Wednesday 31 July 2013

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer


Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Puffin
Release Date: 7th February 2013
Rating: 5 out of 5

Description: Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. The police have closed her case. The only person Scarlet can turn to is Wolf, a street fighter she does not trust, but they are drawn to each other. 
Meanwhile, in New Beijing, Cinder will become the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive – when she breaks out of prison to stay one step ahead of vicious Queen Levana. As Scarlet and Wolf expose one mystery, they encounter Cinder and a new one unravels. Together they must challenge the evil queen, who will stop at nothing to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner


Scarlet is a brilliant book by Marissa Meyer.  This time around, the second book in the Lunar Chronicles is a retelling of the classic fairy tale little red riding hood. Scarlet delves deeper into the lunar universe and unravels another piece of the puzzle surrounding Cinder and her companions.  In addition to providing answers to questions raised in the previous book, Scarlet introduces many new characters that have a great story to tell.  This series is fast becoming one of my favourites due to its unique take on fairytales combined with science fiction. The story is beautifully built right down to the smallest details such as spaceship models and ID chips. Meyer has masterfully created a futuristic world that is sure to captures your entire imagination. I enjoyed this book immensely. 

Told from multiple points of view, Scarlet follows the story of Scarlet Benoit who is looking for her missing grandmother. She meets a street fighter named Wolf who agrees to help her in her search.  Meanwhile Cinder escapes from prison along with fellow prisoner Caswell Thorne in order to escape from Queen Levana and to figure out her next step. Hidden secrets cause Cinder and Scarlet’s Worlds to collide.  There are multiple plots, subplots and characters tied up in this story but Meyer never misses a beat in combining the various threads into one massive tapestry that has no weak links. Cinder’s story merges seamlessly with Scarlet’s.  Their stories are intertwined more than they realise and the best part of this story was when Cinder and Scarlet meet.  It was quite interesting watching these two heroines interact with each other.

Meyer writes strong vibrant characters. Scarlet and Cinder are some of the best-written young women in young adult literature. Scarlet is loyal to a fault and very determined. She will do anything for the people she loves. She also does not take any crap from people and stands up for the things she believes in despite the odds stacked against her. Her relationship with Wolf grows slowly from mistrust to genuine affection. Wolf is a bit of an enigma, and as the story moves forward we learn more about him. Cinder has a lot to deal with. She has to come to terms with what it means to be Lunar and what she wants to do with the information she has been given. She struggles with her abilities and principles but finds inner strength to keep going.  Captain Thorne is a welcome addition with his self-assured personality. He adds humor in serious situations and his lines provide some great comedic moments between him and Cinder.  

Overall this book is one that I recommend to everyone to read. Simply put it is amazing.

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