Robin and Marion - Nickel Creek

Scarlet

Author: A. C. Gaughen
Pages: 287
ARC Acquired from: Walker Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Will Scarlet, called Scar by friends, has a lot of secrets, first of which is that Will is actually a girl. The only people what know the truth about her are those in Rob's (Robin Hood's) gang. The Sheriff of Nottingham is sucking the people dry in his effort to have all of the money, so Rob, John, Scar and Much steal money back from him to help the people. Unfortunately, the Sheriff has had about enough of that, so he's hired a thief catcher, Guy of Gisbourne, with whom Scar has had a run-in in the past.

Review:
Scarlet is one of the books I have been completely desperate to read, since the moment I heard it was being published. A reenvisioning of a legend! A strong heroine! How could this fail? Well, in the past, a lot of the books I most wanted to read turned out to be really disappointing and awful. As a result, I held myself back, prepared myself to be disappointed.

Guess what? Scarlet totally was not disappointing. At all. I maintained my skepticism for a while, but Scarlet completely won me over. I had a lingering concern through most of the book, namely what exactly Gaughen was going to do with Maid Marian's character. Thankfully, what she did with the character was awesome.

What a fantastic way to retell the story of Robin Hood. Making one of the characters a girl changes so many dynamics, improves them in my opinion. Even better, Gaughen was able to make all of these changes without greatly altering the legend itself; it still fits within the parameters set by the accepted tale. That is seriously impressive. If I could, I would give Gaughen a high five.

Warming up to Scarlet took me some time too. At first, her dialect of English irritated me and she just was not that likable with her secrets and prickly-ness. As the book went on, I found myself loving the character more and more. The more I knew about her, the more I liked her, because Gaughen did such a fantastic job explaining why she were this way. Besides, in what world would I not respect a girl who's so strong and able to protect herself? In a time when women were not allowed rights or independence, she seized them in the only way she knew how.

The romance in Scarlet is amazing too, because Gaughen really made me wonder which guy would be better for Scar. Just like Scar wonders, although she also wonders if she wants a guy. Love triangles only work if the winner of the battle is not apparent. The romantic parts were really well-written, creating a sense of longing and a lack of confidence about the correct choice. They also weren't sappy, which is fantastic.

Most exciting is the fact that the door is wide open for a sequel. So far as I know there isn't one in the works, but one probably is. Just in case it isn't, I want to put my voice out here in the internet saying "Please write one, A. C. Gaughen! Please!"

Rating: 4.5/5

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo from Cinderella

My Unfair Godmother
Godmother, Book 2

Author: Janette Rallison
Pages: 339
Publisher: Walker & Company

Brief Summary:
Chrysanthemum "Chrissy" Everstar wants to be a fairy godmother, but first she needs to get into the university. Unfortunately, her tendency to be distracted by pedicures, poor choices, and (totally to blame) assistant, Clover the leprechaun have made that difficult. This is her second try to prove her worthiness to the admissions folks. For this case, she is offering her services (three wishes and a fantastic wardrobe) to Tansy, who has been a bit pathetic for a while. Tansy's parents divorced when she was young, and her father never gave her the attention she wanted subsequently. Now, forced to live with him, she acts out by dating a bad boy, which gets her handcuffed and taken to prison. Tansy's thrilled by the wishes, but, as anyone who has read a fairy tale knows, wishes are tricky business.

Review:
Yet again, I have accidentally read book two in a series first. Ack! The last time I did it, it was also with a book about a teen girl making wishes (odd that). Neither one was a series where the order really matters, but I still hate doing that. Sigh.

To begin with, I have to say that I hated pretty much everything about the author's decisions in this book. The main character is obnoxious and her decisions both stupid and rather absurd. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading it. Why is a total mystery to me. I yelled at it several times, but at no point did I want to stop reading. The rest of the review will consist of some examples of what I did not like about the book.

The rebellious teen, who is quite smart, but dating a creepy bad boy to prove a point to her dad is a bit old, but I can deal. What annoyed me was that, much as she loved to read, she stopped to anger her father and stepmother, both librarians (holla!). Rebel, if you want, but don't give up things you like to spite someone. Guess who you're really spiting!

When Chrissy arrives, Tansy thinks about her first wish and is quite logical about how easy it is to have a wish go wrong. Then, I swear to Jane Austen, Tansy wished, under her breath, for something completely and entirely stupid, and not something she really wanted even. Ugh. I mean, really? Does this pass for plot these days. On her third wish, she does try really hard, but then the fairy interprets it differently, but not in the usual clever twisting your words way, just in a here's a completely off the wall way to get it way. Not pleased.

Worst of all, Tansy acquires a baby in the midst of her quest. I won't explain why, because that would be a spoiler. But, baby there is. And I do not like reading books about a girl who wants a baby so much. Well, I did like Bumped, but I would prefer to keep this to a minimum. I won't mention yet the fact that Rallison could not choose which of two fairy tales to use, so she combined them, or any of the other concerns.

So, a good, yet terrible read. Take what you can from that, because I cannot quantify this any better. Despite my various protestations and frustrations, I do intend to read the first book in the series, and likely the third. Oh, and, if you were curious, the cover art is not unrealistic, because Chrysanthemum totally looks and dresses like that!

"It'll do magic believe it or not
Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo"