Sisters Red

By Jackson Pearce

SUMMARY: The book begins with the Prologue in which Scarlett March, her sister Rosie, and their grandmother are attacked by a werewolf.  Scarlett bears the scars of the attack, but Rosie was unharmed because Scarlett was able to protect her. Seven years later, Scarlett hunts the werewolves, called Fenris, and is driven to protect the young women in her community, especially Rosie. Their friend Silas also hunts Fenris and is Scarlett’s hunting partner, but upon returning from his year-long stay in San Francisco, he begins to see that little Rosie is grown up. Romance sparks between Rosie and Silas amid the hunting of Fenris, moving to Atlanta, and trying to prevent the next werewolf leader, called the “Potential”. 

PERSONAL REACTION: I loved the suspense created in the Prologue and the way Scarlett’s drive to hunt Fenris is established by the scene. By going back to the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, the basic context of Sisters Red is established, only the wolves are so much different from the bedtime-story- “Better to see you with my dear”-wolf.  The action is so much more graphic.

I think adolescents would really like the romance between Silas and Rosie and maybe I’m just too old for it, but that element of the plot seemed predictable and uninteresting.  I found Scarlett and Rosie’s relationship much deeper and engaging.

CLASSROOM EXTENSION: Students will research werewolf legend and create a multi-media presentation from their findings.