Once Upon A Time: Red's Untold Tale by Wendy Toliver

Title: Once Upon A Time: Red's Untold Tale

Author:  Wendy Toliver
Number of Pages:  416

Synopsis:

Red is 16 and lives with Granny in a cottage in the village, where boarding up the house and hiding during Wolfstime is a means of survival. Red help's Granny with Granny's baked good business, catering as well as door-to-door sales.

Red has a constant internal battle between her wild side and her strict, overprotective upbringing, and the issue of "control" as she discovers she has a hot temper when the "mean girls" push her too far. ("When we learn to control it, we needn't fear it," Rumpelstiltskin says in the series.) She has flashbacks to her 13th year when she received her cloak and the nickname "Red."

She is plagued by nightmares that she doesn't understand, but the Once Upon a Time fans will recognize them as her wolf side coming out.

Red balances the difficult times with Granny at home and the girls at school with an emerging and satisfying romance with Peter.

Review:
As an avid fan of the television show when I came across this book on my way to get my daughter her  annual grocery shopping book , I knew that it was a must have addition to my shelves. Even the cashier, a fan as well, was surprised and stopped checking my items out so that she could read the synopsis of the book.

The book itself is a work of art, it has such a beautiful smooth feel to it,  It is definitely a plus to having a book in print, that's for sure.

This book reminded me a lot of the movie Red Riding Hood, with the young Amanda Seyfried as the Main character in the movie. The book reminded me so much of this movie that I found myself hunting my movie shelf in order to find it and wound up watching it while I read the book and compared similarities.

The book brings out the strained but loving relationship that Red and Granny have, a relationship I am sure many can relate to.

I was not a fan of the ending of the book. Much like the television show, Red's story just cuts off as if waiting for next weeks episode. Where as it works on the show, it falls short in written format.

Quotes:
"Peter offered his hand for a shake, and when she took it, she rolled it over. "Your fingernails are black."
' His papa's the blacksmith." I said proudly. "Peter gets to be his apprentice someday." I could only dream what it was like to have a father or mother. Or an exciting trade to look forward to learning and taking over once I grew up.

Peter explained politely. "I really do wash my hands ma' am, fact is, most of it's just to stubborn to get off no matter how hard I scrub at it."



RATING::
4 out of 5 stars!