Name: Red
ISBN: 9780385742931

Alison Cherry

In a town that values red hair above all else, someone threatens to expose pageant contestant Felicity's secret about her coppery locks.

Courtney Gendreau

Original review at: www.literarychaos.com 

I don't know what I expected from this book, but I was definitely not impressed. I bought this book only because it was on sale, and now I know why it was so cheap. I was very unimpressed by this book, and I went in with very low expectations. The book just came off as too juvenile, even for a Young Adult book. I think that this book may have been better suited if written for a younger audience like middle-grade. 

The plot was so cliche, there really wasn't anything new to the plot. It was the kind of plot that the reader feels like they have read time and time again. There was just nothing new or innovative to the plot. I was able to guess every plot twist that happened. It was just far too predictable.

For me, the main downfall of this book was the characters. Felicity's mother was awful. I have read my fair share of oblivious or crappy parents in Young Adult Literature, but she really takes the cake. She was so self-absorbed, and only cared about what she wanted for her daughter. She was so unsupportive and more than that she was an awful person. Then there was her friend, Haylie, she was possibly one of the worst characters I have ever read. She was so entitled, she was prejudice against non-red heads, and most of all she was an awful friend.

Felicity as a character was not awful, but not great. She was a little better than her self-absorbed people she surrounded herself with. However, I constantly found myself annoyed by her because she had such skewed priorities, and was portrayed as so naive to the outside world. Despite her drawbacks, I did have high hopes for her. I really wanted her to have a great character arc, but the book, unfortunately, did not give this to me. She did have a character arc, but it felt subpar and forced.

Would I recommend this book: maybe, it depends on the age of the reader. A younger reader, say 10-12, may really enjoy this book and learn some lessons from the book as well, but for an older reader, I would say don't waste your time, it is a quick read but not really worth it, in my opinion.

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.

Ella Zegarra

Cindy Lee

I thought Red was going to be quite annoying from some of the reviews I've read. I could see why some people wouldn't like it, but honestly, it didn't bug me all that much.

Scarletville is where the story is set. Our protagonist, Felicity, has a secret that could ruin her life. She's actually a strawbie, not a "real" redhead. Of course, that's all that matters in Scarletville. So one day, someone finds out her secret and she's getting blackmailed into doing a lot of stuff. I'd like to mention that this book has too much revenge in it for me to like it. I don't really see why being a strawbie is so bad. I guess it could be in Scarletville, but why don't you just move somewhere else? Hair colour doesn't really matter anywhere else.

One thing that I really loved but didn't like at the same time is the romance. We have Felicity's jock boyfriend, who she didn't interact with much. And then we have Jonathan, the nerdy and cute boy who doesn't care about her hair colour. I loved the relationship she had with Jonathan. They only went on a date once though and it wasn't even officially a date. If I was Felicity, I'd cherish that moment with Jonathan forever. I do wish we could've gotten more romance with Jonathan instead of set out to destroy the blackmailer. 

Overall, this is a very mediocore contemporary. I think fans of Burn for Burn (by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian) might like it since it has that revenge feel written all over it.

Rating: D+

Red

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