Red

Scale of Elements #1

by Richard Rigoli, Suzanna Reeves

Magic and elemental power have returned, and something ancient and angry has awakened in a small town.
Art student Emma Vanora may not be the most popular girl at Cypress High, but things are about to change when she starts having waking dreams.
A mystic shockwave takes place at the homecoming football game, and everything Emma thought she knew is altered forever. Together with her geeky friend Rai—who swears he has powers—Emma tries to unravel the leads and connections in the middle of a supernatural mystery of heroes and wizards.
Now, if only she can figure out what the red birds are trying to tell her in time to save her town, and a friend, from destruction.
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Often humorous and character-driven, "Red" delivers through to a fiery epic-level climax with an unexpected and poignant conclusion. The emerging adult characters thoughtfully manage the impact of mayhem and supernatural power in their changing world and struggle to maintain their ideals and friendships under the watchful eye of a hidden society of magic.

213 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 29, 2014

About the author

Richard has been writing stories for books, graphic novels, on-line communities, and podcast audio dramas over the years. He enjoys well-planned epic fantasy tales, games, and book with story lines that reveal complex fleshed-out characters, and of course, well-placed snarks. A wordsmith with a vivid imagination, Richard has been known to lead family and friends on harrowing and entertaining epic gaming adventures.

"I like heroes who are heroes."

Reviews

[Snellopy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have only recently started reading YA fiction, but I enjoy it immensely. It reminds me of cartoons on the weekend, with all the protagonists being plucky young heroes that have to not only save the world, but deal with curfew, boys and all the other difficulties that go along with that age.

Red was an enjoyable read with well fleshed out characters. I did have a bit of difficulty keeping them all straight in my mind at first, because so many were introduced at the same time, but that is to be expected for the first day back at school, and just added to the realism for me.

I liked that we were given clues that seemed to go cold for a few chapters, because there was already too much going on in their lives - this isn’t intrigue and magic with token teenagers, the plot that keeps us reading has to at times take a back seat to what is going on in their lives. It feels like a very organic story and we aren’t rushed from discovery to MacGuffin to the showdown. The issues that they’re dealing with while they are growing up are just as compelling as the mystical adventures. The main characters are teenagers all the time, not just when it is a convenient way to complicate the plot.

I like how Red allows for redemption and forgiveness. It seems that alliances are very fluid, with people falling in and out of favour just as they do in real life making for very interesting reading. The foreshadowing in the epilogue has me looking forward to getting my hand on the second book Black as soon as possible.

[Nickolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I'm not a huge young adult or paranormal romance reader. With this in mind, I wasn't positive if I'd love this read. I gave it a try, and I'm extremely glad that I did so. I feel like this genre can sometimes be too unrealistic, and this was a wonderful breath of fresh air. Even for fantasy, the book was extremely genuine and believable. The characters are very real, and I found myself pretty attached as things got rolling. I was cracking up at dialogue, and cheering when good things happened. Also, little nuances and references to the setting really made it feel authentic. I live not far from the area in which the novel takes places, and I definitely felt the depiction was well done. Without going into too much detail about the plot, I can simply say that Red is well worth the ride. By the time I was done, I loved it and am majorly looking forward to the next installment.

[Brian Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to the sequel.

[Funky Like Feathers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an enthralling tale with relatable characters and amazing storytelling from two authors who really know how to create a masterpiece. Red by Rigoli & Reeves is High School Musical gone bad. And instead of singing or dancing in the halls, these students have unexplainable powers bestowed upon a select few who now have to figure out not only how to get through their high school prom, but how to do it when someone is trying to attack them for the abilities they now possess. There's no shortage of action or twists along this tale as readers get entwined with the interactions between these well-formed characters. Can't wait to see what happens in next in Unbreakable!