Dear Catniss, I have found your new best friend. Regards, Barb
The words Robin Hood do something to me. I love the legend, the romance, the striving for fairness and compassion to win over greed, ambition and arrogance. I love the casting off of the social expectations and the willingness to risk all for the greater good. I want to meet the Earl of Locksley and I hope he'll fall in love with me the way I have fallen in love with him.
So, naturally when I picked up this book and saw it was about Will Scarlet, I was curious about what new could be added to the brilliant story that already exists. Expecting at least a few moments of finding where I was in the forest, I was delightedly shocked to instead find myself instantly at the table of the band of merry men, listening and watching through the eyes of Will Scarlet.
Will Scarlet is one of the best characters I've met in a long time. Don't be deceived by the hat and the garb. Will is a girl and she is one tough, self-reliant cookie. This girl can kick butt and you get to live in her body and find yourself kicking a little butt too. It's awesome. As the story progresses, you realize you are becoming confident that regardless of what that slimy Guy Gisbourne throws at you with his weak minded flunkies, Will is going to have enough knives to throw, a thorough knowledge of male anatomy and its weak points, and a spirit that trumpets her knowledge that she can do anything.
She's a thief. She has a secret. Fabulously, John Little sees her in a dress with her "bits" showing and falls in love. Even more fabulously there are occasional moments, just little hopeful tingles, that Rob... yes, that Rob, might care for her.
This is an action-packed story with Will, or Scar as she is called in her band, constantly finding herself in danger. Guy Gisbourne has come to town and he is going to put down this band of thieves that is roaming the countryside and giving hope to the downtrodden. When Scar sees him, she feels a fear that only this man can engender. Guy is evil personified and there is going to be some graphic violence, some throat slitting, and medieval torture wherever he casts his eye. Rob, Scar and the others are determined to protect the townspeople from the despot.
So, as the merry men risk their lives to protect the less fortunate around them, Scar will be facing the climax of her own personal journey.
The action is non-stop, the romance is sigh-worthy and Scarlet is a woman to be absorbed and applauded. She will open your eyes to a whole new possible version of yourself. This author has given us a beauty here. Ages 13 and up (violence, sexuality) 292 pages
Recommended by: Barb
