Red

by Alison Cherry

Top student. Beauty queen. Girlfriend of the hottest football jock. Felicity's got everything. And it's all down to her red, red hair.

Felicity lives in Scarletville, the world's only redhead sanctuary, where red hair is celebrated, protected - and the key to success.

But Felicity has a secret. A red hot secret. And if anyone finds out, she's finished. Because Felicity's actually a natural blonde.

And in Scarletville, blondes need not apply.

• ISBN10: 1780878907
• ISBN13: 9781780878904
• Publish Date: 2 January 2014 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
• Imprint: Quercus Children's Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[ellieroth]

DNF 37%

[Raven]

Being a redhead is all that matters in Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power and popularity and everyone knows it. Felicity’s life has been devoted to building her status in the redhead society. She is popular, has the perfect boyfriend, best friends, and is well on her way to winning the Miss Scarlet pageant, just like her mother before her. But her life starts tumbling down when she receives a note in her locker: “I know your secret.” Because Felicity’s hair color comes right from a bottle. If anyone found out she was really a “strawbie”, everything would be ruined. Her life, her friendships, her relationship, her mother’s expectations of her, her chances at art school, all of it, gone in an instant. But as the blackmailer’s demands begin to hurt her friends and loved ones, she has to wonder, how far is she willing to go to protect her secret? And will it even be worth it in the end?
I expected this book to be entirely ridiculous. I wasn’t holding out much hope for it in the beginning, but it actually turned out to be quite enjoyable.

Felicity is borderline unbearable in the beginning. Her vanity is annoying and it feels like her worries should be unfounded until you really start reading through things. I wasn’t a fan of her boyfriend, Brent I think his name was? He was such a dull character that I didn’t find him memorable in the least. It was obvious she wasn’t meant to be with him and who she should be interested instead. Plus, she even said herself she wasn’t fond of Brent, so why should I care if she doesn’t? Her friends, Ivy and Hailey, are really sweet. I liked them a lot, especially Ivy. And Jonathon was such a cutie. I was rooting for him from the start. I couldn’t dislike Gabby. I knew there had to be more to her, and sure, once figuring her out I still didn’t adore her, but I understood her.

The plot is simple, but the flow is just perfect. Granted, it gets a little predictable. In the end, I knew her plan wouldn’t happen. I knew what she would end up doing. I had a feeling what the outcome would be, and I was right. But it didn’t matter because even with the predictability, I was entertained the whole way and actually rather impressed with how smoothly it was written. The build up of the town is perfect and you really begin to understand how important being a redhead is. She could really lose everything if she is discovered. It wouldn’t seem like it would be much out in the real world, but when the only world you have ever known is Scarletville, it’s hard to think about the outside world. Scarlet has been so sheltered, that she doesn’t know what is out there. It’s nice of her to start realizing what it really is that she wants, especially when she decided to go for it.

This was an easy, simple read with a nice, well-written story. Perfect for a rainy day or a desperate need for some contemporary drama. It was shockingly entertaining. Recommended.

Read this and other reviews at my blog.