'Scarlet'

It really pains me that I didn't write a review of 'Cinder', the incredible novel by Marissa Meyer.  Thanks to my dear friend, Michelle, owner of  the book blog, http://thepassionatebookworm.blogspot.com/, and Lena, owner of http://ilovebooksclub101.blogspot.com/, I was able to read the newest addition to the series, 'Scarlet'.

Yeah...I know.  Yet another Young Adult story.  But YA stories have truly evolved over the years and have become such an interesting genre.  We can always read adult books and face our lives via the chains and dregs of adult situations, but YA allows us to escape into incredible fantasy worlds, which are a step up from Independent Reader stories.  Have you read The Hunger Games?  That, dear reader, is a Young Adult book.

But I still have to have my Harry Potter books.  Always.

And 'Cinder' and 'Scarlet' are no different.  Just a bit more...adult.

'Cinder' is the first in the series, The Lunar Chronicles, and while I was drawn to it because of my interest in fairy tale stories, I was hooked on it's dystopian setting.  Living in China, Cinder was adopted by the typical evil stepmother, who had two daughters:  One, a bitch.  The other, a sweetheart and friend to her adopted sister.  Cinder is a master mechanic, and meets the Prince.  THE prince.  And they like each other, which is so evident in legend.  But Cinder has a history, one that is a vital secret.  A secret that no ones knows about, except for a select few.  You see, Cinder is a cyborg and could be the savior of Earth, the one who could put an end to the evil reign of the Lunar Empress, a real bitch if there ever was one.

And so...onto 'Scarlet'.  Scarlet Benoit lives with her grandmother on a farm, and they sell to restaurants in small cities in France.  But her grandmother has gone missing, and it is Scarlet's mission to find and rescue her beloved grandma.  But Grandma has her secrets, and those secrets involve Cinder.  And every Red Riding Hood story has a wolf, and this wolf is stranger than that written about in the fairy tale.  Wolf, too, has his secrets, and it is difficult to gauge his allegiance.  

It's safe to say that the main characters meet.  And it's safe to say that romantic entanglements ensue.  But the reason I am so drawn to these stories is because the female characters are so beautifully realized.  They are sharp and strong.  They are innocent, yet wise.  They are weary, but energetic.  Ready for any challenge.  Ready to save the world.

So, Marissa, bring it on!  You've got a fan in me.


'Scarlet' will be published by Feiwell and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing, in February 2013.