Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold
Published 25th February 2020 by Balzer + Bray
Star Rating - ****
Goodreads Challenge - 12/50
I was kindly gifted an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis (from Goodreads)
You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked.
And the wolf is angry.
Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good. But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions. About the blood in Bisou’s past and on her hands as she stumbles home. About broken boys and vicious wolves. About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.
And the wolf is angry.
Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good. But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions. About the blood in Bisou’s past and on her hands as she stumbles home. About broken boys and vicious wolves. About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.
My Thoughts
**BEWARE POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD**
I requested this one because I really enjoyed Damsel by Elana K. Arnold when I read it last year, even though it was quite a controversial book, and I was keen to see what she did next.
The thing I loved most about this book was definitely the writing style. Elana K. Arnold writes in a really fairytalesque way and the story reads like a classic fairytale, even though it's set in the modern world. It's also written in the second person POV which threw me at first but after the first chapter I really got into it and it really worked for me. As you can probably tell from the title this story is inspired by the classic Little Red Riding Hood tale and I think this worked really well. It wasn't a direct retelling and there was a lot of original content however, there were very clear nods to the classic tale and I felt that it all blended together nicely.
This story really delved into a lot of modern day issues and I think it handled them really well. There was a lot of positive commentary surrounding periods, loosing your virginity and having sex for the first time which I don't think is spoken about often enough in books so I thought this was great. There was also a lot of commentary about toxic masculinity and sexual assault and how important it is to stand up for what's right and what you believe in which was good too. I liked the main character and enjoyed watching how her friendship with two other girls grew throughout the story. I liked this depiction of friendship and how they all supported each other.
I did find the ending a little odd however, the book spent most of the duration exploring how to challenge peoples views and opinions and it seemed that the girls believed murder to be the solution to all their problems which just felt a little bit off to me. That being said I really enjoyed this one and I think it is a really important read and it covers some really important topics. I will definitely be picking up anythings else Elana K. Arnold writes in the future.
The thing I loved most about this book was definitely the writing style. Elana K. Arnold writes in a really fairytalesque way and the story reads like a classic fairytale, even though it's set in the modern world. It's also written in the second person POV which threw me at first but after the first chapter I really got into it and it really worked for me. As you can probably tell from the title this story is inspired by the classic Little Red Riding Hood tale and I think this worked really well. It wasn't a direct retelling and there was a lot of original content however, there were very clear nods to the classic tale and I felt that it all blended together nicely.
This story really delved into a lot of modern day issues and I think it handled them really well. There was a lot of positive commentary surrounding periods, loosing your virginity and having sex for the first time which I don't think is spoken about often enough in books so I thought this was great. There was also a lot of commentary about toxic masculinity and sexual assault and how important it is to stand up for what's right and what you believe in which was good too. I liked the main character and enjoyed watching how her friendship with two other girls grew throughout the story. I liked this depiction of friendship and how they all supported each other.
I did find the ending a little odd however, the book spent most of the duration exploring how to challenge peoples views and opinions and it seemed that the girls believed murder to be the solution to all their problems which just felt a little bit off to me. That being said I really enjoyed this one and I think it is a really important read and it covers some really important topics. I will definitely be picking up anythings else Elana K. Arnold writes in the future.
Overall Rating
