Red Wolf

by Rachel Vincent

For as long as sixteen-year-old Adele can remember, the village of Oakvale has been surrounded by the dark wood—a forest filled with terrible monsters. A forest that light cannot penetrate. Like her fellow villagers, she knows to steer clear of the woods unless absolutely necessary. But unlike her neighbors, Adele has a very good reason for going into the dark wood. Adele is one of a long line of guardians: women who secretly take on the form of a wolf, in order to protect their village. Her life—and the lives of every villager she watches over—depends upon her secret being kept. But when accepting her fate means giving up the boy she loves, abandoning the future she imagined for herself, and breaking her own moral code, she must decide how far she is willing to go to keep her neighbors safe.

• ISBN10: 0062411640
• ISBN13: 9780062411648
• Publish Date: 27 July 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Harperteen
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kim Deister]

Red Wolf is a wonderful reimagining of a tale we all know, Little Red Riding Hood. The story is creative and unique, the twists and turns taking it in new directions, make it difficult to predict where it was going to go next. But even if the story itself was very different from the original, the familiar elements of the woods, the wolves, Grandmother, and the iconic red cloak were still a part of it.

Adele, the F-MC, is an extremely likable character. Barely sixteen, she has suddently found her world changed, upended. She struggles to make sense of that, to reconcile the future she thought was in front of her with her new responsibilities. And part of that is Grainger.

The changes in her world have created a bit of a love triangle for Adele, in ways she’d never imagined possible. Grainger is the boy she’s loved for as long as she can remember, a childhood friend turned more. But who he is and what he does may not allow them to have the future they planned. Enter Max, a boy from another village, one of the few people who knows and accepts her secret. Love triangles are not usually something I love in my reads, but the romance in this book is fairly minor. And the author handled it in a way that felt right.

All in all, a great read.

[Quirky Cat]

Rachel Vincent is about to try her hand at a retelling in Red Wolf! As you can probably guess from the title alone, we're about to dive back into the world of Little Red Riding Hood, but with a twist.

Adele has spent her entire life in one small village. She's never left, as the foreboding woods keep most of the villagers trapped within. For monsters are lurking out in those woods, and each year they seem to grow in number.

However, one night in Adele's sixteenth year, her life was permanently changed. She learned something about herself and her family. Something that will change the way she looks at the woods and her entire village.

“Turn around, Adele...Just turn around and walk in a straight line until you hear the axes. Until you come out of the forest.”

Red Wolf was such an enchanting read (pun not intended, this time!), I found myself sucked in Adele's story, unable to look away. I have always enjoyed Rachel Vincent's writing, and I feel like it truly shined here.

Red Wolf is a thrilling take on the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood. What I loved the most about this tale, other than the heavy infusion of fantasy elements (more on that in a second), is how much agency Adele's character is given here.

It's refreshing! The magical elements (which I won't detail because it's a spoiler) create a fun twist in the plot, keeping me fully invested in the story. Between those elements, and the fact that Vincent was unafraid to sow room for conversation and discourse along the way, Red Wolf ended up being a surprisingly rich and intense read. One that I would recommend for all fans of fairy tale retellings.

Thanks to Harper Teen and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks>