Scarlet

Fiercely independent but naive Scarlet Benoit would do anything to find her missing grandmother. When a mysterious street fighter named Wolf offers to help Scarlet, the two travel to Paris, where Scarlet risks her life trying to save her grand-mère, uncovering shocking truths about Wolf, her grandmother, and her own past along the way. This engrossing sci-fi adaptation of the Little Red Riding Hood story (complete with Scarlet's red hoodie) takes inspiration from the original folktale but adds its own unique twists, including romance. Meanwhile, and picking up where Cinder (rev. 1/12) left off, cyborg Cinder escapes prison in the Eastern Commonwealth (via spaceship) with fellow inmate Carswell Thorne. Cinder has discovered she is the missing heir to the Lunar throne, and even though a world-wide manhunt is underway, she and Thorne follow a lead that eventually brings them to Scarlet and Wolf. By the end of this second series installment, the two pairs have joined forces to stop evil Lunar Queen Levana. Meyer exhibits impressive growth as a writer, seamlessly weaving the multiple story lines together throughout the novel. She introduces a new heroine in Scarlet -- as strong, yet vulnerable, a character as Cinder -- and Meyer doesn't allow Cinder's continuing story to detract from maintaining primary focus on Scarlet's tale. Further development of this futuristic world plus plenty of action, surprises, and a fast pace will keep readers invested in their journey. cynthia k. ritter