The Girl in Red

By: Christina Henry

Narrated by: January LaVoy

From the national best-selling author of Alice comes a postapocalyptic take on the perennial classic "Little Red Riding Hood"...about a woman who isn't as defenseless as she seems.

It's not safe for anyone alone in the woods. There are predators that come out at night: critters and coyotes, snakes and wolves. But the woman in the red jacket has no choice. Not since the Crisis came, decimated the population, and sent those who survived fleeing into quarantine camps that serve as breeding grounds for death, destruction, and disease. She is just a woman trying not to get killed in a world that doesn't look anything like the one she grew up in, the one that was perfectly sane and normal and boring until three months ago.

There are worse threats in the woods than the things that stalk their prey at night. Sometimes, there are men. Men with dark desires, weak wills, and evil intents. Men in uniform with classified information, deadly secrets, and unforgiving orders. And sometimes, just sometimes, there's something worse than all of the horrible people and vicious beasts combined.

Red doesn't like to think of herself as a killer, but she isn't about to let herself get eaten up just because she is a woman alone in the woods....

©2019 Christina Henry (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Satisfyingly upends the familiar tale of a clever girl, a dangerous wolf, and a brave savior, and folklore fans will enjoy this bloody near-future variation on a familiar theme.” (Publishers Weekly)

"The versatile Henry has reimagined another classic fairy tale, this time with a fascinating narrative about surviving the apocalypse." (Booklist)

"With The Girl in Red, Christina Henry once again proves that retellings don’t necessarily lack originality." (Kirkus Reviews)

Can I give this more than 5 stars?

Christina Henry has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I've listened to several of her other books but she outdid herself on this one. The fantasy, the anticipation of what was going to happen next, expecting the unexpected. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! Truly an amazing book and performance from the narrator. Hats off to both these women!

Excellent

I loved it. I wish it continued into another book. I loved the characters and their story. I can't wait to listen to more by this author. The narration was amazing, wonderful voices. Thank you.

Pretty good

I enjoyed this book. The narrator was did a variety of voices, and they all sounded realistic for the character portrayed. I would try this author and narrator again.

Good story, good pacing

4.5 rounded up to 5. Wonderful story I only wanted to learn more about the origins of the contagion and the creatures. I can appreciate an author who knows how to keep a story tidy however, which Christina Henry certainly does.

OK, nice gentle read

Some of this book was totally unbelievable. It also felt a bit rushed in parts. I would have liked it to be longer and have more character development. But it is OK. Good book to listen to whilst doing other things because it doesn't require a great deal of concentration.

Very engaging

I thoroughly enjoyed this story it was very intense that kept me on the edge of my seat. I also enjoyed the excellent narration that made this thriller all the much better.

Not the red riding hood I was expecting.

This book was awesome. Being mid pandemic made me feel really lucky that things haven’t gone this south. Her writing style is compelling, and her characters feel real. I loved that the main character was a strong, intelligent woman. She wrote Red’s character in a way that was so believable, the additional trials Red faces due to having a prosthetic made the book feel more real. Henry was able to seamlessly combine a fairytale with an apocalypse story, and that is a creative marvel.

Deja vu

A good story, well told and read. Published in 2019, the story deals with a pandemic that has shut down society in a way more extreme than what we now face but eerily similar.

very interesting

If you have a sense of humor you'll like, this specially if you have a sibling. I started at first to reading the book like a real book that you can hold in your hands but I couldn't get into it. So, I found it on audio books from Amazon. I enjoyed it so much more. I giggled, I laughed and I've cried.

Great listen.

I'm not sure why some reviewers are so critical of stories at times.

This to me was a great adventure. Story unfolds smoothly and is well written.

You get to know "Red" as she struggles to survive--in spite of her handicaps.

A great apocalyptic story.