Book Review: ‘The Girl in Red’ by Christina Henry

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry is a fairytale retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.

I’d heard of Henry’s books but I didn’t know anything about them beyond them being fairytale retellings. When I picked up the book I was fully expecting a typical medieval-style fantasy story. Instead The Girl in Red is possibly the most unique fairytale-inspired story I’ve encountered.

Set in present day America, Red is a twenty year old young woman with an entirely normal life ahead of her. Her biggest worries are ignorant people in her town who can’t see past her mixed-race skin tone and trying to convince her family that she is just as physically capable as they are despite her prosthetic leg.

Red is incredibly pragmatic and has never met a challenge she cannot overcome. That’s why, when a terrifying virus sweeps the country and kills indiscriminately, she is not worried. In this modern day post-apocalypse survival story, Red knows that all she and her family need to do is follow all the rules of horror stories and disaster films if they want to live. Only her family remain unconvinced of the danger.

The narrative is split between the past and the present. In the present we follow Red, with a backpack full of supplies, as she treks alone across 300 miles of countryside and forest to reach her Grandmother’s house where she is sure safety awaits. Through flashbacks we learn what happened during the early days of the pandemic and why Red’s parents and older brother are no longer travelling with her.

I absolutely love this original take on the fairytale classic. Dystopian and post-apocalypse fiction are my favourite genre so I was delighted when I realised I’d accidentally stumbled across another entry.

All of the elements from the classic tale are present. There’s Red’s trip through the woods to her Grandmother’s house, although under very different circumstances. Fairytale Red’s cloak and hood become Modern Red’s favourite red-coloured hoodie. Instead of the ‘big bad wolf’ there are men. Between Red and her Grandmother are army patrols looking to tag survivors and take them to camps, homegrown militia claiming resources and women for their own, and ordinary people who are now capable of anything as they desperately try to survive. Finally instead of a woodcutter the axe is wielded by Red herself – and she is no damsel in distress. The book’s title ‘the girl in red’ refers not just to the character’s attire but also to the blood she spills from dangerous men who think they can take advantage of a young woman travelling alone.

There is a good mix of building up the present danger and the gradual reveal of the past storyline and the inevitable heartbreak we know it must conceal. The story is almost perfect but, after so much good storytelling, the ending felt quick and abrupt. I though the story still had a lot of momentum and could have continued for another hundred or even two hundred pages rather than wrapping up the story as quickly as it did.

The Girl in Red was such an unexpected surprise. I love that Henry chose to set her novel in the present day and show the world of the story from the eyes of a smart, determined protagonist. I am now very curious to see how Henry interprets more fairytales in her other books.

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