Reviews

Red: The (Fairly) True Tale of Red Riding Hood by Liesl Shurtliff

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britneygulb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

waterviolite's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a fun story, but I felt that it went rather far from the original fairy tale. Often in re-imaginings there is an attempt to make the original fairy tale more logical or to explain away a character's behavior by providing additional context, but in this story almost all of the events and characters are drastically changed. This story re-imagines Red Riding Hood as a reluctant and inexperienced witch who is looking for an immortality spell to save her grandmother's life despite her grandmother's wishes. She befriends Goldilocks, a frenemy who had moved away from her village and has unresolved issues feeling unloved by her mother. They hunt for a magic well of wine which brings eternal youth by erasing memories, roses from a female version of the beast from Beauty and the Beast, and dead hearts which have turned Snow White's Huntsman into a demon.

turrean's review against another edition

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3.0

Satisfying retelling of the story of Red Riding Hood, and several other tales, as well. It was fun to see which story the author would weave in next. It was a pleasure to have the story deal with the fear of death, too, instead of simply going for the “happily ever after.”

It was interesting that these were American woods (raccoons and mountain lions) but European tales (Beauty and the Beast, Goldilocks, etc.)

A couple quibbles: leaving Granny alone with only a goat to watch over her seemed thoughtless. Perhaps even asking a neighbor to watch over her would’ve been more sensible? I also thought that Red’s magic path could’ve been put to better use. If she was safe on the path, could she not have summoned it just to sleep on, and then dismissed it again in the morning? The subplot about Goldie’s search for her mother’s love was wrapped up without even bringing Mummy onstage, which seemed a bit of a cheat.

womanon's review against another edition

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4.0

This was such an amazing and fun story, I really loved reading it!

deepfreezebatman's review against another edition

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4.0

My stepson is reading this for school and he said I should check it out. We both liked it a lot more than Shurtliff's "Jack" book.. way darker and more fantastical! And of course I loved the magical library with flying books :)