The Philippine Online Chronicles

There is something about a re-telling of an old, popular story that fascinates me. It started when a friend recommended Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, a re-telling of the book of Hosea from the Bible, and I've read a lot of contemporary young adult (YA) stories based on fairy tales--but not all re-tellings work. Some authors simply retell the story with different names and twists that have little impact on the story. However, for those that manage to infuse an old tale with originality, the result can be a clever and creative read. Such is the case with Jackson Pearce’s second book, Sisters Red.

The cover is very pretty, but don't be mislead by it (and the fact that Pearce’s first novel was light and romantic): Sisters Red is not your ordinary fairy tale retelling. Pearce goes in an entirely different direction from her debut by writing a modern version of Little Red Riding Hood that is dark, dangerous, and quite violent. The novel starts with Scarlett and Rosie March as kids, when they first encounter a Fenris – a wolf who assumes the form of a handsome man, and who feeds on beautiful women. Scarlett kills the wolf to save her sister, but not without the Fenris killing their grandmother and leaving Scarlett scarred and blind in her right eye. Seven years later, the sisters, together with their childhood friend Silas, have devoted their lives to hunting these soulless beasts who continue to prey on other women. When the three of them realize that Fenris from different packs have started to hunt together, they know something was up: the Fenris are looking for the Potential, a possible new werewolf recruit. Scarlett, Rosie and Silas head out to the city to find the Potential before the wolves do. Scarlett is thrilled that she'll be able to kill more Fenris; Rosie, on the other hand, is excited for an entirely different reason: she longs to spend more time with Silas, who has started to point her in the direction of jobs besides hunting, and toward a life resembling normalcy.

It’s brave of Jackson Pearce to put a dark twist to this fairy tale (although it must be pointed out that the original versions of Little Red Riding Hood were dark indeed). Like this reader, I appreciated that the author portrayed werewolves in the original light: men who turn into wolves, soulless beasts who prey on people – in this case, beautiful young women. I also share the sentiments of this reviewer, though, with regards to the background of the Fenris: I felt that the mythology behind the Fenris was not too believable. In an interview with the author, she mentioned that she got the Fenris idea by combining the Fenrir from Norse mythology with other werewolf tales, but there was no in-story explanation. While Scarlett, Rosie and Silas relayed some information about the book's antagonists, these were mostly only facts relevant to hunting them (and there was no one to provide them with outside information on the Fenris). I know these creatures are scary, I know they prey on women, that they have the same hierarchy in a wolf pack, but where did they come from? How did they come to be? When did they first appear? These wolves fulfill a similar role to the unicorns in Diana Peterfreund’s Rampant, but Peterfreund gave the unicorns a rich history, unlike the Fenris. Even at the end of the book, I was left with a lot of questions, some of them as basic as (Spoiler warning at this point): if the Fenris can only recruit a new wolf once every seven years, and it has to be the seventh son of a seventh son, how can there be so many Fenris? (Spoiler warning ends here).

But truth be told, the Fenris really weren't the focus of the story. Sisters Red is really about the March sisters: their closeness, their purpose, and how each feels about the other. I liked how the author wrote of the sisters having “one heart,” and like these other readers, I found this metaphor effective in portraying their relationship. Scarlett would do anything to protect her sister, and she has the physical scars to prove it. Rosie would do the same, although she is constantly plagued by guilt due to her desire for a normal life, even after all Scarlett has done for her. The two sisters externalized an internal conflict that most of us experience, between doing something because you had to do it and doing it because you want to do it. Scarlett hunts because it is her responsibility; she feels that it is the right thing to do. Rosie hunts only because she feels that she had to repay her sister, but she wants to do everything but hunt.

I liked both sisters, but I felt that I identified with Scarlett more. Scarlett is memorable, not only because she’s the first one-eyed female protagonist I’ve seen, but also because she was strong in almost every way possible. It could not be easy being in her situation, battle-scarred and driven to protect people from the Fenris. I don’t blame Scarlett for being obsessed, since it was her way of coping with tragedy, and Scarlett’s stubbornness and determination drove the story forward; without her angst and Fenris blood lust, Sisters Red would just be another paranormal YA romance between Silas and Rosie. This doesn’t mean that Rosie isn’t a good character, though, but I found her too sweet, girly and giggly--and frankly, I’ve had enough of that. There was more growth for Scarlett in the story, and she had more to lose in the end. Just as in As You Wish, Pearce wasn’t afraid to hurt her characters, and there were a lot of heartbreaking moments in the story that ensured that by the end of the novel, they had grown up significantly.

I admire the way the action in the book was handled, and like this reviewer, I thought the hunting and the fight scenes were written well: gory and violent, yes, but not so graphic that I'd want to skip scenes. The overall mystery was very predictable, though, and other reviewers echo this sentiment, which made the book drag somewhat (other readers agree) because I arrived at the solution/answer long before the characters did.

There is, however, a big debate over the subtext of the novel, over at The Book Smugglers. They say that Sisters Red didn’t work for them because of a particular message that they felt the book was sending, particularly concerning rape culture. They saw this in elements ranging from how the Fenris chooses their victims, to the real motivation behind why Scarlett, Rosie and Silas hunt. It’s a pretty long discussion, and even the author joined in (stating that it was clearly not her intention to insinuate that the victims asked to be eaten by these wolves). Personally, I was too focused on the story to actually notice any subtext, and if they hadn’t tweeted about it, I would not have thought about it. That being said, published books are open to interpretation by the readers and I can’t blame the Book Smugglers for thinking as they do, and perhaps the author might have been better served if she had given the Fenris a broader list of possible victims, instead of only choosing those who dress a particular way (although I’m not so sure how it would affect the overall story). While it's not an issue I myself encountered, it may be something to keep in mind for other prospective readers, especially for the younger ones.

Overall, Sisters Red is a dark re-telling of a classic fairy tale, with enough romance, action and conflict, which worked out pretty well despite its flaws, serving as a heartwarming and heartbreaking story about sisterhood. It may not be as lovable as As You Wish, but it’s good enough to be worth your money.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce is available in hardbound for P699.00 in all bookstores nationwide.

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