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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
I’m not a super picky reader, but this book was terrible in my opinion. I’m all for women being strong but this book was not it. I may be a woman and have my menstruation cycle, but this book made a menstruation cycle seem really weird. And it was really weird how much the book focused on periods. It really weirded me out and made me uncomfortable. And it was even worse because it was written in second person. I would feel so bad for any guy who wanted to read this book. And it was supposed to show a strong female lead but I just really didn’t get that in Red Hood. So overall, I thought this book was not very good and not worth the read.
Okay so like I can 1000% see why a lot of people did not like this book.
But considering a lot of people also didn't like Damsel and everything about it made it my fucking jam, I can see why I loved this, and I was so glad I just decided to read it.
Also here's the crux - it's in second person which, if that is not your jam, this is not the book that will make it your jam. I have said jam three times in this review.
But I love second person - and also am totally glad more people don't use it - so I enjoyed this throughouly. And also! wow! I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the friendship unit the main character made. Enjoyed - lmao, I loved them. Get you some friends that will be like "yep sounds about right."
I had some issues with certain parts but also I quite liked this. Vicious. Terrifying. Good. :D
But considering a lot of people also didn't like Damsel and everything about it made it my fucking jam, I can see why I loved this, and I was so glad I just decided to read it.
Also here's the crux - it's in second person which, if that is not your jam, this is not the book that will make it your jam. I have said jam three times in this review.
But I love second person - and also am totally glad more people don't use it - so I enjoyed this throughouly. And also! wow! I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the friendship unit the main character made. Enjoyed - lmao, I loved them. Get you some friends that will be like "yep sounds about right."
I had some issues with certain parts but also I quite liked this. Vicious. Terrifying. Good. :D
Trigger warnings: murder, violence, sexual assault, blood, graphic deaths, bullying, physical abuse, substance abuse
Arnold holds nothing back in this book. She wastes no time diving straight into the action and smashing taboos very early on, with discussion of periods and sex within the first chapter.
This is a book that pulsates with anger at rape culture and the vicious cycles of abuse that often go unpunished. In particular she tears down ideas of toxic masculinity and the culture of shame associated with menstruation. However, she is also careful to show how thin the line between justice and revenge is and this provokes some really interesting ideas.
Initially, the second person narration threw me a little bit, but as the story went on, I scarcely noticed it. In fact I began to like how I was disarmed and somewhat removed by this choice, as it added to the mysterious and slightly distant feel of the entire book. On the other hand, it also somehow produces the opposite effect by effectively drawing you in and immersing you completely in Bisou’s story.
To sum up, Red Hood is a book drenched in secrets that rallies against sexism through unbridled violence and female power.
Arnold holds nothing back in this book. She wastes no time diving straight into the action and smashing taboos very early on, with discussion of periods and sex within the first chapter.
This is a book that pulsates with anger at rape culture and the vicious cycles of abuse that often go unpunished. In particular she tears down ideas of toxic masculinity and the culture of shame associated with menstruation. However, she is also careful to show how thin the line between justice and revenge is and this provokes some really interesting ideas.
Initially, the second person narration threw me a little bit, but as the story went on, I scarcely noticed it. In fact I began to like how I was disarmed and somewhat removed by this choice, as it added to the mysterious and slightly distant feel of the entire book. On the other hand, it also somehow produces the opposite effect by effectively drawing you in and immersing you completely in Bisou’s story.
To sum up, Red Hood is a book drenched in secrets that rallies against sexism through unbridled violence and female power.
There’s a full moon on the night of homecoming, and after an embarrassing incident with her boyfriend, Bisou Martel finds herself running deep into the nearby woods. Pretty soon, she’s running for her life; a wolf is following her. Bisou kills the wolf, and returns home covered in its blood, confused and shocked by what she just experienced. Soon she discovers there are more girls who will be attacked my more wolves. Bisou’s troubles are just beginning.
