Red Hood

by Elana K Arnold

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.

• ISBN10: 0062742353
• ISBN13: 9780062742353
• Publish Date: 16 April 2020 (first published 25 February 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 22 August 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: Balzer and Bray
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Red Hood is a feminist retelling that is right on time. I haven't read any other Little Red Riding Hood retellings, and even if you have, it's nothing like Red Hood.

About Red Hood:

IMHO: Red Hood

I do admit the second person narrative with Bisou threw me at first. I haven't been 16 for a long time. Teens will probably be more open and roll with this style better than all the adults talking about it.

Then the bloody face scene happened, where I was not sure what kind of blood it was at first and I thought, this just might not be for me. However, she fought the wolf right after, which was badass.

But what really got me, once I got into the "you" flow", was Maggie and Keisha. Two radically different young women in different situations. Their unfolding relationship is what makes this amazing.

» Took a little bit to get into.

» Itched to get to the point while Bisou was reeling from killing the boy/wolf by herself.

» YAAAAS Keisha and Maggie

» LOVE MEME.

» Sex positive

» Real period talk

» Blunt and non sensationalized. 

» There are good guys. But that’s not the point.

» It is easy to just go with the sexist flow, harder to stand up against to make a difference

» Nice to have a world set up with protectors and justice
 

Highly recommend giving this one a chance, even if the narrative style isn't appealing off the bat. No brainer for the justice cravers that liked Foul is Fair and The Kill Club. Or if you want more witchy coven girl support like The Babysitter's Coven and The Nowhere Girls but with more kick.

 

Favorite Quotes from red hood:

 

“Darling,” she said, and her hazel eyes were electric, her mouth a straight flat line, “it is not your job to make boys happy.”

 

“Making one mistake does not oblige you to make another in the same direction,” she had said, which made no sense to you at all.

 

Before she gets in, she says, “You know, Bisou, there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”

 

It’s the sound you made once, years ago, for your mother.

 

Your knees are soft; your grip hard.

 

“It’s not that we need more wolf hunters,” you say. “It’s that we need men to stop becoming wolves.”

 

 

About the Author:

Giveaway of red hood:

Prize: Win a copy of RED HOOD by Elana K. Arnold (US Only)
Starts: 18th February 2020
Ends: 3rd March 2020

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

This review was originally posted on The Layaway Dragon

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight .

It must be wild inside the brain of Elana K. Arnold. The sheer uniqueness of every one of her books just blows my mind. How does she come up with this stuff?! I have no idea, but if she's got any tips, I'm listening! I am going to try to not give much away about this one, because as always with Ms. Arnold's work, figuring out what exactly you're reading is half the fun! But I will tell you why you should invest your time in this one, so let's go!

• • As always, it's very driven by feminism and a general "screw the patriarchy" approach. I mean this book screams for women to take matters into their own hands, and to fight back at every turn. And frankly, if there was ever a time we needed to hear this, it's now. It's not just highlighting atrocities in Bisou's modern life, it's going back further to showcase how much crap women have gone through since forever.



• • There's a huge focus on family and friendships. Gosh, I love when this happens. Especially when it happens in conjunction with a powerfully feminist narrative. Because women need to have each other's backs, yeah? And this book illustrates all the good things that can come from women garnering strength from one another, and it's damn lovely.



• • But men aren't evil- not all of them! The author doesn't vilify men in general here; she just vilifies the ones who are villains. Which is as it should be. There is discussion about just the general differences between the world as seen through a man's eyes versus a woman's, but it isn't making the (decent) dudes out as bad guys, just saying that they need to stop for a second and take a look at what women are dealing with.



• • It kept me guessing. Oh, I love when books do that! In this one, there are two central mysteries, and I genuinely did not know what direction either would go in. Made the book very readable.

Bottom Line: It'll make you angry, but it'll also make you hopeful. And then maybe you'll chant some versus of "I Am Woman", especially with the roaring.

[limabean74]

Nope, this is not for me. I couldn’t get past the POV and I already know how my period flows I don’t need to read about someone else’s. I got about 20% before I was finished with reading about you this and you that.
Just because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. I do recommend you being a bit older since this is not a YA book. Should be marketed as an adult read. I would for sure give it a try you never know if could be YOUR next favorite read.