*The Girl Who Cried Wolf*

Title - Red Riding Hood

Arthor(s) - Sarah Blakely-Cartwright

Based On Work By - David Leslie Johnson

Introduction By - Catherine Hardwicke 

Pub. Date - 25th of January, 2011

Publisher - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

N.Of.Pages -   Three Hundred and Twenty- Nine

The Summary on The Back of My Copy - The Blacksmith would marry her. The woodcutter would run away with her. The werewolf would turn her into one of its own. Valerie's sister was beautiful, kind and sweet. Now she is dead. Henry, the handsome son of the blacksmith, tries to console Valerie, but her wild heart beats fast for another: the outcast woodcutter, Peter, who offers Valerie another life far from home. After her sister's violent death, Valerie's world begins to spiral out of control. For generations, the Wolf has been kept at bay with monthly sacrifice. But now no one is safe. When an expert Wolf Hunter arrives, the villagers learn that the creature lives among them - it could be anyone in town. It soon becomes clear that Valerie is the only one who can hear the voice of the creature. The Wolf says she must surrender herself before the blood mood wanes...or everyone she loves will die.  

What a Girl Wants in Her Books - The tale of a power so strong it could wipe out thousand of people in a single blood moon festival. A love so strong even the changing of the tides couldn't pull apart. The story of a girl torn between the reasonable man to marry and the man she wants to run away with unfolds into a story of lost and triumph. This is the story of Red Riding Hood, remastered and retold from the little kid version alike. Its the story of Valerie a distance girl who doesn't woe over the available attractive men in the village. The story of a girl who looses her sister and her father to the wolf. I saw the movie first and then I read the book. Which was probably a bad idea because Im a huge believer in reading the book before watching the media version of the book or tie in. I was defiantly more impressed by the book then the movie. I mean the movie skipped around with the story and the book explained things so much more. Books are always better than the movie or are most of the time anyway. There are some books that are so boring, I can't do anything but watch the movie. Luckily, this is not one of those times. Red Riding Hood was an exciting read and I enjoyed the story but I do think that it used a lot of the same old plot schemes in the past. A girl who is different from everyone, an outcast, punished for being an outcast by an immoral figure. However, this story is not as original as I would of liked. I did enjoy the romantic items in the book, it brought out my hopeless romantic side. And as many of you already know, I enjoy a good love tale. This one however did have an arranged failed marriage and a love that was stronger than anything I'd ever seen before. What I found really odd, was how fast the attraction between Valerie and Peter was. I mean it was like two meetings and then bam, they were totally, desperately in love with each other. And sometimes, I find that appealing because it speaks to me. But sometimes, it seems a little over used. Thankfully, this book didn't leave me questioning my relationship like the last one did. 

 

When I sat down and started to read this book, I half-expected it to be exactly like the movie that I had seen months before. But it started out a lot more differently than I thought it would. The movie started out with a little girl and her best friend capturing and killing a white hare. The book on the other hand started out with a little girl climbing a tree. The main character, Valarie is one of those strong confident girls who doesn't really seem to believe in letting a man do all the hard work. But she defiantly has a more girly side to her as well. Valerie is the kind of girl to pick up a axe and go after the wolf that killed her sister, Lucy. Shes the kind of girl to be posed around the boy other girls swoon over. I sort of admire that about her but at the same time, I find that kind of annoying because it seems to be used in every story nowadays. So I guess I'm a little easily annoyed by things like that. But I don't know why I am with this story since I'm usually really excited about these types of plot devices. But I guess since I watched the movie, it kind of ruined the experience of reading the book for me. 


I sadly couldn't connect with any characters from this book. Valerie is just the type of girl you expect her to be. Sadden by her grief of loosing her sister and then ending up betrothed to a man she doesn't love. And I've never been in that situation and I honestly can't imagine it. It just seems too horrible to imagine. I would hate being betrothed to someone I knew I wouldn't love in the future. So I guess if I really thought about it, I would hate it. Absolutely hate it.