Review: Red by Alison Cherry

Title: Red

Author: Alison Cherry 
Publisher: Random House Canada

Publication date: October 8, 2013

Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary)

Source: Publisher

Format: Finished Copy

Pages: 320

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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?

In Scarletville, Red is what matters. Redheads are considered as royals, and brunettes and blondes are frowned upon. Redheads have privileges, while others don't. Felicity St. John has the perfect life. She's pretty, has amazing friends, and a hot boyfriend who every girl is drooling over. Felicity's mother, who also happens to be the manager of the Miss Scarlet pageant, is obsessed into preparing her daughter to win the pageant. In truth, Felicity doesn't even want all that, because in truth, she's all fake. It's pretty shocking, but it's true. Felicity's mother has been dying Felicity's strawberry blonde hair bright red all her life. No one knows her secret, and if anyone does find out, she'll be known as a "strawbie" and will be at the lower class. 

Reading this sounded a bit childish. Like, who would discriminate against hair color? It's just HAIR, but that's not the point. Looking at the bigger picture, this book shows how you aren't supposed to change who you are just to please others. Through this book, Felicity gets blackmailed into doing things because someone found out her secret. She sacrificed a lot, and I just thought that it wasn't worth all the hard work. Felicity was a great character to read about. Her mother, Ginger, was a really annoying character who just wanted to shape her daughter the way she wanted. I just felt like chocking Ginger, because how can she not see that this isn't what her daughter is passionate about? The plot of the story was great, and it was really interesting to see what Felicity would do every time she gets another note from her blackmailer. 

Overall, this wasn't a fun contemporary, but it was definitely a great read. Gives a great message to all those teenagers out there. Do what you love, and don't let anyone decide anything for you. Not only that, but this book also shows that each and every person is equal. We shouldn't care weather that person is a "redhead" or a "blonde". In the end, I loved the book, and I was definitely rooting for Felicity throughout the whole time. Will definitely be looking out for Alison Cherry's future books!