Valerie's sister was beautiful, kind, and sweet. Now she is dead. Henri, 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 werewolf has been kept at bay with a monthly sacrifice. But 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 creature. The Wolf says she must surrender herself before the Blood Moon wanes . . . or everyone she loves will die.Red Riding Hood was actually written after Catherine Hardwick received the screenplay from the movie. She felt like the story was too good not be be more in depth. I really would like to watch the movie and see if it was set up differently than the book. Not to say the book was horrible, it just wasn't that good. I really liked Valerie,the narrator, but she was very indecisive and when she did make decisions they were confusing. She would spend a large amount of time talking herself in one direction and then actually go against everything she had just said. The ending was also a little haphazard and kind of thrown together. It could have been a whole lot better if the plot would have been clearer and not so confusing. Overall it was an easy read, but not very original. One thing the book did fairly decent was hide who the wolf was. Even in the ending it wasn't officially announced, which was a bit annoying since the reader had been lead in circles. I will probably post again once I see the movie.
Review/Description
The sleepy village of Daggorhorn has been plagued by werewolves for many moons. Animal sacrifices have proved effective in keeping the Wolf at bay, but now human blood has been spilled. Valerie's beautiful sister is dead, killed by the werewolf who is terrorizing the village. Valerie knows that the Wolf wants her; she has known it since she was a small child. She is somehow attached to the creature, enabling her to communicate with the beast. The village is desperate to rid themselves of the monster, and decide that Valerie can be used as bait. Valerie is a willing sacrifice; blaming herself for her sister's death. She hopes that the Wolf will be placated by her willingness to surrender; however, nothing is certain. Blakely-Cartwright has the basis for a wonderful novel; suspense, romance, adventure...but somehow, it falls short. The characters are two-dimensional, making it difficult to find a reason to care about them from the very beginning. There are also elements of the plot that are not explained well in the narrative, including how the houses are built on stilts to help protect them from the Wolf. The third person perspective is annoying at times, especially when trying to figure out which character is being focused upon. Look for the movie version of the novel, released on March 11th. Perhaps watch the film first and then pick up the novel.
