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Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguié
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Scarlet Moon By Debbie Viguié Release Date:
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Little Red Riding Hood grew up a blacksmith’s daughter, always afraid of the wolf in the woods, the same wolf that attacked her and her brother as they walked home from grandmother’s house when she was a child. Soon after, big brother left for the crusades, leaving Little Red Riding Hood (also known as Ruth) to help her father at the forge.
In her village, Ruth is seen as an outcast, and in the middle of a fight with a reluctant-to-pay customer, Lord William walks into her life. Suddenly, Ruth discovers her own path in the woods, learning to deal with her fear of the wolf. Lord William has problems of his own, a family curse that he struggles to control. This is an enchanting retelling and expansion on the traditional Little Red Riding Hood, with her new cloak sewn with strips of her dead brother’s armor, and her wolf as charming as he is dangerous.
The “Once Upon a Time” series is put out by Simon Pulse and is meant to reinterpret old stories and add context. Often they take place during a historical period and add new twists to the story. No longer are the characters simply “Prince Charming” or “Cinderella,” but they are given names and reasons for their actions. So far, my favorite has been Night Dance.
Scarlet Moon is as much a fairy tale as its inspiration is, though expanded and with an attempt to give the characters more depth. The story goes as the reader predicts, but the magic is in the way the story is told. Viguié has a beautiful way with words, and the story is enchanting every step of the way.
At only one hundred fifty seven pages, the book is pretty short, though I don’t think the tale could have supported much more expansion. The ending was predictable and a little disappointing, magic fixing everything, but at the same time, it fit with the rest of the story. Viguié also did not incorporate history and new twists as much as some of the other books in the “Once Upon A Time” series do.
Action 3 1/2 – The book is fast paced and enjoys a few fights. Besides, anything with a werewolf ought to have action.
Romance 4 – The two characters fall in love rather quickly, but what saved it for me was the fact that the main girl realized how quick it was, and questioned it. It’s perfectly natural for teenagers/early twenties to fall in love quick and passionately, but often the characters in books don’t have the questioning half of the equation.
Characters 3 – Ruth is a typical “doesn’t fit into her society” girl and William is tired of being treated differently as a lord and is sick of his family curse. While they were deeper than fairytale standard, they still fell short of exceptional.
Overall 3 ½ – While I read the book, I was enchanted, and all the way through I couldn’t put it down. Still, the book is short and has little lasting value. I would recommend reading it, but not necessarily buying it.
Extras:
Wikipedia has a good article about the symbolism of the Little Red Riding Hood story, there are also quite a few stories for further reading on there.
I mentioned the 10th Kingdom mini-series when I reviewed Ella Enchanted , and I wish to mention it again. One of the main characters is the descendant of the Little Red Riding Hood wolf, and he changed the way I viewed the wolf in the tale. Sure, his ancestor was a bit, well, hungry, but after the misunderstanding, wolves became persecuted citizens. Checkout this mini-series, it would be a great way to spend a snowy day this winter break.
Another fun movie is Hoodwinked, which is an animated crime-scene investigation on what exactly happened at Granny’s house. Hilarious, with a mixture of adult and childish humor, the whole family will enjoy this movie.
A collection of retold fairy tales written by Tanith Lee, called Red as Blood, contains a short story called “Wolfland,” her retelling of the story. Francesca Lia Block, has a short story called “Wolf” in The Rose and the Beast, and Wendy Wheeler has a story called “Little Red” in Snow White, Blood Red.
13 + A little more sexual tension and violence than your classic fairytale, but it shouldn’t be too much for someone over thirteen. The tale of Little Red Riding Hood has been theorized to deal with developing sexuality, and this story does use those themes to a small extent.
I’ve only read one book in this series - “Golden”, it was called. This one looks good, I think I’ll check it out.
Thanks for the recommendation!