I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Girl in Red by Christina HenryPublished by Berkley on June 18 2019
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Henry’s latest is a post apocalyptic fairy tale with teeth, a thrilling, brutal and emotional tale of survival with surprises around every corner and a heroine who is determined to survive, no matter what.
Christina Henry is one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to her new books, so I was delighted to be able to review her upcoming release, The Girl in Red. I barely remember reading the story description when I first heard about this book, so I was actually surprised to find out that this is a post apocalyptic Little Red Riding Hood story. Henry gives us a focused and plucky protagonist who is determined to survive a deadly virus and find her way to her grandma’s house.
Nearly everything about this story could be considered a spoiler, so I’m just giving you a very basic rundown of the plot. Three months before, a deadly virus called the Cough has decimated most of the population, although some people appear to be immune to the disease. Cordelia (or “Red” as she calls herself), her older brother Adam and her parents have decided to make the long trek to grandma’s house, nearly three hundred miles away. But getting there is going to be tough. Government military troops are rounding up everyone who’s still alive and forcing them into quarantine camps, and rogue militia groups are shooting people on sight, stealing their supplies and staking their claim on the last of the grocery stores that still have food on their shelves. Red has been preparing for their trip for weeks, gathering supplies and making sure her backpack has every survival essential possible.
But when Red’s mother comes down with the Cough right before they are supposed to leave, Red and Adam are forced to flee without their parents. It will take all of Red’s careful planning and resourcefulness to survive, especially when they discover an even bigger threat than the Cough.
Henry takes the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and turns it into a modern, apocalyptic story that had me on pins and needles, using just enough of the story elements we’re familiar with—a red hoodie filling in for the hooded cape, the journey through the woods to grandmother’s house, and the dangers Little Red Riding Hood encounters on her way there—but putting her own spin on the tale as well. There’s even a wolf (of sorts), but I’m not going to tell you anything more than that!
A lot of the tension comes from the format Henry uses. The chapters alternate between “Before” and “After,” presumably marking a critical event on the journey (and you’ll just have to read the book to discover that event for yourself!). In the After chapters, Red is traveling by herself, and so the reader spends a good deal of the story wondering what the heck happened to Adam. The Before chapters span the time from when they leave home up until that event, as the two timelines weave closer and closer together. This is an effective way to get your reader to keep turning the pages, and I was desperate for some answers by the time I finally got them.
A big part of the reason I loved this so much was because of Red. Henry has created a fierce young woman with unshakable determination, and even though her personality was a little grating from time to time, I really wanted her to succeed. The most interesting thing about Red is that she has a prosthetic leg, the result of a childhood car accident. Red doesn’t feel sorry for herself or think that life is unfair because of her leg, she’s simply figured out how to incorporate it into her daily life and it’s just no big deal. Unfortunately, other people do have issues with her leg, even her own family, who coddle her and worry that she won’t be able to keep up or do the things other people can do. This makes Red mad, of course, and it makes her try even harder. Having a prosthetic leg has led her to become ultra-organized, which is why she’s the perfect character to set out on an apocalyptic journey. Her weapon of choice is a small hand axe that she wears on her belt, and let’s just say that the axe gets used more than once during the story.
I also loved the little details Henry added. Red’s mother is a Shakespearean scholar and teaches English at a nearby college—or at least she used to teach English before the world changed. Henry channels Hamlet in a very interesting way—and I won’t spoil it for you in case you want to discover that Easter egg for yourself—but let’s just say when I finally figured out what she was doing, it was a wonderful “ah ha!” moment. She’s also given Red a love of books and movies, and I loved all the moments where Red uses her film knowledge to describe the situations she and Adam find themselves in.
My only complaint is that the story ended way too abruptly, at least for me. This is one of those books where you get to nearly the end and realize that there is no way the author is going to be able to wrap up her story in only a handful of pages. There is also an event that happens late in the story, something that’s hinted at throughout the book but doesn’t really materialize until the end. It felt like it could have been a much bigger story element if it had more time to develop, but because it was almost an afterthought, it didn’t have as much impact for me.
But all was forgiven when I turned the final page. I loved the way Henry ended her story, abrupt or not, and I was left with that magical feeling you get when you come to the end of a really good fairy tale. Fans of Christina Henry will fall for Red just like I did, and hopefully The Girl in Red will garner her lots of new readers as well.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
I love everything you said about this book. I really enjoyed The Mermaid by Christina Henry so I think I’d enjoy this one as well. It sounds amazing!
It’s very different from the Mermaid, but then all her stories are different from each other:-)
I love retelllings- and I love post apocalyptic settings! This one sounds great.
