The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

Like dystopian novels?  Fairy Tale retellings?  The Girl in Red combines both and exceptionally well.

First there was the Cough, which spread rapidly depopulating areas almost before the danger could be processed.  Red, who has a fondness for science fiction and post-apocalyptic novels and films, considers the situation serious long before others do.  She plans to be prepared and works to convince her parents and brother of the worst-case scenarios.  In the months that pass, things get worse, and by the time Red is taken seriously, it is almost too late.

Eventually, Red convinces her parents and brother that they should go to her grandmother's house, but they need to walk, not drive, avoiding contact with the infected--staying away from populated areas and highways.  A 300 mile trek through the woods and rough country is a daunting scenario, but using everything she has learned from watching films and reading books, Red has a mental idea of what would keep them safe.

The Girl in Red is divided into sections Before the Crisis occurred and After the Crisis changed everything about their former lives.

Of course, plans go awry from the beginning.   No matter how many dystopian and post-apocalyptic novels you've read, circumstances bring new challenges, losses, predators, and unanticipated horrors.  If the Cough was first, the new threat is worse--and man-made.

Oh, and to make things more difficult, Red has a prosthetic leg (because a post-apocalyptic world isn't dilemma enough). 

 "Over the river and through the woods,/To grandmother's house we go...."

Since I like both dystopian novels and fairy tale retellings, I was eager to read this The Girl in Red and found Red and her journey engrossing, satisfying my appetite for both genres.  My only problem is that I genuinely want more of this world and of Red.

Read in May; blog review scheduled for June 3.

NetGalley/Berkely Publishing
Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic.  June 18, 2019.  Print length:  304 pages