Cloaked In Red

by Vivian Vande Velde
Start Date: 1 February 2011
End Date: 1 February 2011
128 pages (Hardcover Edition)
Published 1 October 2010

I explained the premise of this book in my post "Fractured Fairy Tales" (scroll down a-ways or click here). VVV wrote eight retellings of Little Red Riding Hood, and I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. After reading some reviews saying that it was mediocre, too short, or didn't live up to VVV standards, my expectations were somewhat deflated. Then Amazon couldn't get a copy of the book to send to me, which lowered my expectations even more (Was there only one printing? I ended up getting a used copy instead, just to get the book faster). However, I was as excited as ever when I received the somewhat tiny book in the mail. Yes, it is short; 128 pages and the pages were somewhat smaller than I'm used to. However, upon reading the first few pages of the first story, I could tell the rest of the book was going to be good. I promptly threw out my old expectations and replaced them with shiny, new, and far higher ones. Cloaked in Red did not disappoint. Every story was funny, interesting, and totally different from the one before. I finished it (in about an hour) with a smile on my face.