Rgz Salon: Sisters Red by Jackson Pierce, Reviewed by Rene' Kirkpatrick

René Kirkpatrick has been a bookseller and book buyer, specializing in children's and teen literature, for many years. She has a degree in elementary education and reads widely across all genres. She is currently a buyer at Third Place Books.

We're honored to have her here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where four of the top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Here's René!

"Sisters Red, by Jackson Pearce, is a great riff on the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale featuring two sisters whose grandmother is eaten by a wolf (a werewolf, known as a fenris) before the woodsman can get to the cottage to save them. In the battle to save her sister, Rosie, Scarlett kills the wolf but loses an eye. Seven years later, the woodsman’s son returns to the sisters. There has been an uptick in wolf-sightings in the city, and many missing girls. The three of them set out to do some serious wolf-hunting but soon find that there is much more to the increasing numbers of wolves than luscious dragonfly girls (pretty girls in pretty clothes, more style than substance); they are looking for a 'potential', a new man to turn to werewolf-hood. Can the trio find a way to keep this from happening? Can they protect the girls in the city? Can they save themselves from their own history? Will true love drive the three friends apart? I absolutely devoured this book (ha ha) in hours. It’s a good addition to the fairytale variants for teens that are out there. Ages 13 and up. (Little Brown. Hardcover, $16.99. Due June 1, 2010.)"

PS-Read the story behind the cover for Sisters Red at BN.com!