The Girl in Red by Christina Henry
From the national bestselling author of Alice comes a postapocalyptic take on the perennial classic “Little Red Riding Hood”…about a woman who isn’t as defenseless as she seems.
It’s not safe for anyone alone in the woods. There are predators that come out at night: critters and coyotes, snakes and wolves. But the woman in the red jacket has no choice. Not since the Crisis came, decimated the population, and sent those who survived fleeing into quarantine camps that serve as breeding grounds for death, destruction, and disease. She is just a woman trying not to get killed in a world that doesn’t look anything like the one she grew up in, the one that was perfectly sane and normal and boring until three months ago.
There are worse threats in the woods than the things that stalk their prey at night. Sometimes, there are men. Men with dark desires, weak wills, and evil intents. Men in uniform with classified information, deadly secrets, and unforgiving orders. And sometimes, just sometimes, there’s something worse than all of the horrible people and vicious beasts combined.
Red doesn’t like to think of herself as a killer, but she isn’t about to let herself get eaten up just because she is a woman alone in the woods….
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About the Author
CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the CHRONICLES OF ALICE duology, ALICE and RED QUEEN, a dark and twisted take on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as well as LOST BOY: THE TRUE STORY OF CAPTAIN HOOK, an origin story of Captain Hook from Peter Pan.
She is also the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS series (BLACK WINGS, BLACK NIGHT, BLACK HOWL, BLACK LAMENT, BLACK CITY, BLACK HEART and BLACK SPRING) featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle.
She enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombies and/or subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.
My Review
4 Stars
I love Christina Henry’s take on fairytales and couldn’t wait to read The Girl in Red. Red loves horror and dystopian stories and movies. When everyone starts getting sick from a cough she sees the signs on the wall and starts preparing for the worse. Although her family doesn’t want to listen to her they grudgingly go along more to appease her than to follow the plan.
But things go wrong and Red only has her brother Adam for the long hike to grandma’s house. Adam clearly doesn’t want to have any part of this and it’s clear that the men left are either from the military or militia with their own plans. As the story goes on we bounce between the past when Red is trying to get her family on the hike and the future where she is by herself and I wanted to know what happened to Adam.
I loved Red to a point. She is very strong willed and determined not to be the next victim in her stories. I even liked that she has some limitations. I just got irritated with her being so pig headed about someone trying to help. Taking help is not a weakness but being an ass about it sure is especially when she needs it. And I have to say this, the twist at the end was great but we are left wanting more.
I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next twist on a fairytale. If you like dark twists on the classic fairytales you need to check these books out. Most of them are standalone stories although Alice and the Red Queen are a duology. You won’t be disappointed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
I would like to thank Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and share this book.
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