Red Hood
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
A dark, engrossing, blood-drenched tale of the familiar threats to female power—and one girl’s journey to regain it. Five starred reviews greeted this powerful story from Elana K. Arnold, author of the Printz Honor winner Damsel.
You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked. And the wolf is angry.
Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good.
But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her.
A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions.
About the blood in Bisou’s past, and on her hands as she stumbles home.
About broken boys and vicious wolves.
About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.
Elana K. Arnold
Elana K. Arnold is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels (Damsel, What Girls Are Made Of) and children's books (A Boy Called Bat). She lives in Southern California with her family and a menagerie of pets.
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Reviews for Red Hood
49 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5At the same time I was reading this I watched the movie "Bombshell." Quite poignantly it brought the message home that there are bad eggs out there (not just in the forest but at school, in the workplace, etc.) that we have to stand up to. The three women in the movie, portraying the women in real life, who took down the Fox News abuser who had given them their success. This excellent book for teens responds in an allegorical way to sexual abuse and bullying in high school, college and beyond. The prey are bright young women, full of potential and dreams of success. But within the patriarchal system are the perps, the "incel" who have been able to thrive within a good old boy network, excusing testosterone and alcohol as acceptable reasons for fucking with women's lives. They were raised in this toxic masculinity framework that still continues today in the form of Trump, that lets them get away with the power shit behavior the book shows. What's wrong with a book that takes back a little power to the female side? These assassins of evil men, whether with blood or in a courtroom (like the Fox News fighters of justice) are unfortunately not many. How many years of abuse did Harvey Weinstein give to women in his workplace? For how much longer is the dysfunctional society going to raise their girls to be silent to male abusers? Hurray to this brilliant author's voice that brings us a realistic-feeling fiction book within a feminist emblematic fantasy.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girl in Red by Christina Henry is a unique twist on the tale of little red riding hood. The main character is nicknamed Red, and she is trying to get to her grandmothers house in the woods while avoiding militants, the government and a disease that seems to be mutating into something much more ominous.
I really enjoyed the main character Red. She is strong, smart and the fact that she has one leg does not stop her from heading out on her own through the wilderness. The story begins with a "cough" that is spreading rapidly throughout the country and Red being a fan of survivalist type books quickly prepares for the worst. Her family is not quite as prepared for what is coming.
The story definitely leaves room for a sequel which I'm hoping there will be because there is a really huge unanswered question, Overall though I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Definitely recommend to fans of any pandemic apocalyptic themed literature. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Reason Read: Color in Title #3 TIOLI
This book was received as part of the 2023 summer FileSync program for young readers. This book is about a teenage girl who kills a wolf one night to discover that it was really one of her classmates. It starts with oral sex and her menses, on to more sexual content, more menses. Apparently her menses give her great power to kill males who turn into wolves and then back into men after they die. I did not like reading about menses, pads, tampons, and condoms. Sorry, not sorry. I would not want my young person to read this book. It is one a parent should make the decision about. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I listened to Red Hood because it was on audiobook sync. I loved it. The narrator was fantastic.
It's very much a feminist novel. Even if you are female and "hate" feminism, there are wonderful ideas that all females need to think about. Also, people need to learn what feminism truly is before choosing to discount it.
Bisou lives with her grandmother in Seattle. After her grandmother rescued her from the blood-stained bed of Bisou's murdered mother, they have lived a quiet life. They keep to themselves with Grandma keeping the same schedule weekly, baking homemade bread and being available most of the time. Bisou's boyfriend treats her well, so it's a quiet, predictable life. After a party, Bisou and her boyfriend make out in his car when she starts her period for the first time. Highly embarrassed, she runs. She hears herself being followed, but the sound isn't the sound of feet. There's a difference cadence. She turns to find a wolf. Bisou determines to fight back no matter what. She kills the wolf. Upon returning home, she quietly cleans up and goes to bed. Oh, I should also mention, there's a full moon.
Bisou's quiet life deteriorates with life changing dramatically. The next day, Bisou discovers that one of the guys from her high school, who was drunk at the party and presents himself as an ass most of the time, has been found dead. His death is described much as what happened to the wolf the night before. Did Bisou kill a boy or a wolf? When questioned by the police, her boyfriend tells them that they were together, never mentioning that she ran away into the forest. He's so thankful that she's okay. Afterall, if their friend could be killed, she could have been as well. Upon confessing what's been going on to her grandmother, Bisou learns that her grandmother was a hunter. She, too, had enhanced senses when her period came. She, too, killed wolves. Wolves that were men. Men who had become corrupted into believing women are prey. This fight is now Bisou's fight.
