Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The Girl In Red

The Girl in Red

The Girl In Red came highly recommended to me and after finishing it I can see why. Such a powerful story packed into less than three hundred pages. I found this compulsively readable and devoured it in just a few sittings. It tells the tale of Red, the only survivor of her family after a Crisis has decimated the population and made the world a post apocalyptic nightmare. I of course am a fan of such stories, but looking at this book I would not have guessed it to be a post apocalyptic tale, so I'm glad several people told me to read this.

Red is alone and on her way to grandmother's house- and that's about all we get from a Little Red Riding Hood reimagining. The wicked wolf of course could be any number of things- the pandemic Cough that has claimed so many lives, the bands of lawless men ravaging the countryside, the military that is determined to round people up and send them to quarantine camps. Red has no intention of going to a camp, and I love how she questioned the wisdom of keeping an illness at bay by jamming people together. Funny that not more people questioned it. But, is it possible that there are other reasons for the military's actions? 

Red is also disabled- she has a prosthetic leg- but she doesn't consider herself disabled at all, and in fact is quite capable for her young age. She lost her family at the outset of her quest to get to get where she's going, and she's not going to let anyone stop her. I've read reviews where some people loved Red, and some people didn't care for her- for me, I thought she was intensely likable, and I could relate to her mindset about being prepared. She readily admits that her survival skills, such as they are, are mainly culled from the books and movies she's consumed, and who can't relate to being disgusted with characters who do all the wrong things in an apocalypse? Such as Never Split Up- why on earth would you ever do that? Red would like to know that too, and I smiled at all the times she recounted her informal rules of survival (in capital letters).  

The truth is Red is no superhero, she's just a twenty year old girl trying to make it though a savage land where the rules have all gone away. I really like how Henry makes us think about all the things we take for granted- the background hum of electricity that we only miss when the power goes out, or the noise of cars on a nearby street or the airplanes overhead. No Internet, no broadcasts... everything stops. And without civilization to keep people in check, society soon breaks down. It's a terrifying thought, and I thought Henry did a great job of bringing it to life. 

There's a touch of science fiction/ horror that also appears, and I loved it personally. This was such a fast paced read for me- it's divided between before and after her current situation, where she's on the road after having recently lot her brother. As the book progressed I got a little worried that there wasn't going to be enough time to resolve everything- there seemed to be too many questions I had and the pages were dwindling- but the author pulled it out and all my questions were answered just in time. Well done, and I loved the ending. 

31 comments:

  1. Great review, Greg! I've never read a Christina Henry book before but I think I have one or two lined up on my Kindle just waiting for me to pick up. I don't know why I haven't yet because I've heard some really good things about her retellings--they all seem quite dark actually! Lol this one sounds really good. I love a good post-apocalyptic sci-fi that makes you think :)

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  2. I'm glad you enjoyed it! This wasn't my favorite by Henry, but I appreciated that it was a bit different than her other retellings :)

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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  3. Great review! That cover is amazing and I've been wondering about this book for a while now. Not too many people I know have read it and posted a review. So I've been impatiently waiting for someone to share their thoughts about it. I'll have to see if my library has a copy in.

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  4. I loved this too, and I'm one of those readers who really liked Red. She was a bit annoying at times but overall I found her to be different from your normal post apocalyptic characters.

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  5. Never heard of this author, but your review makes it sound pretty good and worth a checkout. Hugs, RO

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  6. Glad you enjoyed it. I'll admit I've seen so many mixed reviews that this one scares me now.

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  7. yes I had a really good time with this story. Many things happen for her.

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  8. I knew you would like this one Greg!

    I seem to be the odd man (girl) out but she drove me nuts lol I loved the story and the little details but Red's constant dispensing of facts grated on me even though I liked her overall.

    I want to try something else by the author though.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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  9. Sounds like you really liked this one. That cover is great.

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  10. I have read everything by her so far (except for one!) and this one, gotta get it

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  11. Well Greg you nearly convinced me here. I am only hesitant due to the horror element as it is not my jam (I am too chicken for it)

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  12. I really loved this one, too. Red is such a great character. :D

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  13. I've only just heard about this book today. AND I DO MEAN TODAY. Like, 20 minutes ago, I saw it on someone's blog, and now I see it on yours and I'm like... it's a sign. *Adds to TBR immediately* I AM SO SOLD. AND AM SO HERE FOR THIS BOOK. Ah!

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  14. I have read so many positive reviews of this one that I can't believe I still haven't read it. I fell in love with that great cover when I first saw it, figuring that with a cover that cool, this just has to be a good book. Great review.

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  15. This sounds like something we would read. We'll check Amazon out. Thanks. Over from Mary Kirkland. I'll be back.

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  16. I listened to this just the other day. I agree it was riveting. Loved it. My only gripe was like you mentioned the pages were dwindling and there was a lot left to explain. I wish the climax and ending were drawn out more. I wanted way more.

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  17. Yay, so glad to hear you enjoyed this one too! I enjoyed it so much that I ordered a copy of Lost Boy, her Peter Pan/Captain Hook retelling.

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  18. I've been seeing a lot of good reviews for this one, and I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it, too!

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  19. Fantastic review, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it! That ending was really a nail-biter for me wondering what sort of answers we'd get, haha. I really loved all the genre-elements she incorporated, it's a great book!

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  20. I just discovered this book a couple weeks ago on someone else's blog post and I so want to read it ! Glad you enjoyed it & great review :)

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  21. Wonderful review, Greg! It sounds a bit dark for me, and I'm not a huge fan of post-apocalyptic novels (with exceptions, like the Lunar Chronicles) or horror, but despite that, you've managed to intrigue me.

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  22. I have plans to finish her urban fantasy series Black Wings this year. Time could be an issue though!

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  23. I read this authors Peter Pan retelling and thought it was really good and it sounds like she delivered again with this retelling. Great review!

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  24. I had written this book off because I had seen so many bad reviews, but you have just put it back on my tbr. 👍✨

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  25. WOW Greg... This is an incredible review! You totally made me want to read this and after I'd passed myself and had that decision confirmed by other reviews. I love she's disabled and getting to experience that (which I will hopefully never be able to compare to in real life!)

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  26. I had a feeling you would like it even though it was meh for me. I didn't think it answered my questions so maybe I missed something...lol. :)

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  27. Great review! I recently read my first Christina Henry book, Lost Boy, really enjoyed it as well. I wasn't sure which of her books to read next but after this review I'm going to pick this one.

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  28. I'm so happy you loved this one! I was hoping you would. Once I discovered the science fiction aspect, it made me think of you. It was perfectly balanced...suspense, horror, science fiction! All of it really well written and enjoyable. Like you, I was worried about questions being answered on time, but she made it work.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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  29. I cannot wait to read this one! Awesome review!!

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  30. Totally agree with you! I loved it, it felt very authentic. And I don't usually love retellings but this one was handled so perfectly! Red reminded me of you when she got angry at people doing dumb stuff in books and movies, too 😂

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