Scarlet | Book Review

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a nutshell: No sophomore slum for NaNoWriMo champion-turned published best-seller Marissa Meyer. This book might even be better than the first!

So it's been a long time since September when I read (and loved) Cinder. Enough time for me to remember - "yeah, I read that and I think it was pretty good." So when Scarlet came out, I was like - "cool. I'll get around to that one day." And when it was ready for me to pick up from the library, I was like - "cool. I've got three weeks. I'll read it after I read all this other crap." And then after I read all this other crap, I was like - "cool. I guess I can read Scarlet now." And when I started Scarlet, I was like - WHY DID I NOT START READING THIS SOONER?!

Color me: Warm and fuzzy. This scifi/fantasy futuristic dystopian fairytale-retelling really hit the spot perfectly after reading two terrible light books and three great but heavy ones. This was the ideal blend of action, adventure, humor, drama, friendship, and romance for my sad cold little heart.

Writing Technique: ★★★★ I think Meyer stepped up her game a little bit this time around. What I really admired here was the pacing. Cinder was not nearly so action-based (as far as I remember), so I really wasn't expecting it. But as this series' story evolves (and more fairytale characters are added!), there's a lot of danger, intrigue, and crazy-crazy! And Meyer nails the fight scenes by crafting well-paced sentences. She nails the entire story by pacing out well-crafted scenes and chapters. Honestly, I feel kind of proud.

Also - dialogue. Thorne is my absolute favorite character. He's freaking hilarious. And I can't figure out which fairytale character he's supposed to be. (Best bet: he's Rapunzel's guy... {and with a little Wikipedia research, I'm 98% sure I'm right. The clue is in the Rampion!!!}) The dialogue between Thorne and Cinder is electric, jumps off the page. Way to go, Meyer!

Plot/Story Development: ★★★1/2 So these books are great as part of a series. But on their own, I feel like I've only read part of a book. One-fourth, to be exact. The plot here picks up where we left off with Cinder (yay!) as well as introduces new a plot involving new characters Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood) and Wolf (...the wolf...). This episode functions to bring those two storylines together, get Scarlet on board with the World-Saving Mission and get Cinder amped up to embrace her role as Earth's Last Remaining Hope.

Character Development: ★★★★ Cinder is gradually figuring out her next move as the missing Lunar princess. Scarlet's whole life is about rescuing her grandmother. Both of them have a lot to learn about themselves in the process and hard decisions to make along the way. And I think they learn a lot. Wolf also has some..."personal issues" to deal with too. Kai's story continues, but he's not developing all that quickly. He needs to get in the know on a lot stuff real soon here. Thorne mostly just has to sit there and be hilarious. I don't think he'll learn much of anything until he meets Cress in the next book (side note: can't wait for that!!)

Message/Theme: ★★★1/2 Good v. Evil, family, friendship, love, destiny, true heroism (What is worth dying for? What is worth letting others/loved ones die for? What is worth killing for?), sacrifice, war, and probably other stuff. This isn't a book to read for message though. This is a book to read for real entertaining fun.

Rating: PG-13 for violence and gore

Overall: ★★★★ I loved this book. It sucked me in and spit me out wishing for more. Everybody should read this series because it's just dang good fun. And who doesn't love deciphering retellings, figuring out who's who from the fairytales they learned as a kid...?



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