Title: The girl in red
Author: Christina Henry
Publisher: Berkley
Published date: June 18th, 2019
Summary:
It's not safe for anyone alone in the woods. Some predators come out at night: critters and coyotes, snakes, and wolves. But the woman in the red jacket has no choice. Not since the Crisis came, decimated the population, and sent those, who survived fleeing into quarantine camps that serve as breeding grounds for death, destruction, and disease. She is just a woman trying not to get killed in a world that doesn't look anything like the one she grew up in, the one that was perfectly sane and normal and boring until three months ago.
There are worse threats in the woods than the things that stalk their prey at night. Sometimes, there are men. Men with dark desires, weak wills, and evil intents. Men in uniform with classified information, deadly secrets, and unforgiving orders. And sometimes, just sometimes, there's something worse than all of the horrible people and vicious beasts combined.
Red doesn't like to think of herself as a killer, but she isn't about to let herself get eaten up because she is a woman alone in the woods.
The story is based on Little Red Riding Hood, though her reason to travel to her grandmother is an ongoing pandemic. I am a huge sucker for stories based on old fairy tales, but the pandemic part of the story is exciting since we all live in a pandemic; luckily for us, not as bad as the one in the book.
Honestly, I really like the main character. She is strong-minded and logical; she reminds me slightly of all the nerds who think they are ready for a zombie apocalypse. The resemblance is clearly intentional as her family does not take her seriously, thinking she has read too many zombie apocalypse-themed books. Though she is smarter than most of us book nerds, she starts working out and studying, preparing for the long hike they have to do. She clearly struggles with guilt through the whole book; if it hadn't been for her grandmother, she would have given up on her journey. Her grandmother is her only reason to keep fighting and her only hope. She justifies almost everything on the fact that she has to get to her grandmother. She also ignores her past and the mistake that happened, ignoring why she is alone, and the rest of her family, parents, and brother are gone.
The plot is fun, and the author is not afraid of switching between different stories. We first get to know about her current situation, trying to get to her grandmother all by her lonesome. Then, the author explains why she is alone, what happened before and what led to her being alone. She keeps switching between the two stories in an obvious and entertaining way. She manages to keep both stories fascinating and keeps the readers hooked. The story unfolds perfectly, leaving only the ending to be a mystery, which I like to imagine ended happily.
The authors writing style is simple yet funny at times. All the characters have a clear and natural personality; the characters all have their own coping mechanism, making it a bit more realistic. The relationship between the main character and her brother is a great description of two siblings, as they fight but still love each other. Her brother also copes with the situation differently than her, which leads to verbal fights and disagreements. All characters that were introduced seem human, even those who got disposed of quickly.
I can recommend it to everyone who likes stories inspired by old fairy tales, but with a bit more action. This is not a sweet and charming story about a girl trusting a mean wolf, and there is no huntsman to save her and her grandmother. This story is about a depressed but strong-minded girl, who will not be saved, but save others.
Cheers,
Karen
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