Felicity St. John is the wielder of one the most beautiful
heads of red hair in Scarletville. Her hair is pretty enough
to get her a popular, gorgeous boyfriend and a slot in the
Miss Scarlet pageant. But Felicity has a secret, one that
would ruin her life completely. Her beautiful red hair isn't
real. When someone starts leaving notes hinting that they
know her secret, she will have to play by their game if she
wants to keep her status.
The concept of RED blows me completely away in a wonderful,
red-haired way. The originality in this story is superb. I
have never read a story quite like this, and I love every
bit of it. Felicity, the seemingly kind of shallow main
character, lives in Scarletville, a place that captures you
from the beginning. In her world, red hair is more than nice
to look at; it determines your rank in the town. Those with
red hair are deemed the best and discriminate those of other
hair colors. The depth at which the naming of places and
activities go to show this is incredible and well-done. Most
of the names are hilarious and clever and give frequent
smiles to the reader.
Underneath all the fluff of the Miss Scarlet pageant is the
story of a girl figuring out who she is, what defines her,
and what she believes in. Felicity is a lovable protagonist,
and seeing her character develop is the highlight of the
book for me. She has a boyfriend, a hunky boyfriend, but she
still wonders if that relationship is best for her after she
connects with an artist she has class with. However, the
story is not done in a love-triangle way, nor does it
revolve around that. Felicity just comes to understand what
it means to connect to another person and more importantly,
what it means to connect with herself. She becomes such a
heartwarmingly deep character that I wish the story was
longer, so I could see more of her journey.
Overall, the originality and character development in this
story is hooking and lovely. It makes for a wonderful read
that I would gladly read a second time and maybe even a
third. Alison Cherry has done a great job, and I look
forward to seeing more of her work.
Felicity St. John has it all: loyal best friends, a hot guy,
and artistic talent. And she’s right on track to win the
Miss Scarlet pageant. Her perfect life is possible because
of just one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair.
Having red hair is all that matters in Scarletville.
Redheads hold all the power—and everybody knows it. That’s
why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives
an anonymous note:
I know your secret.
Because Felicity is a big fake. Her hair color comes
straight out of a bottle. And if anyone discovered the
truth, she’d be a social outcast faster than she could say
strawberry blond. Her mother would disown her, her friends
would shun her, and her boyfriend would dump her. And forget
about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that
comes with it—money that would allow her to fulfill her
dream of going to art school.
Felicity isn’t about to let someone blackmail her life away.
But just how far is she willing to go to protect her red
cred?