Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: Feb. 5, 2013
Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Rating: A-
Summary
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.
Review
Plot: Following Cinder (the retelling of Cinderella), this book tells the story of Scarlet; better known as Little Red Riding Hood. This story line is a little farther away from the traditional story than the first book. Really the main similarities are the name, the fact that she lives with her grandmother, and that she meets a guy named Wolf. Not much to say without giving away spoilers, but basically Scarlet's grandmother goes missing and she needs Wolf's help to find her. As you probably guess, things don't go quite as she planned. Like I said from Cinder, she does a good job of keeping you on your toes, even though you think you know the story line. Not only that, but she throws in aliens and robots into this fantasy world of Little Red Riding Hood.
Characters: In the first book we heard from Cinder and Kai. In this one, the main character is Scarlet. However, we also hear from Cinder, Kai, and Wolf at some points in the story. I talked about Cinder, and how strong and brave she was. Scarlet is also a good leading lady, but she's a little different than Cinder. She's younger, therefore a little less mature. Even though she can handle herself and get the job done, you can catch her whining at times. She isn't as sure of what she needs to do as Cinder is. Honestly, I like that. Cinder is a great female character to look up to, but not always relatable. She's almost too strong sometimes (if that makes sense). But Scarlet is a little scared and unsure, but still sticks with what she knows is important. That's what I admire about her.
Cover: I love the scarlet color in the cover. All these books in the series have that color in the cover, but for this book it's just even more perfect. And I love that you can only see a small part of the girl wearing the hood. It gives just a mystical feel to everything. It's such a simple cover! And yet it's so perfect for the books.
Closing Thoughts: I loved this book! As far as content goes, I enjoyed it just as much- if not more than- the first in the series. However, I think a big flaw was how many characters she wrote in. It was kind of hard to keep track of them all. One minute
you're with Scarlet, trying to learn about her side of the story, and
then they jump you back to Cinder, or sometimes even Kai! To be honest,
it just seems a little much. It's really interesting having all these
points of view, but sometimes I felt like she couldn't focus on what was
going on. The author just kept jumping. I thought maybe it was just because of all the characters, but in the third book (reviewing later) she adds even more characters and it actually flows fine. Other than that, I loved this book. It was romantic yet didn't sacrifice any of the plot for romance. You'd think with these books being based around princesses (or similar) that they would be only focused on the love interest. Half the time, the girls don't even care about the guy, but saving a loved one or even the planet. Marissa Meyer has an amazing series going and I can't wait to continue on.
Where to find Marissa Meyer:
Brooke
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