Review: Sisters Red

SISTERS RED
Jackson Pearce
Young Adult
328 pages
Little, Brown
Available Now

THE STORY
Seven years ago Scarlett March was viciously attacked and forever scarred by a Fenris, a soulless creature with the ability to sprout fur, grow claws, and ultimately shift into a gruesome parody of a wolf.

Scarlett escaped with her life, and the life of her sister Rosie all those years ago, but as a result, she dedicates her remaining existence to hunting down the creatures responsible for the loss of her eye and her extensive scarring.

Fenris are always male, and are therefore susceptible to young, defenseless female bait. Scarlett and Rosie, along with the help of their childhood friend Silas, prowl the streets of their home in small town Georgia luring Fenris to their deaths one by one. Things seem to be business as usual until the beasts' hunting pattern changes. They hear talk of them hunting one person in particular, as opposed to seeking out any available prey, and that person is supposedly spotted in big city Atlanta.

Scarlett, Rosie and Silas decide to pack up and temporarily relocate to Atlanta in search of this Potential, a boy or man with a specific set of attributes that allow him to shift into a Fenris if bitten. All the Fenris are searching for him, intent on increasing their power by increasing the size of their pack, and Scarlett wants nothing more than to find him first and use him as her own bait to destroy them all.

Twists and turns abound as the three of them fight physical battles, emotional battles, and find themselves in a race against time to save an unsuspecting public from the horror of learning that monsters don't only exist in fabled children's stories.

MY THOUGHTS
This is a really fun book. It has fairy-tale feel to the folklore, complete with the girls wearing hooded red cloaks to draw the wolves' attention, and classic Little Red Riding Hood statements:

"You have weird eyes, " she added,
"...The better to see your lovely faces with, my dears..."

The mythology surrounding the Fenris is intriguing and imaginative. Fur covers their skin in a leperous fashion, covering only patches at a time, they have a distinct smell that sets them apart, and each has a small tattoo of an arrow, bell, or coin on their wrist to indicate the pack to which they belong. They are all male, are all attractive on a number of levels, and all have an inability to hold their human form when faced with tempting bait.

In addition to a story packed with action, we also get a glimpse of romance between younger sister Rosie and childhood friend-turned-hunting-partner Silas. Their interactions are adorable as both struggle with the awkwardness of having feelings that could possibly go unrequited. Humorously foolish statements tumble from their mouths without provocation, and you can't help but root for them to make their feelings known despite the disastrous effect it could have on their individual relationships with Scarlett.

The story moves lightening fast, thrusting the three protagonists into a bevy of dangerous situations and emotional upheavals. The mystery surrounding the Potential is frustrating in the best possible way, as finding him is paramount to their very survival, but their clues to do so are few and far between.

The only negative aspect of the story for me is Scarlett herself. She is horribly scarred and carries the weight of caring for her baby sister in their mother's absence and the wake of their grandmother's death, but she cannot seem to let go of her self pity and resentment of her situation. She saved her sister's life those seven years ago, and as payment, she fully expects Rosie to be as dedicated to hunting the Fenris as she herself is. No hobbies, no love interests, absolutely no life at all outside of that single focus. Though some sympathy for the hand she was dealt is understandable, her continuing reminders and whining of her sacrifice to both Rosie and Silas gets to be a bit trying at times.

Overall, this is a great read and a fun take on the werewolf genre, I highly recommend it to any paranormal fan.

Rating: 4/5