Sisters Red

Jackson Pierce, Sisters Red, 2010, Hachette Book Group.

Scarlett March lost an eye defending her sister from a werewolf (called Fenris) in the same attack that killed their grandmother. Ever since then her raison d'etre has been to hunt the Fenris in hopes of saving other girls from a worse fate. Her sister Rosie is as deadly a hunter as her older sister but longs for a life that has more purpose than tracking and killing the Fenris. The two girls, along with their neighbor Silas, a woodsman by blood, spend their days and nights slowly but steadily chipping away at their enemy. But after a relocation to Atlanta, the trio find themselves unsure whether they are the hunters or the hunted.

I'm torn on how to feel about this book. By the time I was 1/3 of the way into it, I knew where the plot was going. I don't want to give too many details because I think it's not too difficult to figure the story out, yet the way Pearce wrote it was so interesting that I continued reading, and nevertheless found myself entertained by the ending I knew was coming. Most reviews, including the ones on the back of the book, focus on the 'love story' element of this work but I felt this was hardly the most noteworthy plot thread. I was most impressed by the way Pearce believably traced the tensions that arise between Rosie and Scarlett as they navigate the challenge of growing up and becoming individuals without completely severing the bond of sisterhood. On the other hand, I had distinct problems with how the female victims of the Fenris were portrayed, as essentially bringing their deaths upon themselves by what they wore and how they acted. The sisters themselves are strong female characters but the rest of the women in the work are simply regarded as 'Dragonflies' who are potential prey for the Fenris. If the work is meant to be a metaphor for violence against women then the author succeeds to a certain degree, but the depiction and fates of the supporting female characters leaves much to be desired.

Briar Rose

Jane Yolen, Briar Rose, 1992, Starscape.

"I am Briar Rose." Those are the last words that Becca's Gemma (grandmother) says to her granddaughters before dying. Becca's older sisters pass it off as the delirium of an old woman but twenty-three year old Becca feels a nagging sensation that there may be some truth behind these last words, after all growing up, their household version of Briar Rose didn't match other kids versions--not even a little bit.

Going through her grandmother's things Becca discovers bits and pieces of the beginning of her grandmother's life in America that doesn't jibe with what her mother has always believed. For instance, that she [Becca's mother] was born in a European refugee camp in upstate New York. With this, Becca sets off on a journey to discover who her Grandmother and Briar Rose were--one and the same or pure fairy tale? What she finds takes her into the heart of Poland where the townspeople refuse to talk about what happened during the war. Piece by piece Becca learns the story of her Grandmother and that sometimes fairy tales can be more heartbreaking than the truth.

I'm not sure how to feel about this story. I generally like Jane Yolen's work, but I felt like Becca herself had a fairy princess complex going on. Furthermore it was creepy that Becca's thirty-five year old editor was hitting on her while also offering to help her solve her family mystery. The fact that the fairy tale is a metaphor for the Holocaust makes it difficult to read, especially when you know that worse things than what was described in this story took place. Still, Yolen knows that the people reading this may have not yet learned about that part of history in school and so she walks a fine line between too much information and not enough in a way that makes it resonate with the reader. Yet I find it hard to comment on the specific history which inspired this book without asking myself how much is too much and how much is not enough? All I know is that this book doesn't suffer from the same problem as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas which masquerades a a child's "Holocaust fable" but in reality I personally would have a difficult time recommending to a parent (keeping the ending in mind).

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Patricia C. Wrede, The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, 1990, Magic Carpet Books.

I'm a sucker for stories with strong female heroines, luckily for me Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles series fits that description. Cimorene is NOT your stereotypical princess, growing up she wanted to fence, learn magic, speak Latin, cook, and do hundreds of other things that simply "weren't done" by princesses. So on the eve of her engagement to a prince as silly as her sisters, she runs away to go offer her services as a Dragon's Princess--that being the last repectable role for a princess although one hardly offers to fill the position. Fortunately for Cimorene the dragon Kazul takes her up on her offer instead of eating her. And so Cimorene becomes the Dessert Chef-slash-Archivist of Kazul the Dragon.

The series main conflict revolves around the Society of Wizards of who are attempting to cause trouble by sucking up magic from other magical creatures (including dragons) and the Enchanted Forest itself. The cast of characters are familiar ones with a twist--the witch Morwen looks witchy but is clean, nice, the owner of numerous cats, and holds as her motto "None of that nonsense please" in the middle of a forest where princes are either enchanted or going on a quest, witches grow horrible plants for fun, and princesses are as silly as they always have been in fairy tales. We are taken from Cimorene's pre-dragon days to the ascent of her son to a throne (but I won't say anymore and ruin the story). Although the fourth book was actually written first, the three before it are the most action packed which one imagines will appeal to both die-hard fantasy fans and those who are a bit more skeptical. Of course, this critic could just be talking about herself.