Monday 30 December 2013

Review: Red

Red
Author:

Publication Date: First published October 8th 2013 (Also being published January 2nd 2014)  
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~
 

Which cover do you prefer?

 
 
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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?
 
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Disclosure: I have nothing against red-heads, I clearly dye my hair it.
If like I did, you go to read Red with an open mind- knowing that's it is indeed a comedy, and not entirely taking it seriously, then it can change your mood. However, though I did finish it, and I did sort of enjoy it, it's not one that sticks out to me, even if it annoyed me in a lot of places.

The constant silly reminders of all things red- names, places, the constant rudeness to non-redheads and "strawbies" to remind you, that this is in fact, a town about redheads, that based on the redness of your hair, get's you everything you want, prioritises your popularity and parking space, a place in line, good clothes doesn't help you like 1) the characters,  and 2) read between the lines.

The characters were unlikable, the way they act, to what they say, to how they ignore anybody who is blonde, brunette, even strawberry blonde, is ridiculous, and it's not even just the teenagers, it's the freaking adults, too. Yes, example of these fine people to look up to. That overall everything is what made me dislike it, I could cope with the rest, since I wasn't taking it serious, but it just irked me so much that It stopped me enjoying and taking it as it was. The way her supposed "best friend" acted after the truth inevitably came out about Felicity, she wouldn't look her in the eye, over her freaking hair colour. It's not even the fact she lied, it's the hair colour, and she treats her like everybody else treats non "real" redheads. It's... I just wanted to shake her. It's a freaking hair colour.
I'm not even going to bother saying anything about that, what I call, 'mother' of hers. Kill me now.
Red could've held the issues with depth, the hair colour the same as what you look like, your weight, the issues of every teenage person, hell, even adults, but instead it all kind of came off superficial. It had so much potential on that front, but got blinded by the absurdity of it all.
There's one thing I'd like to bring up- concern- since Ginger started having Felicity's hair dyed at the age of two...it's not stated if it was fake dye, or wash out ones, and if it was real hair dye, that type of chemicals n a toddler's hair? I can't even.
 
Red, while opening up discussion to important issues, read between the lines, the silliness of it all kind of overshadowed what could've been cleverly done.
 
Rating: 3/5