This book, which is loosely based on the tale of Red Riding Hood, is absolutely brilliant. There is so much woven into its words that I know I’ll return to it again and again. I will forever read anything Elana K. Arnold writes!
This book, which is loosely based on the tale of Red Riding Hood, is absolutely brilliant. There is so much woven into its words that I know I’ll return to it again and again. I will forever read anything Elana K. Arnold writes!
Controversial opinion but I have no problem with the rapists being killed in this book. I understand how some people could view it as a portrayal of "man-hating feminism" but thats not the vibe I got from it at all. The wolves are very clearly meant to represent rapists and how some men feel entitled to women’s bodies, I felt no sympathy for them.
On another note, while I did enjoy this book, I still would have to say that I prefer Damsel. Damsel felt a little more subtle and I just found that Emory was such a fantastic, detestable villain. But Red Hood is still really good and scratches that itch I had for more dark, feminist fantasies. The second person perspective was a surprise but I really enjoyed it and how immersive it was. I adored Maggie and James too! Both of them were such sweethearts.
I love how Elana K Arnold isn’t afraid to go all the way with the darker aspects of her stories. It’s incredibly refreshing to read a feminist novel that doesn’t shy away from being graphic about the horrors her characters face. It makes the message feel much more real and impactful. Red Hood does have a nice "girlpower" message that it’s core but it’s not sugarcoated, that’s what I appreciate the most.
On another note, while I did enjoy this book, I still would have to say that I prefer Damsel. Damsel felt a little more subtle and I just found that Emory was such a fantastic, detestable villain. But Red Hood is still really good and scratches that itch I had for more dark, feminist fantasies. The second person perspective was a surprise but I really enjoyed it and how immersive it was. I adored Maggie and James too! Both of them were such sweethearts.
I love how Elana K Arnold isn’t afraid to go all the way with the darker aspects of her stories. It’s incredibly refreshing to read a feminist novel that doesn’t shy away from being graphic about the horrors her characters face. It makes the message feel much more real and impactful. Red Hood does have a nice "girlpower" message that it’s core but it’s not sugarcoated, that’s what I appreciate the most.
VIVID AND VISCERAL - THE USE OF SECOND PERSON AND GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF MENSTRUATION WERE BOTH BOLD CHOICES AND I WAS INTO IT
I think the first thing that attracted me to the book was the cover, it immediately made me think of wolves. Then the title Red Hood and the blurb pulled at my curiosity. I’ll be totally honest I don’t usually read and really enjoy re-tellings, or the “new takes” on fairytales & fables, though I have read a few, such as Briar Rose by Jana Oliver and Splintered by A.G. Howard and loved those two. I felt like reading something a little different than my usual genre choices. Another genre I don’t read a lot of, are books with poetry though it doesn’t put me off as much as it once did, so decided despite this being a re-telling I would give this one a go
The book begins with a “Dear Reader” section which I really liked, it was almost like having the author in front of you talking to you, introducing the book. The book is told in a third person style as though someone is telling Bisou and you the reader the story. I did love the comparison of people & sourdough saying they are both full of potential and able to share again and again as well as to rise and grow and fill each space.
The main character of the book is 16year old Bisou who has lived with and been brought up by her grandmother Sybil, or Mémé as she calls her. Bisou has a rather tragic past and still suffers flashbacks to certain traumatic things that she witnessed. Bisou came from a home where her father was violent towards her mother. Bisou keeps flashing back to seeing her mother on a bed covered in blood and then her grandmother arriving to take her away.
The book begins with Bisou awaiting the arrival of her boyfriend, James, to pick her up to go to the homecoming dance. It isn’t really Bisou’s idea of a great time, she isn’t as outgoing and popular as James is. When they arrive at the school, they naturally gravitate to the rest of James basketball team mates and their dates. Bisou goes through all the chatter, giving compliment and receiving them, all the while wishing the night was over and she was alone with James. Nothing out of the ordinary happens other than a rather drunken Tucker, one of the basketball team members wanting to cut in and dance with Bisou. Bisou ends up telling Tucker he can’t even dance when he is sober, which naturally embarrasses and infuriates him and as he retaliates, James steps in. It takes some of the other members of the team to stop James and Tucker from having a physical fight.