Fighting men who become wolves in order to protect females, separates a person, making her lonely. Bisou chooses not to be her grandmother. Bisou doesn't want isolation; she doesn't want the burden. Instead, she chooses to let other females in. She doesn't have to be alone.
I loved this book. As females, we are conditioned to hear comments to the extent that we don't even realize how demeaning and derogatory they actually are. Sadly, this common occurrence needs to be explained for us to realize they exist. The book does not hate men. Not at all. It calls out misogynistic behavior, which is good. Abuse is abuse and we need to know when it occurs, as we've been conditioned to believe it is normal and acceptable behavior. Both women and men, together, can overcome the the hate and abuse that has run rampant for literally generations upon generations. All teenage girls should read this. Another good books to help females see the truth about comments and how females are judged and treated is Luckiest Girl Alive. Go read these! - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold writes real world fairy tales. Not the cutesy Disney stories, but gory, dark warning of the dangers of everyday life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The beginning of this story is likely to deter some librarians from considering adding it to their collections. That would be a huge mistake. This is an audacious, gutsy story about predators and how a girl and her grandmother deal with them. It's riveting, unsettling, nearly impossible to stop reading and is going to find a lot of teen girls nodding as they see themselves and, sadly their friends in it. Chops to Elana for outing incels, a nasty trait in some males and one that I suspect few teens have heard. This is violent, graphic and deserving of being in every library where relevant fiction for teens is valued.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An fun and fast-paced retelling of Red Riding Hood, although this isn't the passive Red Riding Hood who gets rescued by the wood cutter, but a tough kick-ass Red who can take care of herself and even more.
From the other reviews, there's a bit of discussion that this book has gone too far. I see things a bit differently.
The issue is that Red uses her supernatural abilities as a vigilante to purge the world of guys who are predators against women. One of the side effects of Red's supernatural ability is that on a full moon, she can detect men who will be violent against women because their true predator nature appears and so she kills them before they hurt another woman. So it seems like some people dislike this part of the book because she takes justice in her own hands and punishes these evil spawn rather than bring them to justice. But the book also describes how many men get away with beating women, date rape, etc. And although I don't condone vigilantism the whole plot is not that different from other superhero stories where the heroine destroys villains. The only exception is that the evil acts are crimes against women that often go unpunished. So it makes me wonder if we are so used to casting a blind eye to infractions that men inflict on women, that it shocks us when these criminals get punished. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This was a very disturbing book because I found it in the teen section and I really believe that it’s too mature for teens. This content, imho, is much better suited to adult women. I read this book in the same way I’d drive by an accident scene; trying not to look but being unable to stop. There were passages that just had me gobsmacked by their brutally honest description. I’ve never heard menstruation described in quite so much detail before.
Overall, I was annoyed by the second person narration and I really think the intended audience is not clearly defined since the cover REALLY looks like it’s a YA book and I don’t think it is.
I don’t feel like I can give it a fair rating so I chose not to rate it. This is a book meant for adult discussion. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book, I received a copy from Edelweiss for review.
Story (5/5): Okay, at first when I started this I wondered what I had gotten myself into...this is marketed as YA but has very adult descriptions of blood, gore, sex acts, and some brutal bullying. There is definitely a heavy theme of both strong women and how society has constantly subdued women throughout the ages. This book really makes you think, even as is draws you into a very visceral story of friendship, family, and what happens to boys that just go wrong. The boys turning into wolves seems to be both a magical and metaphorical thing throughout this story. I also loved all the parallels between this and Little Red Riding Hood as well as other fairy tales.
Characters (5/5): I loved Bisou's character, she is brave and fierce in a quiet way. I loved her sweet boyfriend and her lonely, yet strong, Aunt who takes care of her. I also loved the troubled and strong girls/woman Bisou ends up befriending.
Setting (4/5): This book is set in a contemporary small town setting and in the woods surrounding that town. The setting was well done but not the focus of the story.
Writing Style (5/5): The deeper I got into this book, the more I was impressed by Arnold's writing style and the way she didn't flinch from anything. I could not put this down and was completely invested in this book very quickly.
Summary (5/5): Overall this was an incredibly intense read that was brutal and not all comfortable to read. However, it was also thought-provoking, engaging, and absolutely masterfully written. I loved it and plan on picking up more of Arnold's books. First I think I will pick up Damsel, which I know garnered a lot of controversy for a number of reasons. It's so refreshing to run across an author that is so unflinching, so artistically talented, and not scared to cut right to the heart of things.