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A review by rubeusbeaky
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
4.0
Another solid entry in The Lunar Chronicles ^_^. Scarlet is an awesome twist on Red Riding Hood; I like that she's not naive, and is capable of taking care of herself. I like that she's not racist (a rarity in this universe) and doesn't automatically distrust Cinder or Wolf on the grounds that they're Lunar or have body-mods. She sees past the surface of people, and weighs actions and intentions instead (leading to some interesting and unexpected alliances and conflicts, depending upon who measures up to their potential). Scarlet shines.
And Cinder, while on the run, finds her moral compass spiraling, more and more willing to behave like the enemy if it means her own safety. The question of how far she's willing to go, how much she's willing to rationalize as an acceptable evil for a greater good, is gut-wrenching and thought-provoking.
...
But the rest was, again, a little hokey and predictable. The reveal about Wolf and the rest of the "pack" was dampened by the fact that it was spoiled in the first book. The romantic subplot, once again, happens VERY quickly, like it's being forced to adhere to a deadline. The villain continues to get away with mass murder, and instead of being held accountable for her atrocities, the focus of her subplot is on an arranged marriage that EVERYONE can see is more hostage situation than true alliance... Carswell Thorne, while cute, is the obligatory cocky, wise-cracking, playboy, space pirate; been there, done that. The genetically modified super-soldier with a berserker mode, been there, done that...
And from a technical standpoint, I was one again disappointed by the immaturity of the writing. Ex. "He had murder on his face."... Do you mean he had a look of murderous intent? Because it sounds like he has guts splattered on his face. And that just makes me think of "egg on his face". And that expression makes me think that he accidentally killed someone, and their blood splatter is all over his "oops" face... Definitely not the vibe the author intended XD.
So once again, the story is fun, the princess is phenomenal, but the overall maturity with which language, tropes, and relationships are handled reads more middle grade than YA.
And Cinder, while on the run, finds her moral compass spiraling, more and more willing to behave like the enemy if it means her own safety. The question of how far she's willing to go, how much she's willing to rationalize as an acceptable evil for a greater good, is gut-wrenching and thought-provoking.
...
But the rest was, again, a little hokey and predictable. The reveal about Wolf and the rest of the "pack" was dampened by the fact that it was spoiled in the first book. The romantic subplot, once again, happens VERY quickly, like it's being forced to adhere to a deadline. The villain continues to get away with mass murder, and instead of being held accountable for her atrocities, the focus of her subplot is on an arranged marriage that EVERYONE can see is more hostage situation than true alliance... Carswell Thorne, while cute, is the obligatory cocky, wise-cracking, playboy, space pirate; been there, done that. The genetically modified super-soldier with a berserker mode, been there, done that...
And from a technical standpoint, I was one again disappointed by the immaturity of the writing. Ex. "He had murder on his face."... Do you mean he had a look of murderous intent? Because it sounds like he has guts splattered on his face. And that just makes me think of "egg on his face". And that expression makes me think that he accidentally killed someone, and their blood splatter is all over his "oops" face... Definitely not the vibe the author intended XD.
So once again, the story is fun, the princess is phenomenal, but the overall maturity with which language, tropes, and relationships are handled reads more middle grade than YA.