Title: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: February 5, 2013
Pages: 464
Buy It! amazon
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary from Goodreads: The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...
Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.
First Thoughts: Even better than Cinder, which in my mind, is always hard for a sequel to do. The combination of well-known fairy tales with futuristic science fiction, along with the fast-paced action, makes this book hard to put down (and, makes me want Cress to come out sooner than next year).
When I finished Cinder earlier this year, I immediately put Scarlet on hold at the library. I loved the way Marissa Meyer took a well-known character like Cinderella, and twisted her story into an action-packed science fiction tale. I couldn’t wait to get my hands (and eyes) on the second book.
When I first started Scarlet, I will admit that I was a little disappointed. I wanted more of Cinder’s story; I didn’t care about Scarlet (twist on Little Red Riding Hood) and her story...yet. As the pages went on, I became just as immersed in Scarlet’s story as I did Cinder’s. As a reader, I love when stories are told from multiple points of view, however, I will admit that I usually favor one narrator over another. I become engrossed in one’s story and somewhat skim the other’s. In Scarlet, I was attached to both. Meyer’s writing drew me in to both heroines (talk about strong females!). Scarlet and Cinder’s stories were spaced out enough that you didn’t lose one or the other and there was always the hint of their paths crossing, you just didn’t know when and how.
As for the other new character - Wolf - I loved him! He is flawed yet loveable, strong yet weak, infuriating yet charming - the perfect match to Scarlet. I hate to even say this, but I think I enjoyed his character more than I did Kai’s from Cinder. I also really enjoyed the comic relief of Thorne (Meyer does a FANTASTIC job with her minor characters).
One of the main reasons I enjoyed Scarlet more than Cinder (although I highly recommend both), was the action. Scarlet picked up right where Cinder left off, in the heart of the action between the earthens and the lunars. Yes, there was character development, but the characters developed through the action around them. Plus, the action moved at the perfect pace; Meyer never dragged out scenes or rushed through them - she told them just as they needed to be told.
Final Thoughts: I love that Scarlet is still Cinder’s story but with a new ensemble and twist; in fact I might actually like Scarlet more than Cinder - tough call. This book definitely doesn’t take long to get sucked into, and once you’re in, you don’t want to stop until you turn the last page!
Who Should Read It? Fans of science fiction, fairy tales, and new takes on old stories will love this series. Also, if you are a fan of action along with well-developed characters, check these books out. If you like the other popular dystopian series like Divergent, Delirium, and Legend, this series is along those lines but with twists that set them apart from the rest.
Get ready for Cress (based on Rapunzel) out in 2014 and Winter (based on Snow White) out in 2015.
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