Red Wolf

by Rachel Vincent Narrated by Taylor Meskimen

Overview

Powerful and compelling, this high-stakes, feminist reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood is perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber and Meagan Spooner.

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 itself cannot penetrate.

Unlike her fellow villagers, Adele cannot avoid 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.

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.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A dark and intriguing fairy-tale adaptation.” — Kirkus Reviews

“[A] refreshing “Little Red Riding Hood” retelling... Blending fairy tale elements with the atmospheric horror of M. Night Shyamalan films, Vincent’s (Strange New World) swift pacing builds palpable tension.” — Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Reviews

2021-05-11
A red-cloaked girl encounters (were)wolves.

Born and raised in Oakvale, a small town surrounded by a beast-riddled and ever encroaching dark wood, 16-year-old Adele Duval enjoys her provincial life. She hopes to wed and raise children with Grainger Colbert, spend time with her sister and mother, and overcome rumors of the Duval family curse. However, on a trip to see her Gran in the wood, Adele unexpectedly transforms into a redwulf and learns she is now a lycanthropic guardian like her mother and grandmother. To her dismay, Adele also learns that she’s long been betrothed to Maxime Bernard, a handsome carpenter from Ashborne who is privy to her secret superpowers. Tasked with protecting villagers and travelers against the other monsters of the dark wood, Adele relishes her new powers but struggles with her new responsibilities and romantic prospects. The beasts in the woods—often heard rather than seen, per the best horror conventions—may eat people, but faced with hard decisions and hard-line villagers, Adele discovers that humans can be equally dangerous, particularly to independent and unconventional women. Pivoting from her contemporary thrillers, Vincent offers a richly detailed, old-fashioned fantasy with a dash of horror set in a pre-industrial Francophone European countryside populated by White characters. Vincent’s contemplation and dissection of monstrosity elevates this retelling above a crowded field but dilutes its insights with regrettably generic tropes.

A dark and intriguing fairy-tale adaptation. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176289800
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	07/27/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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