Little Miss Red

The title: Little Miss Red
The author: Robin Palmer
Publication: Speak, 2010
Got it from: The Library

High school student Sophie Greene is bored with her boyfriend of three years and wants to lead a more glamorous life, like the star of her favourite romance books, Devon Devoreaux, in this modern spin on the Little Red Riding Hood tale. On the plane to Grandma's house (a Florida condo, not a cabin in the woods) bringing family heirloom menorahs in place of the basket of goodies, she meets bad-boy Jack, a wannabe rock star motorcycle-riding kind of guy. But will Sophie give up her practical life in California for Jack's big bad wolf ways?

The problem with this book, as other reviewers have mentioned, is that Sophie is pretty shallow. Her naive views of what love should be could give Twilight's Bella a run for her money. In the end she of course realizes how self-absorbed and self-interested Jack is, but I didn't feel that Sophie herself was much better. Added to that, both Jack and Michael, Sophie's emo boyfriend, are pretty lame. Jack isn't a wolf so much as a mooching flirt and only a girl as airheaded as Sophie would fall for his act for even a second. Michael seems lazy and neglectful, and his claim to Sophie's love is that he's good at helping her pick out outfits. Sophie's tracksuit-wearing Grandma provided some amusement, as well as Sophie's references to the ultra-cheesy Devon Devoreaux novels. But overall this book doesn't rate much more than a middling "C".