Roses

Gr 7 Up—Twenty-year-old college student Poppy has always known she's a member of the Hood family, descendants of the real-life Red Riding Hood, who did not have a happy ending. When her grandmother is found murdered, Poppy is positive that her family story is coming to life. Det. Owen Pierce, member of the Charming line, believes otherwise; he knows the wolf line personally and thinks them harmless. Owen is overly protective of the immature Poppy, who rebels by running away and throwing fits. Poppy almost immediately regrets her rash action and works to start opening up to Owen and his family. Throughout the book danger is ever shifting, with Poppy never knowing how close it is or if someone is truly after her. Though Roses is a sequel to Michaels's previous work, Golden, both take place in the same world and frequently refer to events taking place in the earlier book. Drawing from fairy tales, this fantasy sticks to simple and easy-to-follow world-building. Heavy-handed foreshadowing in the form of a story about "The Three Virtues" and gratuitous red herrings distract and at times muddle the plot. The story leaves on a purposely unclear and unproductive ending, a not-so-subtle setup for a third book.