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kristiestevens 's review for:
Red Hood
by Elana K. Arnold
I read this one in service of the librarian at the school where I work. She was a bit thrown by the graphic depiction of oral sex in the first few pages and wanted a second opinion about whether we should include it in our library. I don’t think we should censor what we offer our children to read, but I’m not sure that I would have been ready for this at 14 or 15 (though I would have told myself I was). But YA is MUCH different now than it was 20 years ago.
In short: the book’s message (that toxic masculinity transforms some men into beasts, and the best way for women to combat it is to band together and support one another) is confused by incongruous storytelling (yo, violence deserves more violence; here’s a plot point about one particular character’s sexual exploitation that we will never truly resolve, but here—take this fairy tale parallel instead).
I DO like that it flips the narrative on things that are typically taboo—menstruation, STI’s, etc.—and that it shines a light on the dangers of incel rhetoric. It just felt a little too shallow and mystical to really be effective—but I’m an adult, and it wasn’t written for me. I could see where it might be empowering for young women readers, but I think that the ultimate implication, that some people’s thinking and behavior are so flawed that murdering them is a service to society, might muddy the waters. Not that women don’t deserve some righteous anger, but...is it really righteous if we’re reduced to hunters without remorse?
In short: the book’s message (that toxic masculinity transforms some men into beasts, and the best way for women to combat it is to band together and support one another) is confused by incongruous storytelling (yo, violence deserves more violence; here’s a plot point about one particular character’s sexual exploitation that we will never truly resolve, but here—take this fairy tale parallel instead).
I DO like that it flips the narrative on things that are typically taboo—menstruation, STI’s, etc.—and that it shines a light on the dangers of incel rhetoric. It just felt a little too shallow and mystical to really be effective—but I’m an adult, and it wasn’t written for me. I could see where it might be empowering for young women readers, but I think that the ultimate implication, that some people’s thinking and behavior are so flawed that murdering them is a service to society, might muddy the waters. Not that women don’t deserve some righteous anger, but...is it really righteous if we’re reduced to hunters without remorse?