After the party things between James and Bisou are getting steamy and this is when the book feels a little odd as it is quite detailed in what they are doing and then the fact that suddenly Bisou becomes embarrassed as she discovers she is bleeding and having her first period. I’ll be honest I almost stopped reading at this point as I personally didn’t think all the detailing was needed. Bisou gets out of James truck and runs off into the woods. It’s whilst she is heading home through the woods that she hears something behind her. At first, she wonders if it could be that James has followed her, but then she realises she is hearing four feet not two. Then she is attacked by a large wolf, though she manages to fight it off with a large branch she finds and kills the wolf. As the book goes on it is revealed that she has some sort of special calling, that the moon, and her period cycle somehow run together and she has to go into the woods and search for a wolf and kill it. Though there isn’t a wolf to kill every month still Bisou has to go out into the night and search for one.
I don’t really want to reveal anymore as it would basically tell you the whole story. The wolves Bisou is tasked with killing are not “just wolves” so they have their background and parts in the story too. Through rescuing a girl from a wolf and being sympathetic and offering a shoulder to lean on Bisou ends up making a couple of female school friends in her own right. Bisou often reveals within the book that she thinks people are only talking to her because of who her boyfriend is. There is the whole “coming of age” and “teenagers having sex” element within the book as well as the theme of “loss” with Bisou’s mum being murdered when she was at such a young age and then the bodies of murdered boys turning up in the woods. I really like the camaraderie the author created between Bisou, Keisha and Maggie. The way separately the girls felt weak yet when they stand together, united, they feel able to do anything and overcome anything. I adored the portrayal of the relationship between Mémé and Bisou, they seem to second guess each other a lot. They can work together in the kitchen and pre-empt what the other one needs or means by their actions. Then the other side of the book is the fantasy, and Bisou being prepared to battle and kill wolves every month. There was certainly a lot going on in the book, maybe a little too much, I’m not sure. It will be difficult to put a number out of five on this book because there are sections which deserve a three or perhaps four out of five yet other parts that don’t seem to really belong so would score only a one or two out of five. I don’t know how to explain exactly how I feel about the book other than it feels almost like too much is being crammed in, like it’s a “coming of age” book, teen angst (periods & relationships) female angst, and a fantasy book mushed together, and its just not quite right. Individually all the elements would make great plotlines but mixed together in the way they are in this book….I just don’t know. Did I enjoy it? Well it wasn’t a bad book, but it didn’t wow me either.
My immediate thought upon finishing the book were that the book was not what I thought it would be, in fact I would say it was “more”. Also, despite not being what I thought it would be I ended up quite enjoying it.
Summing up, the book felt a little disjointed in places as though there had been a list of things to that all had to fit into the book, yet they didn’t necessarily all gel together brilliantly. It felt like the book still needed tweaking, or editing a bit more. For me the book still felt a little disjointed. It felt like it wasn’t quite finished, or rather should I say polished.
The book begins with a “Dear Reader” section which I really liked, it was almost like having the author in front of you talking to you, introducing the book. The book is told in a third person style as though someone is telling Bisou and you the reader the story. I did love the comparison of people & sourdough saying they are both full of potential and able to share again and again as well as to rise and grow and fill each space.
The main character of the book is 16year old Bisou who has lived with and been brought up by her grandmother Sybil, or Mémé as she calls her. Bisou has a rather tragic past and still suffers flashbacks to certain traumatic things that she witnessed. Bisou came from a home where her father was violent towards her mother. Bisou keeps flashing back to seeing her mother on a bed covered in blood and then her grandmother arriving to take her away.