It’s a great combo, I’m trying to think of another retelling that’s post apocalyptic, but I can’t think of one at the moment.
If you do think of one- please let me know. I want ALL the post apocalyptic retellings. Lol
Great review and you’ve said just enough to make me SUPER intrigued. I didn’t realize Red had a disability and I think that’s going to be such an interesting element. Now about this “wolf.” There better be a wolf – he’s my favorite character in the original – go figure.
Ha ha, I can’t really tell you about the wolf. You’ll have to read for yourself;-)
Lovely review, Tammy! I’m SO happy to see you loved this one and good to know about the ending. I have it coming up very soon in my queue and cannot wait for this fairy tale.
I hope you enjoy it too, Jennifer!
I can’t believe that I still haven’t read this author. I know I have a couple of books by her and now I want this one – it brings me back to the problem of review vs own books. I never seem to find the time for the books I buy.
Lynn 😀
Me either, Lynn. It’s almost like if I don’t get a review copy, I never get to read the book:-( So sad, I need to find a way to change that.
Love this cover.
Me too, it’s simple but really effective.
I’m so happy to see that you loved this! I have it coming up in the next couple of weeks (assuming I don’t fall even further behind…), and I’m excited to check it out! I’ve never tead anything by this author — looking forward to giving her a try!
I think this is a great place to start with her books. Hope you enjoy!
Loved your review and I can’t wait to read this. Have you seen the animated cover for it?
Laura Thomas recently posted…Books From The Backlog #11 ~ Celeste Files: Unlocked
Yes, it’s so cool! I used it on my blog for a short time.
Loved your review. 🙂 The cover is stunning. Glad you liked the ending despite the abrupt ending.
Debjani recently posted…Kaerou Time to Go Home by B. Jeanne Shibahara – Review
Isn’t the cover cool? It really fits the story too:-)
^Glad you liked the book despite the abrupt ending.
This sounds fantastic. I need to read this author. 🙂
She’s really good, and this is actually a good place to start.
Well this book sounds absolutely amazing. I hope they release it on audio soon!
I’m sure they will, I think it should be a really good audio as well:-)
After my experience with Lost Boy, I was ready to grab anything written by this author, but your review of Girl in Red made me more than eager to read it: the other retelling I sampled was a strong, emotional story that delved deep into characters, but this one has the added value of a post-apocalyptic scenario. Resisting is NOT an option… 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Wyrd & Wonder 2019 – A TIME OF BLOOD (Of Blood and Bone #2), by John Gwynne
Yes, you should never resist Christina Henry!
Wonderful review, I also loved this one! I loved Red, she definitely made this book stand out and shine. I agree about the abruptness of the ending, despite the fact that I still loved it anyway, haha. Really glad you enjoyed it!
Jordan Rose recently posted…Review: The Yoga of Strength by Andrew Marc Rowe
The abrupt ending was just a small blip for me, and I actually LOVED the way she ended the story.
So glad to hear you loved this one, can’t wait to read it!
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Throwback Thursday – The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
It was really good, hope you get to read it soon:-)
Starting this next! Very excited to see your rating! 😀
The retelling aspect sound so interesting, and the story sounds so good! I’m already wondering what happened to Adam?! You have me excited to read this. I’ve seen a lot of reviewers complain about the ending though, so that’s a bummer that it ended up being so abrupt.
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Book Review: Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
Post apocalyptic Red Riding Hood sounds like my type of thing. Great review!
This sounds like a great book! And since I can’t resist a Little Red Riding Hood retelling I need to read it. But I wanted to say that this is such an excellent review. It reveals just enough to be intriguing while giving the reader enough non-spoilery details about the format, the characters, and the tone to tell if this is something that would appeal.
I didn’t realize the author had a bunch of retellings! I have this book, Lost Boy, and The Mermaid all on my TBR previously to reading this and I never realized they were all by the same person haha. Great Review!
What a lovely review, Tammy! This is an author I’ve not yet read, though she is on my list. And now I’m really keen:)).
You had me at post-apocalyptic fairy tale. :3 I love the idea of this, the way the fairy tale seems to be twisted. I can’t wait to see how she makes it works! Some of my favorite books are the ones you can’t describe too deeply because it’s all spoilers. Means the author did a great job of tying everything together.
Sammie @ The Writerly Way recently posted…WWW Wednesday (July 17, 2019)
The Hamlet-channeling has me intrigued!
Looking forward to reading The Girl in Red. Thank you for your review.
The Girl in Red sounds like a very clever addition to the apocalyptic genre.