The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

Christina Henry is back with a new dark fairy tale retelling, this time warping the story of -- you guessed it -- little red riding hood. The Girl in Red focuses on Cordelia, better known as Red, the young woman with a prosthetic leg and a signature red hoodie, as she battles to survive the apocalypse.

A virus has taken over the country, and Red is determined to cut through the wilderness to her grandmother's cabin, which is isolated enough to potentially avoid contact with the sickness. Plus, her beloved grandmother is all alone, and may well be the only of her family to survive the outbreak. The problem? Travelling 300+ miles through the wild with a prosthetic leg, government blockages, dangerous pillagers, and general survival is going to be difficult on her own.

The narrative moves back and forth in time, describing Red's perilous journey alone in the woods and flashing back to earlier moments of her losing family members, the initial outbreak, the loss of her leg, and times when life was not a day to day rush of adrenaline. It's such a smart creative take on the classic fairy tale, giving it a truly unique horror movie edge. It's like Red Riding Hood was dropped into a 28 Days Later/ Alien mash-up. Not only are you rooting for Red to complete her journey, but you're also dying to figure out the truth about the virus and it's origin.

If you like horror movies, or very dark takes on previously tame classics, give Christina Henry a shot. I love love love her Chronicles of ALice series, immensely enjoyed The Girl in Red, and have two more of her books on my shelf that I'm sure to like just as well.