Walker Childrens; 1 edition (February 14, 2012)
ISBN-10: 0802723462
ISBN-13: 978-0802723468
Ages 12 and up
304 pages
Buy Here for $11.52
My Rating: 5/5
Summary from GoodReads: Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.
Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.
It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.
The Verdict: Ok confession time, one of my absolute favorite kinds of books are retellings of old fairytales with strong female protagonists that are actually feminist friendly. I mean I am a 20-something year old married woman who still collects the Once Upon a Time series.
So when a new book was available on NetGalley that featured a girl's pov in the legendary butt-kicking Robin Hood gang I knew I had to read it. And despite my crazy schedule I couldn't put it down, sacrificed sleep and finished it in 2 nights.
Scarlet is a refreshing tale that keeps you guessing every page of the way. Rarely do I find a book that I can't predict the plot twists halfway through, but Gaughen is a master at keeping her audience guessing. And the characters she created were so vivid and likable. At one point it was actually hard to decide if I were team Rob or John O_O
Spolier alert: It did become clear about midway through that Gaughen had taken the liberty to do away with Lady Mirian or that Scar was in fact her since it was evident that her and Rob belonged together. Of course I was also anticipating another twist in fate that would involve Rob ultimately rejecting Scar for Mirian and John and Scar would end up together. Weirder things have happened in modern YA (I'm looking at you Mr. Scott "I-killed-Zane" Westerfeld). See how the plot twists were so hard to predict! I honestly couldn't imagine how it would end even a few pages up to it.
All in all, Scarlet is one of my favorite books this year and I especially enjoyed the PG friendly writing that was clean and well plotted.
I was provided a review copy of this book by the publishers. All opinions are 100% mine.
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