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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. Great concept, agree with the commentary, but I personally am not a fan of sexual content. It’s more of a personal dislike vs bad story telling.
Props to Arnold for writing a feminist AF reclaiming of Little Red Riding Hood AND sustaining a second person telling for a whole novel.
Clever, powerful spin on Little Red, and the setting is timely - relates to MeToo as a reactive movement, without lecturing. I'm very fond of the characters, especially the perspective point (not quite the narrator, as she's written in the second person), and ESPECIALLY her growth from keeping her head down and turning away to awareness and compassion. (Compassion through... means. You know. Ones with knives.)
References to feminist poets also strongly appreciated.
References to feminist poets also strongly appreciated.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is violent, gritty, and extremely graphic. A lot of people will hate it. I almost quit at the beginning, but I'm glad I didn't. Definitely a read at your own risk book.
"v
who's afraid of the big bad wolf
i am afraid
of everything
V
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Not me.
Fuck the wolf."
------
"When I was growing up, people taught me all the things I should do to avoid being harmed by men: No short shorts. No belly shirts. Stay with a group. Don't go out alone. Don't say anything if a guy catcalls on the street. Don't be too quiet. Don't be too loud.
But are people telling guys how to not harm girls? It's one thing to tell a girl how not to get raped or harassed- is anyone telling guys not to rape or harass us?"
"v
who's afraid of the big bad wolf
i am afraid
of everything
V
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Not me.
Fuck the wolf."
------
"When I was growing up, people taught me all the things I should do to avoid being harmed by men: No short shorts. No belly shirts. Stay with a group. Don't go out alone. Don't say anything if a guy catcalls on the street. Don't be too quiet. Don't be too loud.
But are people telling guys how to not harm girls? It's one thing to tell a girl how not to get raped or harassed- is anyone telling guys not to rape or harass us?"
I was going to give this a one but the second half changed my mind to a two. The second person writing was extremely annoying especially with the graphic descriptions of periods and sex. I don't want to put myself in the situation when it's not actually happening to me. I feel like certain parts gave waay too much detail and others didn't give enough. I like the friendship formed but there were some questions left unanswered that bothered me.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Creative but I feel like there was more exposition than I usually read for characters.
Believable, nicely crafted story.
Believable, nicely crafted story.
4/5 stars
Ok, I definitely get why people didn’t like this book. It’s kinda strange, a little bit too much sometimes and I’ll admit, I did consider setting it down around the 100 page mark. But oh wow, I’m so glad I didn’t.
If you could handle Damsel, you can probably handle this one. If Damsel wasn’t to your taste, this one mostly won’t be either. That’s to say, I loved both. These kind of feminist, gritty fairytales are my jam. I loved the female strength in this story, which I felt like was one of the things that was lacking in Damsel (though for plot purposes that decision made sense). I really liked the storytelling format (second person narration interspersed with long dialogue and poetry), and oh gosh, the atmosphere! Reading this book with my dark academia playlist going was an experience to be sure.
Yes, the period imagery was a little “strange”, but that’s partly because periods are made out to be shameful and gross instead of shown as natural or in this book, evidence to the beauty of women and their power. I think that the author handled the topic of sexual assault and rape culture well. Do I think women should murder those that sexually abuse them? No, obviously not, murder is obviously bad (I don’t know why I’m telling you this; you’re well aware, I’m sure). But that’s not this book’s message. I think this book is saying that when men are allowed to keep harassing women and expecting sex as something that they deserve rather than earn; if they think that the way we dress and the locations we frequent at the times we do are invitations instead of just exercises of our free well, they become beastly. They run unchecked and transform from your sweet boy into the wolf that snakes his claws up Red riding hood’s skirts. And before, little Red might not have done anything about it. But now, Red’s got claws, and she’s fighting back.
When Bisou kills wolves, she’s killing the idea that the behaviour the wolves do is okay. Her weapons are a metaphor for all the defences and precautions women have to practice just so that we don’t get raped. Bisou doesn’t want to kill, and neither did Sybil. They kill because they have to, just like how women advocate for their freedoms because they have to. They would much rather that the men didn’t become wolves in the first place, just like how women would much rather exist in peace and live their damn lives.
So, as is mentioned in the book, don’t teach your girls how to defend themselves against the wolves. Don’t tell them to tug their skirts down, to cover up and to avoid the night. Teach your boys not to become wolves, so Red can keep her claws tucked away.
Ok, I definitely get why people didn’t like this book. It’s kinda strange, a little bit too much sometimes and I’ll admit, I did consider setting it down around the 100 page mark. But oh wow, I’m so glad I didn’t.
If you could handle Damsel, you can probably handle this one. If Damsel wasn’t to your taste, this one mostly won’t be either. That’s to say, I loved both. These kind of feminist, gritty fairytales are my jam. I loved the female strength in this story, which I felt like was one of the things that was lacking in Damsel (though for plot purposes that decision made sense). I really liked the storytelling format (second person narration interspersed with long dialogue and poetry), and oh gosh, the atmosphere! Reading this book with my dark academia playlist going was an experience to be sure.
