Little Miss Red [Paperback]

Robin Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 9, 2010

Sophie Greene gets good grades, does the right thing, and has a boyfriend that her parents— and her younger brother—just love. (Too bad she doesn’t love him.) Sophie dreams of being more like Devon Deveraux, star of her favorite romance novels, but, in reality, Sophie isn’t even daring enough to change her nail polish. All of that changes when Sophie goes to Florida to visit her grandma Roz, and she finds herself seated next to a wolfishly goodlooking guy on the plane. The two hit it off, and before she knows it, Sophie’s living on the edge. But is the drama all it’s cracked up to be?

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Palmer’s latest fairy tale–based romance focuses on 17-year-old Sophie Greene, a nice Jewish girl from Studio City, California. A voracious reader of romance novels who seeks parallels in her own life, Sophie is bored with her steady but unexciting boyfriend of three years and ready for a new adventure. She gets sent to grandmother’s house (in Florida), bearing lox and whitefish. While on the plane, she meets charming 19-year-old Jack, who’s all sweet talk and clearly bad news. Little Red Riding Hood, anyone? Palmer offers some clever twists and characterizations in what turns out to be a morality tale (stick with the steady known quantity rather than the unreliable charmer). This quick, predictable read may not challenge much, but it’s frequently entertaining, and readers will enjoy watching Sophie break free of some of her habits and learn to appreciate not only her long-suffering boyfriend but her grandmother as well. Though it’s not as deep as the books of Gail Carson Levine, Shannon Hale, or Adèle Geras, there’s still plenty of room for this frothy addition to the modern fairy-tale genre. Grades 7-11. --Debbie Carton

Review

"Teenage girls looking for a light, enjoyable romance will not be disappointed with Palmer's latest entry." --VOYA

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Speak; 1 edition (February 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014241123X
• ISBN-13: 978-0142411230
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #719,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After a decade-long career in Hollywood, Robin Palmer regained her sanity and chucked her cushy network executive job and expense account to become a writer. Which--she quickly discovered once her savings account was depleted--may not have been so sane. Luckily her perseverance (and love of hanging out at home alone all day in yoga pants and no makeup) paid off with the publication of her first YA book CINDY ELLA, the first in a series of modern retellings of fairy tales set in a fictional Los Angeles high school. This was followed by GEEK CHARMING (the basis of the highly rated Disney Channel Original Movie starring Sarah Hyland and Matt Prokop) and LITTLE MISS RED. Her latest book WICKED JEALOUS: A LOVE STORY, which is a retelling of Snow White, will be out in July 2012. She then moved into middle grade fiction with a series called YOURS TRULY, LUCY B. PARKER, about a twelve-year-old girl whose new stepsister is literally the most popular girl in the world because she's a Hollywood superstar. She lives in a pink barn in the Hudson Valley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much More Fun Than Little Red Riding Hood Could Ever Be, February 15, 2010

By 

Rachel Kramer Bussel "Cupcakes Take the Cake ... (New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Little Miss Red (Paperback)

With Little Miss Red, one of my favorite YA authors, Robin Palmer, has once again taken an ancient fairy tale and given it a modern, LA girl twist. Here, Sophie Greene is sick of being told she's not the kind of girl to wear Dark as Midnight nail polish, or to wear a red cowboy hat. When it's off to grandmother's house she goes, she meets a dashing older man who she's quite taken with, ignoring his many flaws even as her heart beats with secret hope that her "on pause" relationship with boyfriend Michael will be rekindled. Sophie tries to remake herself into a glamorous version of who she thinks she should be, while seeking advice from sages like her grandmother and her best friend's romance novel-writing mom (who's on the bitter side about love).

Sophie's a memorable, fun and funny protagonist who wants to be swept away by passion, but doesn't quite know which guy is the one for her. Following her as she finds out is such an enjoyable (sometimes windblow and on a motorcycle) ride. Palmer lovingly skewers romance novels with Sophie's devotion to heroine Devon Deveraux, and Sophie's adorably mixed-up suspicions and views on love, punctuated often by her buzzing iPhone, are both laugh out loud hilarious and adorably sweet.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robin Palmer DOES IT AGAIN, March 3, 2010

By 

T. Wageer (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Little Miss Red (Paperback)

Every preteen should be required to read this book. Yes, even the boys. It might give them some insight into what girls are about -- we who have been fed fairy tales forever -- and still. "The Bachelor," anyone? "The Bachelorette"? "Millionaire Matchmaker"? God, it never stops.

I LOVE Sophie. I totally understood her. She's looking for the one who will make her say "You complete me." Aren't we all? But, of course, she's fine all by herself. (Aren't we all?)

This is a wonderful book with genuine characters that I thought about long after I finished the book. As in her earlier novels, Ms. Palmer gets a lot of funny moments out of our silly obsessions. Yoga. John Hughes movies. Sophie's iPhone. There are more laugh-out-loud lines in this book than the previous two, and that's saying something.

For those of you who might not have liked an earlier book, Geek Charming, because you didn't like the character of Dylan? (Erm, you're not supposed to.) Sophie will steal. your. heart. Ms. Palmer is a genius with concocting warm and flawed and LIVING characters that you'd recognize if any of them walked into a room. Her books so fun to read -- you feel like YOU are in them!

I hope the publishers release all three books as a boxed set. I know a couple of girls I want to give the collection to. They will think I am aMAZing. But it's really Ms. Palmer who is.

READ THIS BOOK! It will make you smile and laugh and you will be sorry when it ends. Keep the faith. Ms. Palmer will come out with something else totally charming and true soon... I HOPE!

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Fun Read, September 12, 2010

By 

Erica - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Miss Red (Paperback)

Little Miss Red was an absolutely adorable read. It had a cute story, was well-written, and some pretty great characters.

I loved Sophie. I connected with her completely. She was such a romantic, dreaming about love all the time. Plus she stays on the safe side, never really stepping to the wild side. She reminded me a lot of myself, and different decisions she makes I found myself realizing they were the same as I would've made in the same situation. Sophie's addiction to her iPhone cracked me up. Sophie's grandma kept me laughing. Everything she did was just downright funny!

The plot was light, and didn't require you to think real deep. It was a nice story that you could get completely involved in while not having to think a lot about everything that went on. Little Miss Red was filled with so many laugh-out-loud moments!

I would definately recommend this retelling of an ancient fairy tale in modern times. It would be a perfect spring break read!