When I pick up a Vivian Vande Velde book, I know I'm going to be reading something that takes a unique view on a familiar theme, plot or idea. Cloaked in Red is no exception, being a collection of short stories, all based on the traditional fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. I loved the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) humor and jokes written into the stories, primarily related to the traditional Little Red Riding Hood tale or other fairy tales or even the Grimm brothers. If the reader isn't familiar with these stories, some of that humor may be lost on them. Most of the stories in this collection are extremely short and that's probably my biggest complaint. I wanted more. More details, more descriptions, more background, more story. I know, these are short stories based on a short fairy tale, but I've become so spoiled with all the novels published recently based on fairy tales.
While I love a couple of these stories, overall it's just average fare. That's why I give this story collection a C. I'd recommend this only to those that love reading retold fairy tales.
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