Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Published June 3, 2010 by Hodder Children's Books
3 Stars

Goodreads Review
The story of Scarlett and Rosie March, two highly-skilled sisters who have been hunting Fenris (werewolves) -- who prey on teen girls -- since Scarlett lost her eye years ago while defending Rosie in an attack. Scarlett lives to destroy the Fenris, and she and Rosie lure them in with red cloaks (a colour the wolves can't resist), though Rosie hunts more out of debt to her sister than drive. But things seem to be changing. The wolves are getting stronger and harder to fight, and there has been a rash of news reports about countless teenage girls being brutally murdered in the city. Scarlett and Rosie soon discover the truth: wolves are banding together in search of a Potential Fenris -- a man tainted by the pack but not yet fully changed. Desperate to find the Potential to use him as bait for a massive werewolf extermination, the sisters move to the city with Silas, a young woodsman and long time family friend who is deadly with an axe. Meanwhile, Rosie finds herself drawn to Silas and the bond they share not only drives the sisters apart, but could destroy all they've worked for.


Review:  I came to Sisters Red with high expectations.  I loved the concept of this re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood, and I loved the addition of hardcore werewolf hunting sisters.  It's such an interesting spin on the fairy tale, and I love the girl power behind the idea.  I thought the sisters, Scarlett and Rosie, have well developed voices and the mythology behind the werewolves was strong and made a lot of sense (I loved the reasoning behind the red cloaks!), but there were some shortcomings.

The best part of Sisters Red is the werewolves.  They are ferocious and frightening, and I really love the sexual predator aspect (I know that sounds creepy, but it totally works with the story).  Everything the girls do, from their red cloaks to their demeanor to their hatchets, is to lure the werewolves in.  I love how they take the wolves sexual nature and turn it back on them and use their sexuality as a weapon.  It makes for an evocative read.

I had two major problems with Sisters Red.  The first was the pacing.  I thought many aspects of the story became redundant, with the characters doing the same exact thing just in a different location without any growth.  The story really didn't pick up until the final 100 pages. 

The other problem I had was the lack of growth with the sisters.  Rosie got a bad case of insta-love which was about as far as she developed.  Scarlett is a fantastic character and starts off so interesting, but she really doesn't grow.  She starts off very jaded, and while some people have claimed her attitude as slut-shaming, I understand where she's coming from.  I think she's extremely bitter about the fact that her innocence, her change to be a silly girl, was taken away from her.  She's scared, both physically and emotionally.  I would have loved to have seen some of her scars heal, but I just didn't get enough which was really disappointing. 

Overall Sisters Red is an excellent start and though it has some flaws there is so much potential.  I am definitely going to be reading more of Jackson Pearce's fairy tales and I'm looking forward to more creative re-tellings!