Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Page Count: 454
Rating: A
Keywords: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Cyborgs, Little Red Riding Hood, Retelling, Wolves
Genre: Young Adult
Younger Readers: Some kissing, some violence. No sex or extreme language. Safe for the young adult crowd: teens and tweens.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

My Review:

I was reluctant to continue the Lunar Chronicles after finishing Cinder a couple of years ago. I found that first book slow and could not get into the story. It did not help that just as the story was picking up momentum and becoming interesting it ended on a cliffhanger. I remember sitting on a plane, closing the book and feeling horribly disappointed with my reading experience. Not a single character I related to or felt like rooting on. Fast forward a couple of years and I decided to pick up the second book...admittedly because I thought the cover was pretty and people kept declaring that I just absolutely had to.

This book completely redeemed the series for me and I devoured it within hours of starting, sneaking in reading breaks whenever I could. I am slightly ashamed of the bent corners and the occasional scrunched pages my copy endured from its day and a half living in my purse, but I most certainly do not regret carrying it to work, restaurants, stores, family events, parties, etc. This was an action packed book with fascinating characters that had me obsessed early on.

I absolutely adore the character Wolf. First, he is sort of the stereotypical bad boy that every series needs. Except he's not really a bad boy. A rebel, yes. Bad guy, nah. His backstory is interesting. It develops him as a complex character as well as building the lore of the Lunar Chronicles.

Scarlet herself was much more likeable to me than Cinder. She could certainly be stubborn at times but her fiery personality was enduring. She is a strong character. Persistence and loyalty make up the bulk of her personality and drive many of her decisions.

Sometimes novels for younger audiences are accused of not being "messy" enough by older readers. If you've spent much time in the YA section you know this is just plain false. Not every book is full of sparkles and rainbows. Hunger Games is one prime example of devastation in the Young Adult section of your local bookstore. While the stories are completely different, I loved that this book did not shy away from sorrow and questioning morality.

Pacing for this installment was also spot on. There was a good mix of creepy and action that kept the story moving on at a quick pace. I did not have to force myself to read long passages where I was numbingly bored as I did in the first book.

I cannot wait to continue on with this series. If you were apprehensive after finishing Cinder I would recommend at least giving this installment a try before completely giving up on the series. I loved it and can already hint that the third book was great as well. That review will be posted soon.