{Review} Red - Alison Cherry

Red by Alison Cherry
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: Oct 8 / 2013
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

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?

I thought Red was going to be quite annoying from some of the reviews I've read. I could see why some people wouldn't like it, but honestly, it didn't bug me all that much.

Scarletville is where the story is set. Our protagonist, Felicity, has a secret that could ruin her life. She's actually a strawbie, not a "real" redhead. Of course, that's all that matters in Scarletville. So one day, someone finds out her secret and she's getting blackmailed into doing a lot of stuff. I'd like to mention that this book has too much revenge in it for me to like it. I don't really see why being a strawbie is so bad. I guess it could be in Scarletville, but why don't you just move somewhere else? Hair colour doesn't really matter anywhere else.

One thing that I really loved but didn't like at the same time is the romance. We have Felicity's jock boyfriend, who she didn't interact with much. And then we have Jonathan, the nerdy and cute boy who doesn't care about her hair colour. I loved the relationship she had with Jonathan. They only went on a date once though and it wasn't even officially a date. If I was Felicity, I'd cherish that moment with Jonathan forever. I do wish we could've gotten more romance with Jonathan instead of set out to destroy the blackmailer. 

Overall, this is a very mediocore contemporary. I think fans of Burn for Burn (by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian) might like it since it has that revenge feel written all over it.

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