or something, so I'm definitely going to check it out.

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  3. Sorry you didn't like this one! I'm really interested in reading more fairytale retellings, but I've heard a few things about this that make me really hesitant to pick this one up.

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    1. If you're looking for a fairyland retelling I would give it a shot anyway. You never know, you might like it! :)

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  4. I agree, the cover is lovely and Scarlett sounds like a great MC! Shame about the rest of the book, a slow book is not a good read :/

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    1. Scarlett was amazing! She was one of the reasons I kept on reading!

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  5. I agree, the cover is probably the highlight of the novel. That was an interesting suggestion about making Scarlet a guy! I never imagined that but I think it definitely would've made the novel very different. You should check out the companion novel, Sweetly, though. I liked it better than Sisters Red. I have a review up on my blog if you want to read it. :)

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    1. I would have loved to have seen Scarlett with a guy! I think I'm going to pull through, like the good trooper that I am, and read Sweetly. It sounds interesting and the cover is just as pretty! :)

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