The Ninja Reader

Okay, Sisters Red, we need to sit down and have a little chat.I love strong characters. I love strong female character. I especially love strong female characters who happen to kick a lot of arse. You think there isn't a difference, but actually, there's plenty. Because sometimes writers try to have strong, kickass female characters, but only end up with the kick-ass part and leave the strong one out.To put it in another way, whenever I read books like Sisters Red, I feel like the writer wanted something like this:But end up with something like this:In other words, they try to make a badass character but they think that the only thing that makes them badass is the fact that they... well, fight a lot (unbelievable how many times you can use the word ass in a sentence). The actual plot of the book is a revamp of the original story "Little Red Riding Hood". Sisters Scarlett and Rosie March were attacked by a werewolf (called Fenris, in this world) when they were little, and they haven't been the same since. Scarlett, badly injured and bitter, spends all her time hunting, while Rosie is torn between her 'duty' and her desire for something more. Things change when their childhood friend and fellow hunter, Silas, comes back from San Francisco, and Fenris start popping around every corner. Suddenly, Scarlett and Rosie are forced to look at all the things they were ignoring, and to acknowledge that things need to change.But hey, you say, that's not all fighting, is it? Excellent ground for character development.Yes, it is. And the March sisters do grow into that ground, but not quite in the direction I wished they would go in.Scarlett was probably the most problematic of the three characters, because she has all the markings of a bad ass character, but her whole story arc seems to be less about her and more about supporting the Silas/Rosie romance. Let me explain. Scarlett's evolution as a character revolves around the fact that she is the older sibling and that she has always protected her sister. She also fights a lot, but not just because her grandmother's philosophy stuck - it's made clear early in the story that she uses the hunt to make herself feel complete.And that's all well and good, except in the end, she hasn't moved much past that. She's let her sister go, but she can't let go of the hunt out of some weird sense of duty. The problem with this is that Rosie isn't the only sister who wishes for a normal life. Scarlett does often wonder what might have happened if she hadn't been scarred, but cannot afford the same happily ever after as Rosie in the end, because she doesn't fit in the normal mould in the same way her sister does. And it bothers me, because it is such a lazy move. The pretty sister and her boyfriend are more than happy to let Scarlett handle all the responsibility while they're out in the world living their normal lives, and they're fine because... well, that's what she wants, and doesn't mind being left alone.Bullshit! I know how the story is, but they just come off as a couple of assholes. Why couldn't the scarred sister get the guy? Why couldn't her character be given more development other than "loves to fight and bring justice"? And don't even get me started on Silas. So what, he loved Scarlett, but thought she didn't love him more than the hunt? And he only thought to tell her after he hooked up with her sister? Did it never occur to him to... oh, make an effort? Try and make Scarlett feel better about herself rather than alienate her and feed her obsession? Look, I know what I think is a good ending isn't the same for others. I would even be pleased about Scarlett, but I just can't let it go because she obviously wished for a normal life too. Why not delve into her voyage of self-discovery? It's such rich soil to explore self-esteem issues and trauma, but instead, the author took the easy way out.*Rant over*As for the book itself, it's good. The plot moves fast, and other than some plot fairies and big lipped alligator moments, it was fine. I just honestly thought it could be so much better!