Wolf Siren
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Wolf Siren
Buy Now for £13.78
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Narrated by:
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Niamh Longford
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By:
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Beth O’Brien
Summary
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR WRITING 2026
A vibrant, evocative and magical debut which centres a positive, empowered disabled character at the heart of a reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood.
The woods are hiding a secret… but then so is Red…
Red is not allowed to go into the woods. Everyone knows that they are dangerous – because of their strange magic and the wolves that lurk there… But Red finds herself increasingly drawn to the woods and the place where her grandmother disappeared without a trace three years ago. When the woodcutter fails to return home one night and wolves are spotted close to the village boundary, fear drives a deep and dangerous divide between the villagers and the nature they live alongside.
Only Red seems to hold the key – but she has a secret, and exposing it could ruin her family forever …
©2025 Beth O’Brien (P)2025 HarperCollins PublishersCritic reviews
'Full of brilliant, wild, misunderstood girls, this is a feminist tale with teeth and a sharp bite. Beth O'Brien is an exciting new talent.' Katya Balen, award-winning author of October, October
'A starkly beautiful fairytale. Told in clear, crisp prose, sleek as the song of a wolf, Red, with her mysterious grandmother, forbidden gifts and softly blurred view of the world is a heroine you'll want to follow into the woods at nightfall.' Cerrie Burnell, author, actor and activist
Will make sure my daughters and nieces all read it!
Loved it!
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10/10
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Actually my least favourite of all the Carnegie shortlisted titles and the last one to tick off on the list.
Possibly I'd have connected more on paper, as it took me a while on the audiobook to even realise that Red is partially sighted.
I did like the tale being used in a new way, a modern spin on the traditional tale, characters/power turned on its head.
It's still set in a village hundreds of years ago, but the heart of the story has changed to make wolves less the villains and more the scapegoats. There's a lot of traditional elements still here - magic/changing form, the dark woods, a lot of death and fear.
Men seem to be the ones in danger from wolves in Red's world. For some reason they are the ones attacked, though Red's grandmother has disappeared and Red feels a pull towards the woods that she is not allowed to enter.
This is the opener for a story that for me felt like well-worn territory, though I'm not the target market and have lots of experience with narratives focusing on similar themes. For young people, there is likely to be keen interest in Red's predicament and the society's attitudes towards wolves, women, disability.
I particularly enjoyed the audiobook feature of a chat between author and narrator, both of whom have limited vision, this was fascinating as they discussed the book, how it was recorded as a book, really interesting perspectives and experiences there.
For ages 9 and above.
Red Riding Hood reimagined
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