i had hopes for enjoying this story, since i enjoy twisted fairytale retellings. but it didn't really work for me, unfortunately, and i was bored.

I really enjoyed the storyline in world building in the novel. I also really liked the characters. I thought this was a solid read, and I will definitely be reading more by this author.

Christina Henry is a talented author who weaves a compelling tale. Reader her is like listening to a finely tuned, well played cello. Pick this book up.

A dark retelling of Red Riding Hood, set against a post apocalyptic backdrop followong Red as she journeys to her grandmothers house. But ahe wont be so easily overtaken by the horrors lurking in the woods.

Absolutely loved The Girl in Red, Christina Henry always kills it with her storytelling and writing. Having been published in 2019 it did feel eerily similar to the Covid crisis that we have just went through so that almost added to the intensity of the story. I fell completely in love with Red and admired how incredible she was facing all of the difficulty that just kept getting thrown at her.

Highly recommend this story if you are a fan thrillers and suspense and you have a strong stomach.

Thanks so much to the publisher for letting me review this one.

I did not like the main character in this story. Red was a know-it-all, annoying, prickly, and always had to be right. If it was the end of the world, I would not want to be stuck with her. She just didn't have a personality that I enjoy. Red is also bi-racial and has a prosthetic leg, which are important parts to the story.
It was kind of weird to read this one in 2022, because it deals with a deadly pandemic. This was written and released before Covid. It was just a little strange reading about a disease called The Cough, quarantine, colleges and schools closing down and students being kept at home, masks. I mean, I think this disease was much more deadly, but if pandemics trigger you, maybe stay away.
I am always game for a post-apocalyptic book, but I think because I've read so many of them, this one didn't hit me as being an amazing one. It had the same ingredients, but it combined them in a meh way. The only character that really had any development was Red, so you didn't really get the chance to care or love for anyone else. That's an important part of post-apocalyptic books to me. I love the found family and I want to real some grief when we lose people. And then I didn't really like Red. Red loses people, but I didn't feel much when she lost them because it happened too quick, and those relationships hadn't been built up enough.
There was a cool angle regarding the virus that got introduced, but we didn't get the continuing story of that.
Red was also very anti-gun, which I just thought was stupid to be during an apocalypse. She even found a gun, and instead of keeping it just in case, she threw it in the middle of a lake. That's when I knew she wasn't smart. She wasn't adverse to killing people, she had an axe and would chop, chop, chop. What happens when she's not fast enough with her axe? She'd probably need that gun then.
There was also not really a struggle when it came to finding food. It seemed almost every store they stopped at had some, which felt too easy.
I was also irritated with the racism angle that was added, because it really made no sense for this pandemic apocalypse. Why would these racist guys show up to someone's house and tell them to come outside when there's a deadly, highly contagious virus going around.
I also wanted more from the ending. I wanted more closure. If I'm following this whole journey to get somewhere, I want to see a satisfying ending for that.
I enjoyed the writing in this and will definitely read more by Christina Henry. The main reason that I just thought this book was meh was because I didn't like Red.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5
Can I join someone else's end-of-the-world team?

I really enjoyed this Little Red Riding Hood retelling! I wish there was more of an explanation on what the monsters were but overall it was a good read!

Harrowing and crazed, this Little Red Riding Hood dystopian retelling really hit my fall mood reading spot. Fully engrossed.

This was good but didn’t necessarily grab me. I’m glad I read it and have a few library patrons in mind to recommend it to.

Christina Henry's twist on Little Red Riding Hood is one of her best adaptions to date in my opinion. A dystopian lover's delight with a strong heroine whose growth and empowerment is the measuring stick on which the story progresses. Bold and raw, Henry pulls no punches as she guilds this woman through the woods to salvation.

I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore. I will not be reviewing this title because the beginning was too graphic for me to continue further. I'm sorry. I don't do gore.

I really liked this dystopian take on Little Red Riding Hood. Red was such a badass, and I practically flew through the book. I just wish it had been a little longer though.

Ooooohhhh ... I really salivate when I see there's a new Christina Henry novel out! And could I have read anything more topical right now?

In the same way that Ms. Henry took the Alice in Wonderland stories and reset them in a darker world using different (but recognizable characters) and retold the action and themes of the story, she has taken on the grim fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood.

The world is in the middle of a pandemic and Cordelia, who never goes by the name Cordelia but prefers to be called 'Red' for the red jacket that she wears constantly, and her family have chosen to avoid going to the government 'camps' (set up to protect the people, of course) and are going to head out to Red's grandmother's place - a remote home in the woods, sheltered from much of the current pandemic. It won't be easy ... driving would make them obvious targets, but Red's mom and dad are concerned about the walk because Cordelia is handicapped with a false leg (a childhood injury). But before they strike out, Red's mother comes down with 'the cough' and then one of the roving gangs comes to the house to have a little 'fun' with the family just because they are black. Mom and dad promise to hold the gang off as long as possible so that Red and her brother Adam can make their escape and get to their grandmother's house, making them promise not to leave each other.

Red and Adam, quarreling constantly (they are siblings, about the same age) sneak into towns, trying to find food and other supplies that they can use on their journey. But such resources are harder and harder to find as gangs and militia units have formed to make a steady sweep of communities to clear them of food.

