Red Hood

Starred review from December 9, 2019
There isn’t always a wolf... but there is always the threat of one.” Arnold artfully spins a dark, magic-tinged “Little Red Riding Hood” retelling in which a young woman discovers the power that is her birthright. Bisou Martel, 16, has lived with her grandmother, Mémé, since her mother’s brutal murder when Bisou was only four. Attacked in the forest by a vicious wolf after the homecoming dance—the night she first gets her period—Bisou must slay her pursuer or succumb to its murderous intent. The next day, a boy who behaved forcefully with Bisou at the dance is found naked in the woods, dead from the same wounds as the wolf that Bisou killed. When a classmate, Keisha, is attacked by another wolf, and another faces bullying by a likely incel, Bisou’s family’s past and her grandmother’s closely guarded secrets come to the fore. Arnold (Damsel) effectively employs a second-person narrative (“You were ready—lipstick on, hairpins in”) that evokes a sense of immediacy, blurring the gap between reader and character. Though Arnold never shies from discomfort, depictions of positive male-female relationships and sexual interactions—which clearly illustrate healthy, joyful, consensual experiences—
juxtapose the trauma and pain of nonconsensual acts. At once a sharp critique of male entitlement and a celebration of sisterhood and feminine power, this story will linger with readers long after the final page. Ages 14–up.

Starred review from December 1, 2019

Gr 10 Up-Since M�m� took over guardianship from her Mama 12 years ago, Bisou Martel has lived a relatively normal life in Washington State. However, as new moon rises and junior year homecoming arrives, everything changes. Bisou finds herself running through the woods with a bloodthirsty wolf at her heels. The struggle that ensues ends with Bisou walking away victorious and full of questions. Her quest for answers unleashes truths about M�m�, Mama, and other women in her supposedly quiet town, leading Bisou to reclaim her tenacity while safeguarding those she holds dear. It's unsettling how seamlessly Arnold incorporates dark fantasy elements of beastly wolves and cunning hunters into her all-too-realistic tale. Broken into three parts, the narration moves between second- and first-person, with a sprinkle of poetry, all of which perfectly fleshes out Bisou, M�m�, and Mama's histories. This dynamic mix of narration beautifully enriches the mirrored hopes, fears, and overwhelming love that drives each woman. As Bisou draws closer to the women in her life, she begins to grasp the toxic culture that permeates her modern world, a lethal society where many have silently sacrificed a part of themselves because of fear, shame, or doubt. With an author's note at the start, be aware that a few scenes dive into intimate, often uncomfortable moments. VERDICT A fantastic novel in the #MeToo era, empowering women to share their stories by reaching out, speaking up, and demanding a change.-Emily Walker, Lisle Library District, IL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2019
Sixteen-year-old Bisou Martel's life takes a profound turn after encountering an aggressive wolf. Following an embarrassing incident between Bisou and her boyfriend, James, after the homecoming dance, a humiliated Bisou runs into the Pacific Northwest woods. There, she kills a giant wolf who viciously attacks her, upending the quiet life she's lived with her M�m�, a poet, since her mother's violent death. The next day it's revealed that her classmate Tucker-- who drunkenly came on to her at the dance--was found dead in the woods with wounds identical to the ones Bisou inflicted on the wolf. When she rescues Keisha, an outspoken journalist for the school paper, from a similar wolf attack, Bisou gains an ally, and her M�m� reveals her bloody and brave legacy, which is inextricably tied to the moon and her menstrual cycle. Bisou needs her new powers in the coming days, as more wolves lie in wait. Arnold (Damsel, 2018, etc.) uses an intriguing blend of magic realism, lyrical prose, and imagery that evokes intimate physical and emotional aspects of young womanhood. Bisou's loving relationship with gentle, kind James contrasts with the frank exploration of male entitlement and the disturbing incel phenomenon. Bisou and M�m� seem to be white, Keisha is cued as black, James has light-brown skin and black eyes, and there is diversity in the supporting cast. A timely and unabashedly feminist twist on a classic fairy tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)

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Starred review from November 15, 2019
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* In the wake of her Printz Honor-winning Damsel (2018), Arnold blazes a new and equally powerful trail through toxic masculinity by way of a fairy tale. This time it's the mythology of "Little Red Riding Hood" that pulsates through the narrative, setting primal instincts loose in modern times, where wolves wear the clothes of men and the faces of teen boys. The mortifying arrival of Bisou's first period sends her running from her boyfriend and the homecoming dance into the nearby woods, where she quickly senses she is being stalked. Her lupine pursuer attacks with a single-mindedness that leaves Bisou no choice but to fight back, and she finds her unusually heightened senses assure her victory?the body of the dead wolf morphing, bewilderingly, into the naked form of a male classmate. Eventually, Bisou confides in her grandmother, with whom she lives, who reveals their lot as hunters of the wolves who would force themselves on women. This alone would make for an enthralling story, but Arnold ekes out the grandmother's history and the circumstances of Bisou's mother's death in tantalizing increments, while also spinning an emotionally complex high-school drama. It is a book of blood, where menstruation empowers, predators bleed out, sisterhood is forged, and genetics bestow unasked for responsibilities. So read, shed your pelt, and be transformed?for blades are being sharpened.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2020
After a consensual (and vividly described) sexual encounter with her boyfriend that, to her surprise, ends in her beginning to menstruate for the first time, sixteen-year-old Bisou is attacked by a wolf on her way home, and is able to kill it. The next day, she learns that a male classmate has been found naked and dead in the same area of the woods. It is revealed, partly through an extended flashback, that Bisou has inherited the role of "hunter" from her grandmother, that her menses will continue to arrive with the full moon, and that during that time wolves will attack girls or women and she will have the ability to kill those wolves. Arnold (author of the Printz Honor-winning original fairy tale Damsel, rev. 11/18) here spins "Little Red Riding Hood" as a story of rape and rape culture as well as of female strength and vengeance. Second-person narration with evocative description makes for a captivatingly immediate reading experience ("As his jaw snaps at you, so close you feel the skim of his teeth on your flesh, the slice of his claw at your breast, you find his neck, your fingers plunge deep into his lush fur and you lunge past him"). Occasional interspersed free-verse poems by Bisou and her murdered mother distill the emotions present in the narrative. A disturbing but ultimately empowering, and thoroughly immersive, feminist fairy tale.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)