Red

September 9, 2013
Felicity St. John hails from Scarletville, Iowa, a town that prides itself on its redheaded residents, where high school students take classes like “History of Redheadedness.” Discrimination in favor of gingers is par for the course, especially as the town gears up for the all-important Miss Scarlet Pageant. Though Felicity qualified for one of the coveted 12 spots, she has a terrible secret: her “bright coppery red” hair is fake. When someone threatens to out Felicity as an “artie,” she allows herself to be blackmailed into actions that hurt herself and the people around her. Debut author Cherry’s writing sparkles with wit, and she cleverly uses Scarletville’s obsession with redheadedness to raise questions about typical high school politics and the ways people determine what is beautiful, good, and worthy of popularity—all with a satirical wink to readers. Felicity is sympathetic and relatable as she struggles with the warped values instilled in her, the repercussions of having to hide her “embarrassing flaw,” and other ideas about beauty, romance, and the world beyond Scarletville. Ages 12–up. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.

September 15, 2013
In a town where being a redhead is everything, a teen struggles with her identity. In the book's unsubtle analogy to the theme of racial inequality, Scarletville's residents profess no prejudice toward those not redheaded, but reality proves otherwise. No dissident, Felicity's mother has spent years prepping her daughter to win the popular Miss Scarlet pageant, but she's also been secretly having Felicity's below-par strawberry locks dyed just the right copper red. Felicity has performed well and won many pageants to please her superficial mother, but her mother's discouraging attitude toward Felicity's pursuit of studio art causes growing resentment. Though she has remained with her hunky, superficial boyfriend, Felicity is attracted to Jonathan, a talented art student and a staunch supporter of rights for blonds and brunettes, as well as redheads. The real trouble starts when Felicity's dye job is discovered. Felicity's efforts in support of hair-color equality begin only when her own rights have been trampled--they are more self-serving than altruistic. There's not a lot of rich nor particularly original description here, and many analogies are stretched farther than a jumbo-sized hair elastic. Though the ending isn't predictable, it isn't satisfying enough to justify this long journey. And it's hard to get past the laughable premise; if this were a futuristic novel in which oppression was the law or even if it were simply exaggerated more for effect, it would be easier to buy. Not satiric enough to succeed in its evident aim. (Fiction. 12 & up)

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October 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-When you live in a town that was founded as a refuge for misunderstood redheads, well, you better be a ginger. Felicity St. John, popular junior at Scarletville High School and nominee for this year's Miss Scarlet pageant, lives in fear that her deepest secret will be revealed. Her copper locks are really a dye job-she's naturally strawberry blonde. With a mother who is a past Miss Scarlet, the truth is just unacceptable and so Felicity has been going to the top-secret Rouge-o-Rama salon to get her hair colored since she was two years old. As the pageant approaches, though, Felicity finds she doesn't really care about winning. Her devotion to her mother's obsession with having her daughter follow in her footsteps is truly tested when someone begins to blackmail Felicity, threatening to let everyone know she's a fake. Soon she finds herself acting completely out of character, doing things that could cost her her friends and boyfriend, all just to protect a secret that she's starting to be tired of keeping. At first Cherry's novel may seem to have a somewhat silly premise, but underneath the "ginger" focus, there is a really strong commentary on superficiality and social standing. Readers will find themselves questioning the distribution of power based on appearance and the lengths that people will go to in order to protect their deepest secrets. Inner strength and self-acceptance are also strong themes that run throughout the book. While readers may giggle their way through this fast-paced tale, they will also find themselves thinking about it.-Jessica Miller, West Springfield Public Library, MA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2013
Grades 7-10 Whoever said blondes have more fun never lived in 17-year-old Felicity St. John's hometown of Scarletville, Iowa. Here, redheads rule, while other hair colors, including strawberry blondes (or strawbies ), are discriminated against. The town mayor is none other than Mr. Redding, the town radio station is KRED, and Felicity's mother's name is Ginger. Yes, there's a lot of punniness, which may elicit a few eye rolls. As Felicity gears up for the highly anticipated Scarletville Pageant, consisting of 12 girls (11 redheads and a token strawbie), someone threatens to reveal Felicity's secret: she's a fake (or artie ), who dyes her strawbie locks copper at a hidden hair salon. Felicity must do the blackmailer's bidding or risk exposure and unpopularity. Debut author Cherry (could she have a more perfect name?) infuses this satire of social hierarchy with plenty of wit, and Felicity is believable as a girl struggling between who she is and what societyand her pageant-loving motherexpects from her. This may challenge readers to reconsider how they define beautifyand perhaps give them the confidence to question a pecking order or two.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
High school junior Felicity's red tresses are the envy of Scarletville, Iowa, a town peopled almost entirely by redheads. With the Miss Scarlet Pageant coming up, Felicity seems like a shoo-in--until her (brunette, ugh!) classmate discovers her hair secret. Though the stakes are pretty low (if Felicity tells the truth she'll be a better person, duh), the story is entertaining--especially for redheads.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)