The book begins with Bisou awaiting the arrival of her boyfriend, James, to pick her up to go to the homecoming dance. It isn’t really Bisou’s idea of a great time, she isn’t as outgoing and popular as James is. When they arrive at the school, they naturally gravitate to the rest of James basketball team mates and their dates. Bisou goes through all the chatter, giving compliment and receiving them, all the while wishing the night was over and she was alone with James. Nothing out of the ordinary happens other than a rather drunken Tucker, one of the basketball team members wanting to cut in and dance with Bisou. Bisou ends up telling Tucker he can’t even dance when he is sober, which naturally embarrasses and infuriates him and as he retaliates, James steps in. It takes some of the other members of the team to stop James and Tucker from having a physical fight.
After the party things between James and Bisou are getting steamy and this is when the book feels a little odd as it is quite detailed in what they are doing and then the fact that suddenly Bisou becomes embarrassed as she discovers she is bleeding and having her first period. I’ll be honest I almost stopped reading at this point as I personally didn’t think all the detailing was needed. Bisou gets out of James truck and runs off into the woods. It’s whilst she is heading home through the woods that she hears something behind her. At first, she wonders if it could be that James has followed her, but then she realises she is hearing four feet not two. Then she is attacked by a large wolf, though she manages to fight it off with a large branch she finds and kills the wolf. As the book goes on it is revealed that she has some sort of special calling, that the moon, and her period cycle somehow run together and she has to go into the woods and search for a wolf and kill it. Though there isn’t a wolf to kill every month still Bisou has to go out into the night and search for one.
I don’t really want to reveal anymore as it would basically tell you the whole story. The wolves Bisou is tasked with killing are not “just wolves” so they have their background and parts in the story too. Through rescuing a girl from a wolf and being sympathetic and offering a shoulder to lean on Bisou ends up making a couple of female school friends in her own right. Bisou often reveals within the book that she thinks people are only talking to her because of who her boyfriend is. There is the whole “coming of age” and “teenagers having sex” element within the book as well as the theme of “loss” with Bisou’s mum being murdered when she was at such a young age and then the bodies of murdered boys turning up in the woods. I really like the camaraderie the author created between Bisou, Keisha and Maggie. The way separately the girls felt weak yet when they stand together, united, they feel able to do anything and overcome anything. I adored the portrayal of the relationship between Mémé and Bisou, they seem to second guess each other a lot. They can work together in the kitchen and pre-empt what the other one needs or means by their actions. Then the other side of the book is the fantasy, and Bisou being prepared to battle and kill wolves every month. There was certainly a lot going on in the book, maybe a little too much, I’m not sure. It will be difficult to put a number out of five on this book because there are sections which deserve a three or perhaps four out of five yet other parts that don’t seem to really belong so would score only a one or two out of five. I don’t know how to explain exactly how I feel about the book other than it feels almost like too much is being crammed in, like it’s a “coming of age” book, teen angst (periods & relationships) female angst, and a fantasy book mushed together, and its just not quite right. Individually all the elements would make great plotlines but mixed together in the way they are in this book….I just don’t know. Did I enjoy it? Well it wasn’t a bad book, but it didn’t wow me either.
My immediate thought upon finishing the book were that the book was not what I thought it would be, in fact I would say it was “more”. Also, despite not being what I thought it would be I ended up quite enjoying it.
Summing up, the book felt a little disjointed in places as though there had been a list of things to that all had to fit into the book, yet they didn’t necessarily all gel together brilliantly. It felt like the book still needed tweaking, or editing a bit more. For me the book still felt a little disjointed. It felt like it wasn’t quite finished, or rather should I say polished.
I wish there was a way to give it 3.5 stars. It was an easy, quick read. I liked some parts, but didn’t like others. Definitely a feminist read about girl power and strength. I loved that aspect of it. I had a hard time with the “suspension of disbelief” in the story line. People died, suspicious deaths went unsolved and nobody worried about it? Couldn’t buy it. At the same time, I kept on reading it. Maybe it shouldn’t get that half a star?
dark
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
Wow, man, this book was so fantastic! Again, it deals with struggles that females face, from judgments to incels. Such a fantastic read!