Monday 14 June 2010

Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce


As a young girl, Scarlett March protected her little sister Rosie when a Fenris (werewolf) tried to attack them and killed their Grandmother. Knowing that unless she did something, both sisters would die, Scarlett was courageous and faced the beast herself, losing an eye in the process.

Now a teenager, Scarlett, clad in an alluring red cape, hunts the Fenris to avenge the death of her beloved Grandmother and prevent harm coming to other girls like her. Rosie is not a born hunter like Scarlett though but feels like it is something she has to do to pay her sister back for saving her life.
When Rosie has a run in with two Fenris' from a powerful clan, the sisters realise that things are a lot worse than they thought. Childhood friend, Silas is also in on the hunt and heads off to the city with the girls in an attempt to take out as many Fenris as possible. Once there though, the trio discover that each clan are looking for a Potential, a human who they can turn into one of their own and the hunt is on to make sure they get to him first. If this wasn't enough, the sisters are having a hard time keeping their bond strong when their views begin to differ and Rosie is drawn to Silas.

I have been a complete sucker for pretty covers when it came to buying books this week. When I was supposed to be only browsing in W H Smiths, this book instantly stood out to me and I knew I had to have it. Due to it being in the 3 for 2 offer, I figure I might as well get a couple more at the same time...again with amazingly pretty covers. Sometimes, book covers can be extremely deceiving and are only so pretty to make you buy awful books. Luckily, this isn't the case with Sisters Red.

I have to say that if this book had a soundtrack, it would most definitely be 'Sisters are doing it for themselves'. Both Scarlett and Rosie are strong young women, with clear ideas of what is right and wrong, even though they don't always agree on this. Females in the YA genre are generally seen as being the weaker characters, batting their eyelashes and flicking their hair at the hot guys (ok, Rosie does do this but I forgive her) and for once, this book breaks most stereotypes. Scarlett and Rosie are kick ass and will let no man tell them what to do. I loved both of them for different reasons but they quickly became my two favourite female characters from any book I have read this year. Seriously, you wouldn't want to mess with these girls!

While parts of the girls are extremely hardened by previous events, they both also have softer sides. They both clearly love each other a lot and would do anything to keep the other safe, even if it meant doing something that they didn't really want to. There are some extremely heartfelt moments between the sisters that were so lovely to read. Having an older sister myself, I could relate to Rosie a lot, especially when she wasn't getting what she wanted.

With the girls being so different at times, Silas was quite the middle man in the trio and it seemed like he wanted to do everything possible to see both sisters happy at all times, which wasn't an easy thing to do. Silas had both of the best parts of the girls' personalities mixed together. He was strong when needed but also wasn't afraid to show his softer side. A perfect blend of a man. For once, I loved all of the main characters in this book, which is something I can't remember happening in any other in this genre. Jackson Pearce knows how to write characters that people can relate to and fall in love with.

The story begins in a small town where Scarlett, Rosie and Silas grew up but doesn't stay there for long. I liked that all three characters moved to the city together because it seemed like one of them would have fallen apart without the others. The mix of settings was interesting too because the girls had never been out of the town they lived in. Everything was so new and exciting but also scary at the same time and their feelings and thoughts were described very clearly. As the story is told from both Scarlett and Rosie's perspectives (alternate chapters), I felt like I was walking new streets with each of them at different times.

The plot unfolds quite quickly and there is a lot of action along the way (some of it quite gory). There was always something happening which is made to feel even more action packed due to the way the story is told. Once the story had unfolded and explained the real reason for the Fenris gathering, I figured out what was going on pretty quickly even though I was hoping that I wasn't right. Even though I had already figured out what was going on, the build up to the end still had a shocking impact on me which I wasn't ready for at all. Normally I hate when I can guess what is going to happen but I really didn't mind this time around.

When I started reading Sisters Red, I only planned on reading a couple of chapters but soon found that I didn't want to put it down, resulting in me finishing the whole thing in a day. Along with loveable characters and an exciting story, Sisters Red is a very easy and addictive read. There are some references to Little Red Riding Hood, as you may have guessed from the red capes and wolves but unlike other books retelling classic stories, Pearce didn't overdo these parts and instead, only added aspects to a story that was very much their own. I have read a lot of YA this year but this is my favourite so far. I will be looking out for more titles by this author and getting them as soon as I can.

3 comments:

Katie said...

Wow, I REALLY need to read this book now. I'll have to see when I can get to the store!! Great review!

Unknown said...

Hi Lyndsey! I have an award for you on my blog.

KIKA said...

LoL I have an award for you too Here I think it's the same one as Kah Woei :D Great minds think alike

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