In one gas station mart, Adam and Red discover the body of, presumably, the shop owner. Finding bodies isn't all that unusual for the pair, but this particular body has a hole in chest, from the inside to out, and slithering blood stains on the floor around him. Just what they need ... another thing to worry about. But while Adam immediately thinks about the movie <em>Alien</em>, Red is convinced that there's a logical explanation and nothing to worry about.

A little further on, Red and Adam are caught by a military group when the siblings try to clear supplies from a big box store. The leader of the group interviews the pair and 'take a blood sample' - though Red doesn't buy it. She does learn, however, that there is indeed something insidious, something government sanctioned, causing the holes in peoples' chests.

She learns this too late to save Adam, and Red is on her own until she runs into a pair of children, siblings, like she and Adam, but much younger. Out of concern for the youngsters, she convinces them that they'd be better off walking with her to her grandmother's house (they had no goal other than to stay away from the gangs).

There really is so much going on in this novel.

First off, I read this while self-quarantined due to the COVID-19 corona virus, so the background for this story - a virus that has had a deadly affect on the country - was amazingly topical. And while the fact that Red and her family were African-American wasn't central to the story, it was there and of course my time in quarantine corresponds with the death of African-American, George Floyd while being restrained by police.

So...we have a devastating virus. Some people get it, some don't, and the Government (capital 'G') is trying to lock people away in camps. We have hometown gangs running rampant. We take a step up from gangs to non-official militia groups who are reportedly kidnapping women to be their slaves while they raid and loot. And we have the military, trying to control the militia and secure civilians.

Among these groups we have only one good person and even with that, Red doesn't trust him at first, though he proves himself worthy.

We also don't meet many citizens - anyone not swallowed up by gang, militia, or military - not alive anyway, but the one we do meet turns out to be helpful.

I definitely get caught up in Henry's writing. It is deliciously dark without being gross. Even the darkest moments, the descriptions of having to kill someone (in a kill or be killed situation) are handled quite well. It was fun to spot the parallels to the Red Riding Hood story (or at least what I remember of it) but I have to admit that I chuckled every time we were reminded that Red is walking through the forest on her way to grandmother's house. And we were reminded of this a few times.

I did not need the creature coming out of the chest. It was brought in late in the book and didn't add much to the story (and was left rather unresolved - this felt like a set-up for another book). I understand the analogy to the fairy tale ("the better to eat you with, my dear") but there really was enough here to not have to go down that particular path (pun intended).

The book felt disjointed. There was so much focus on Red and Adam and staying together and scavenging supplies, and then they weren't together and the focus was mostly just on getting to grandmother's house, with the kids. There was danger mixed in (obstacles to overcome) - the rape gangs, the slaver militias, the big bad wolf, er, military, but each came in somewhat piecemeal with very little overlap.

This is the sort of book that feels good to read it - Henry's writing is delicious - but upon reflection there isn't a whole lot here and what is here feels like it belongs in a different story.

A book by Christina Henry is better than most, but this is not her strongest work.

Looking for a good book? If you like a dark spin on fairy tales, give Christina Henry's <em>The Girl in Red</em> a read. It's a fun take on the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, but it may not make a last impression.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Christina Henry can do no wrong. I love how twisty-turny her books are and I am living for her retellings. Cannot recommend her for anyone who likes their myths and fairy tale retellings as dark as the originals.

I'm becoming a huge fan of fairytale dystopia, this book did not disappoint. It was captivating from start to finish, with plenty of twists and unexpected turns. Maybe the book was filled with too many unnecessary "isms" that could not all be fully unpacked. For example, we are told about Red's bisexuality but there is never any exploration of it like that is for the disability, and even a little bit of her mixed race identity. Nonetheless this wanting to hear more about her unpacking her sexual identity, but I still give this amazing story 5 stars

This was a very suspenseful and creepy retelling of Little Red Riding Hood! The story was very fast-paced and kept my attention throughout! I loved it so much that I bought the audio book for this novel! Overall, I recommend it for those that love dark fairytales!

Unfortunately, I did not get. the chance to read this ARC prior to its release--I'm hoping to work through my backlist now that we're home for the coming weeks!--but we did end up buying this book for the library collection.

This was a wonderful read in all of its horrifying, nail-biting, bloody glory. I love the fairytale retelling against the apocalyptic backdrop and I'll be turning the story over and over in my head long after I've finished it.

‏I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry is a retelling of the classic story Little Red Riding Hood. In this version, Red is living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland caused by a highly contagious disease. Everyone Red knows has died but she hopes her grandmother will still be alive since her house is isolated. Most survivors have been relocated to quarantine camps but Red would rather go to her grandmother's house.

It is told using alternating timelines that reveal the beginning and the spread of the disease and Red's struggle to get to her grandmother's house in present day.

The book took some time for me to get into the story but it has a nice pace to it. You quickly realize it is not a mystery or suspenseful book. It is a believable retelling of the perennial classic Little Red Riding Hood so there will not be any twists and turns but involves a well-written and imaginative retelling.

The Girl in Red is one of the many retellings Christina Henry has written. Others involve the classic works of Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and the Little Mermaid.

The Girl in Red was a 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Horror.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 2/6/20.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2020 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">