Reviews

Red by Libby Gleeson

ps_a22's review against another edition

1.0

I didn't like the book. It was supposed to be read in the classroom at year 6. It was boring, tedious and predictable. It could possibly be because it was based on true story. Really uninteresting, though well-written.

mills3jf3q4hg's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.25

This book was awful. I had to read this book for a year nine novel study, and it was a poorly done piece of text. The book seems like a basic draft and outline of a novel before the full novel is to be written. The storyline is boring with no intrigue or elements of excitement. The characters have no development what so ever and they are void of emotion and robotic. Reading this book wasn't just difficult due to the lack of plot line and character development, but was also a hard read due to the dryness of the writing. The dialogue is unrealistic and plain. The author over uses rhetorical questions and uses them to introduce topics that could be dealt with further. Instead, it is ignored. As well as this, there is a whole sentence that goes on for half a page that consists of no punctuation or commas what so ever. It reads like this: " and then and then and then and then " which goes on for half a page. I do not recommend this book to anyone.

pwbalto's review against another edition

4.0

You are all alone, covered in mud, your memory gone. Things could hardly get worse - or so you might think. In the aftermath of a disastrous storm that has devastated the city of Sydney, Australia, a young girl struggles to discover who she is and where she comes from. But for Red - as she is called by the homeless boy who befriends her - the more she learns about herself, the more dangerous her situation appears to be. Soon, she is on the run from the police, learning to rely on her courage and resourcefulness and the kindness of strangers.

Australian author Libby Gleeson has won many awards for her books for children, and her craftsmanship is evident in Red. Hiding out in ruined buildings and scavenging for food, Red’s physical and psychological pain is at the fore, but when she reconnects with an old friend and is once more in comfortable surroundings, she is, if anything, even less at ease. Swift, smart plotting makes this short novel a compulsive read.

—Paula Willey

charmaineclancy's review against another edition

4.0

Great book for younger teens. Starts right in the action, the opening scene showing our protagonist awakening in a park, caked in mud. She can't remember who she is, why she's here or anything, only one name runs through her head, but she doesn't know who the name belongs to.

We follow this girl, nicknamed 'Red' by the homeless boy who finds her, as she tries to figure out who she is and why she's in so much danger.

The setting for the story is quite unique too, it seems a cyclone has hit Sydney harbour and devastated our biggest city. Red faces one survival challenge after another, and why is she warned not to trust anyone? Fast, fun read.

missusb21's review against another edition

4.0

Probably more for middle aged students, but certainly suitable for year 8s too.

This mystery story builds suspense nicely against the backdrop of a catastrophic disaster (cyclone and tsunami type thing) along the Eastern coast of Australia, specifically Sydney.

Red's amnesia heightens the tension and Gleeson does a nice job of making the kids' resourcefulness believable and possible.

sarahthornton's review against another edition

2.0

It had a lot of promise but the ending was abrupt and while by necessity it was basically emotionless, it was a very flat experience.
There was a lot of things that could have been done, or ways the story could have branched out, but they were all deadends.
The boy hitting the girl several times revealing his parents were domestic abusers was not handled as well as it could have been.