"In the wake of her Printz Honor–winning Damsel , Arnold blazes a new and equally powerful trail through toxic masculinity. Read, shed your pelt, and be transformed—for blades are being sharpened." — Booklist (starred review)
“It’s unsettling how seamlessly Arnold incorporates dark fantasy elements of beastly wolves and cunning hunters into her all-too-realistic tale. A fantastic novel in the #MeToo era, empowering women to share their stories by reaching out, speaking up, and demanding a change.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“At once a sharp critique of male entitlement and a celebration of sisterhood and feminine power, this story will linger with readers long after the final page.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Arnold uses an intriguing blend of magic realism, lyrical prose, and imagery that evokes intimate physical and emotional aspects of young womanhood. A timely and unabashedly feminist twist on a classic fairy tale.” — Kirkus Reviews
"This will satisfy readers looking for a vengeful overthrow of the patriarchy that recasts the victims as the victors." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"An ultimately empowering, and thoroughly immersive, feminist fairy tale." — Horn Book (starred review)
"Deeply and darkly enticing, Red Hood isn't a modern retelling so much as it is the story we should have had all along." — Shelf Awareness
"This will satisfy readers looking for a vengeful overthrow of the patriarchy that recasts the victims as the victors."
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Deeply and darkly enticing, Red Hood isn't a modern retelling so much as it is the story we should have had all along."
"In the wake of her Printz Honor–winning Damsel , Arnold blazes a new and equally powerful trail through toxic masculinity. Read, shed your pelt, and be transformed—for blades are being sharpened."
Booklist (starred review)
"This will satisfy readers looking for a vengeful overthrow of the patriarchy that recasts the victims as the victors."
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"This will satisfy readers looking for a vengeful overthrow of the patriarchy that recasts the victims as the victors."
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
★ 12/09/2019
There isn’t always a wolf... but there is always the threat of one.” Arnold artfully spins a dark, magic-tinged “Little Red Riding Hood” retelling in which a young woman discovers the power that is her birthright. Bisou Martel, 16, has lived with her grandmother, Mémé, since her mother’s brutal murder when Bisou was only four. Attacked in the forest by a vicious wolf after the homecoming dance—the night she first gets her period—Bisou must slay her pursuer or succumb to its murderous intent. The next day, a boy who behaved forcefully with Bisou at the dance is found naked in the woods, dead from the same wounds as the wolf that Bisou killed. When a classmate, Keisha, is attacked by another wolf, and another faces bullying by a likely incel, Bisou’s family’s past and her grandmother’s closely guarded secrets come to the fore. Arnold (Damsel ) effectively employs a second-person narrative (“You were ready—lipstick on, hairpins in”) that evokes a sense of immediacy, blurring the gap between reader and character. Though Arnold never shies from discomfort, depictions of positive male-female relationships and sexual interactions—which clearly illustrate healthy, joyful, consensual experiences— juxtapose the trauma and pain of nonconsensual acts. At once a sharp critique of male entitlement and a celebration of sisterhood and feminine power, this story will linger with readers long after the final page. Ages 14–up. (Feb.)
"An ultimately empowering, and thoroughly immersive, feminist fairy tale."
Horn Book (starred review)
"In the wake of her Printz Honor–winning Damsel , Arnold blazes a new and equally powerful trail through toxic masculinity. Read, shed your pelt, and be transformed—for blades are being sharpened."
Booklist (starred review)
★ 12/01/2019
Gr 10 Up— Since Mémé took over guardianship from her Mama 12 years ago, Bisou Martel has lived a relatively normal life in Washington State. However, as new moon rises and junior year homecoming arrives, everything changes. Bisou finds herself running through the woods with a bloodthirsty wolf at her heels. The struggle that ensues ends with Bisou walking away victorious and full of questions. Her quest for answers unleashes truths about Mémé, Mama, and other women in her supposedly quiet town, leading Bisou to reclaim her tenacity while safeguarding those she holds dear. It's unsettling how seamlessly Arnold incorporates dark fantasy elements of beastly wolves and cunning hunters into her all-too-realistic tale. Broken into three parts, the narration moves between second- and first-person, with a sprinkle of poetry, all of which perfectly fleshes out Bisou, Mémé, and Mama's histories. This dynamic mix of narration beautifully enriches the mirrored hopes, fears, and overwhelming love that drives each woman. As Bisou draws closer to the women in her life, she begins to grasp the toxic culture that permeates her modern world, a lethal society where many have silently sacrificed a part of themselves because of fear, shame, or doubt. With an author's note at the start, be aware that a few scenes dive into intimate, often uncomfortable moments. VERDICT A fantastic novel in the #MeToo era, empowering women to share their stories by reaching out, speaking up, and demanding a change.—Emily Walker, Lisle Library District, IL
The second-person point of view can be distancing, but January LaVoy creates such a visceral world for 16-year-old Bisou that the space between listeners and characters fades. In one dramatic evening Bisou experiences the pleasures of sex, her first menstruation, memories of the blood that ended her mother’s life, and the terror of a stalking classmate who has taken the form of a wolf. The Little Red Riding Hood story becomes the dark background of a contemporary tale of male toxicity and the celebration of feminine instincts. LaVoy’s delivery makes the tension palpable as Bisou fights to save her own life and works to understand her loving grandmother’s dark secrets and their connection to hunters of wolves. LaVoy amps up the intensity in a powerful story. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
The second-person point of view can be distancing, but January LaVoy creates such a visceral world for 16-year-old Bisou that the space between listeners and characters fades. In one dramatic evening Bisou experiences the pleasures of sex, her first menstruation, memories of the blood that ended her mother’s life, and the terror of a stalking classmate who has taken the form of a wolf. The Little Red Riding Hood story becomes the dark background of a contemporary tale of male toxicity and the celebration of feminine instincts. LaVoy’s delivery makes the tension palpable as Bisou fights to save her own life and works to understand her loving grandmother’s dark secrets and their connection to hunters of wolves. LaVoy amps up the intensity in a powerful story. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
2019-11-19
Following an embarrassing incident between Bisou and her boyfriend, James, after the homecoming dance, a humiliated Bisou runs into the Pacific Northwest woods. There, she kills a giant wolf who viciously attacks her, upending the quiet life she's lived with her Mémé, a poet, since her mother's violent death. The next day it's revealed that her classmate Tucker— who drunkenly came on to her at the dance—was found dead in the woods with wounds identical to the ones Bisou inflicted on the wolf. When she rescues Keisha, an outspoken journalist for the school paper, from a similar wolf attack, Bisou gains an ally, and her Mémé reveals her bloody and brave legacy, which is inextricably tied to the moon and her menstrual cycle. Bisou needs her new powers in the coming days, as more wolves lie in wait. Arnold (Damsel , 2018, etc.) uses an intriguing blend of magic realism, lyrical prose, and imagery that evokes intimate physical and emotional aspects of young womanhood. Bisou's loving relationship with gentle, kind James contrasts with the frank exploration of male entitlement and the disturbing incel phenomenon. Bisou and Mémé seem to be white, Keisha is cued as black, James has light-brown skin and black eyes, and there is diversity in the supporting cast.
A timely and unabashedly feminist twist on a classic fairy tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)