Yes, the period imagery was a little “strange”, but that’s partly because periods are made out to be shameful and gross instead of shown as natural or in this book, evidence to the beauty of women and their power. I think that the author handled the topic of sexual assault and rape culture well. Do I think women should murder those that sexually abuse them? No, obviously not, murder is obviously bad (I don’t know why I’m telling you this; you’re well aware, I’m sure). But that’s not this book’s message. I think this book is saying that when men are allowed to keep harassing women and expecting sex as something that they deserve rather than earn; if they think that the way we dress and the locations we frequent at the times we do are invitations instead of just exercises of our free well, they become beastly. They run unchecked and transform from your sweet boy into the wolf that snakes his claws up Red riding hood’s skirts. And before, little Red might not have done anything about it. But now, Red’s got claws, and she’s fighting back.
When Bisou kills wolves, she’s killing the idea that the behaviour the wolves do is okay. Her weapons are a metaphor for all the defences and precautions women have to practice just so that we don’t get raped. Bisou doesn’t want to kill, and neither did Sybil. They kill because they have to, just like how women advocate for their freedoms because they have to. They would much rather that the men didn’t become wolves in the first place, just like how women would much rather exist in peace and live their damn lives.
So, as is mentioned in the book, don’t teach your girls how to defend themselves against the wolves. Don’t tell them to tug their skirts down, to cover up and to avoid the night. Teach your boys not to become wolves, so Red can keep her claws tucked away.
Bisou Martel is a sixteen-year-old girl who lives with her grandmother in Washington. Bisou doesn’t really have many friends, other than her boyfriend James’s friends by proxy. Without spoiling anything, there’s not a whole lot I can say about the story. I wasn’t captivated by the writing, nor by the plot itself, but it was alright. Nothing extraordinary, but it was interesting enough to keep me reading instead of DNFing, which I did think about for the first few chapters. The story did pick up, and though it was enjoyable, I feel like I wouldn’t have missed out on anything had I not read it.
This novel is ultra-feminist. All the main characters are women who are all vocal about women’s rights and female empowerment. Also, a major plot device turns out to be menstruation, a topic usually shied away from. Bisou’s period is described in full detail—very explicit. I liked that the author was honest about menstruation in all its gory glory. There’s also a few explicit sex scenes in this novel, which I discovered is a big reason many people think this book shouldn’t be classified as “YA,” in addition to blood/gore. Personally, I didn’t think, period aside, the gore was very explicit. Maybe I’m just used to it, but it didn’t feel that harrowing. Regarding the sex scenes, I felt they were extremely clinical rather than erotic. Like, “he put his penis into my vagina” kind of language. Sex is just as honest as menstruation, and teenagers have sex. The author goes into detail, but I wouldn’t say it’s erotica or anything. I definitely would still classify this as YA. Just be wary that it’s a YA for mature audiences, and not for the easily squeamish.
I think the most realistic thing about this novel (other than the period and sex scenes) is the male dialogue. “Men are wolves,” as the grandmother is known for saying. And they are. Every woman, myself included, has most likely been sexually harassed, assaulted, or worse at least once in their life. Men can be wolves. But there are men who aren’t wolves. I read a few reviews calling this book “man-hating” and saying that the message this story conveyed is that
Though I didn’t love this novel, I did enjoy it. It definitely gets better as the story goes on, and I grew to like Bisou and her gal pals. I recommend it if you’re into fairytale retellings (though this one is loose), feminist YA, or dark fantasy.
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This novel is ultra-feminist. All the main characters are women who are all vocal about women’s rights and female empowerment. Also, a major plot device turns out to be menstruation, a topic usually shied away from. Bisou’s period is described in full detail—very explicit. I liked that the author was honest about menstruation in all its gory glory. There’s also a few explicit sex scenes in this novel, which I discovered is a big reason many people think this book shouldn’t be classified as “YA,” in addition to blood/gore. Personally, I didn’t think, period aside, the gore was very explicit. Maybe I’m just used to it, but it didn’t feel that harrowing. Regarding the sex scenes, I felt they were extremely clinical rather than erotic. Like, “he put his penis into my vagina” kind of language. Sex is just as honest as menstruation, and teenagers have sex. The author goes into detail, but I wouldn’t say it’s erotica or anything. I definitely would still classify this as YA. Just be wary that it’s a YA for mature audiences, and not for the easily squeamish.
I think the most realistic thing about this novel (other than the period and sex scenes) is the male dialogue. “Men are wolves,” as the grandmother is known for saying. And they are. Every woman, myself included, has most likely been sexually harassed, assaulted, or worse at least once in their life. Men can be wolves. But there are men who aren’t wolves. I read a few reviews calling this book “man-hating” and saying that the message this story conveyed is that
Spoiler
men should be killed (???). Um, I’m not really sure that was the message. I think men being wolves was a metaphor, and I think the author was more trying to promote accountability, not murder. Murder the patriarchy, maybe. Also, if the author was conveying that all men suck, and that they should die for it, I’m pretty sure she would have made James turn against Bisou in the end, by turning into a wolf. Just sayin’.Though I didn’t love this novel, I did enjoy it. It definitely gets better as the story goes on, and I grew to like Bisou and her gal pals. I recommend it if you’re into fairytale retellings (though this one is loose), feminist YA, or dark fantasy.
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