A great book not necessarily for ya maybe younger, and great for those going through a family separation the emotions and ideas are great

Well written (well obviously it is - it's by Anne Fine) and an enjoyable read. Poor Scarlet. I'm sure she and her notebook will bring comfort to another youngster in the same position.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot read this review copy. The words ONLY, FOR, REVIEW and PURPOSES are randomly mixed into sentences, not always even in that order. For example:

‘and I was so jealous PURPOSES that I told her my dad was a magician (he works in pharma - FOR - ceuiticals) and on her next birthday I would persuade him to REVIEW give her a big white rabbit’.

This makes the arc completely unreadable and I cannot fairly review it. Apologies to the author and publishers that it took me so long to try reading this review copy. It’s a shame it is unreadable, as I enjoyed Anne Fine’s books as a child and looked forward to trying one as an adult.

When mum gives Scarlet a notebook she should be happy. It’s beautiful, full of blank pages and with a shiny scarlet cover. But does her mum really think she can tear apart her family and expect her to be happy? Her only choice is to write all about her forced new life in her new book, she must write the truth.

Firstly thank you NetGalley for this copy of Shades of Scarlet.

I really felt for Scarlet throughout he book as she found her way through a tough time. However I didn’t quite get on with this book as much as I hoped. I found the subheadings with used words from the next bit of text a bit distracting and found the flow of the book was interrupted by these. Even though I felt sorry for Scarlet at times I also found her quite a selfish character and found the book to drag at some points. I loved Scarlets father as you could she he was struggling but wanted to help Scarlet in anyway he could. I feel this book would better suit a younger reader.

I have always loved Anne Fine and enjoy recommending her books but I really struggled with this one. When I began to struggle with the ebook, I borrowed the audiobook from the library to listen while driving but it didn't really help. My main issue was that I disliked the characters. Having been the child in Scarlet's position and working with many children in her position now as an adult, I found them all to be unrealistic and in the case of Scarlet and her mum, quite unpleasant. I read a lot of YA and MG so don't feel my review should be discounted simply because I'm not the target audience, but obviously appreciate that this wasn't written for me. Hopefully people of the intended age will enjoy and connect with this book.

I used to LOVE Anne Fine when I was young - this was a nice nostalgic trip back to her writing and brilliant character driven plots. However, I think this suffers a little with being quite old fashioned, and the things that the kids talk about at school are quite unrealistic. I liked the story of coming to terms with family breakups and new step-parents, etc. Would definitely be good for 9+.

Not quite the story for me but I can see how lovely it would be for the intended age group and I did enjoy what I read of it

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

Despite it's categorisation, this is middle grade and not YA. The protagonist is quite young and her parents are divorcing. The inner world of the main protagonist was convincing, especially to me whose parents divorced when she was 12.

I rated it only 3 stars because it was a bit boring to me, maybe it's because I'm way too old. But it was well written and I am sure I would've enjoyed it, had I been 15 years younger.

3 Stars

I enjoyed this but I felt was more middle grade than YA, it’s a very honest and real that captures the emotions people go through when their parents are separating, so I do think this would be a useful read to kids going through this, but just didn’t feel YA to me.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This was a lovely, easy, feel good read. I throughly enjoyed it and could actually relate to the characters.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I always loved Anne Fine novels when I was younger. Her books were always my go-to reads from my school library. I was so excited to find that she had released another novel!
This book would be so helpful and useful for anyone who goes through what Scarlet goes through - Dealing with her parents separating and keeping secrets from her because they think she is too young to handle it. Some of the topics are tough but they are really important to get out there and to show children than it’s ok, and normal for things like this to happen and you can get better and grow from it.
I would really recommend readers of all ages to buy this book, and I will be buying a few copies for my old primary school to keep in the library for young children to be able to read and understand more about what it could be like for someone who goes through Scarlet’s situation.
Thank you NetGalley and Anne Fine for this book.

Shades of Scarlet is a wonderful and heartfelt read that really captures what young people go through when their parents are separating. It's a book that would be ideal to give children in that situation so they know what they are feeling is ok.

Sadly, I just could not connect with this book, and had to stop reading about halfway through. Despite this, I think this book would be good for younger readers who might be going through a similar experience as Scarlet

This is the usual well-written Anne Fine fare with believable characters and keenly observed psychology. It's the story of Scarlet whose parents have just split up. I do like Anne Fine a lot - both her adult and her children's books - but this one didn't hook me in quite as much as usual. I couldn't quite empathise with the daughter - admittedly she was going through a tough time, but in the opening in particular, I found her petulance quite irritating.
I also found it a little difficult to read the review copy. No-one expects a review copy to be perfect -there are often misprints and things - and we are of course grateful to the publishers for making them available, but this copy was difficult to read as there were a lot of extraneous words and phrases in there. ONLY repeatedly in capital letters quite a lot which at first I mistook for part of the actual text. Plus others too.

I was really pleased to see a new book by Anne Fine and although I'm a little older than the target market I enjoyed it a lot! This is clearly aimed at younger people and is about Scarlet as she adjusts and adapts to her parents separating. It is written well and is a substantial enough book to really get in to.
The characters are relatable and likeable and the relationship that Scarlet has with each of her parents seems realistic to me- not too cookie cutter but also not too full of angst.
An enjoyable read overall and would strongly encourage for any teens going through the separation of their parents.

Scarlett’s parents have recently separated and she is angry. It is automatically assumed she will live mainly with her Mum, although still seeing her Dad on a regular occurrence. But living with her Mum means staying firstly in a grotty flat where Scarlett’s anger has time to fester. Even after a couple of weeks when they move to a much nicer house and her Mum is being nice to her by giving her a journal in which to write, Scarlett’s anger does not abate.
She then discovers her parents have not told her the whole truth and discovers this in the most embarrassing way - at school when others know more about her parents than she does.
Scarlett is not a particularly likeable character but her parents are not being fair. Are they trying to protect her or treating her like a baby?
There is a lot of growing up needed as well as honesty from all quarters until the family can once again communicate properly.
This is a realistic novel and one which will help young teens going through similar situations.

I loved this older mg/ young YA novel about a young girl trying to navigate the sudden collapse of her parent's marriage. The characters were really vibrant and the plethora of issues covered were realistic & well handled. Like all the best books the ending is not completely tied up and there are still plenty of what ifs to explore.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have given Shades of Scarlet by Anne Fine three out of five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

We follow our main character, Scarlet, who is going through a difficult time; trying to accept her parents separating and moving on with their lives. Scarlet mainly focusses on the negative parts of her parents separating, which is completely understandable as it can feel as though the world is coming to a halt. I found Scarlet to be a relatable character of many who might have gone through a similar family situation as Scarlet’s, I really liked her character and loved seeing Scarlet grow into a more understanding and mature character by the end of this book. I found it quite difficult to connect with Scarlet’s best friend, Alice, I wasn’t a great fan of her character and didn’t like some of the things she came out with.

I must praise Anne Fine’s descriptive writing, especially when Scarlet’s emotions are soaring high in anger and frustration. I think this book is a great read for younger readers who might be going through a parents’ divorce or separation as they’ll be able to relate to a lot of Scarlet’s feelings and emotions and to feel as though they’re not alone. On the other hand, I think this is a good book for adults too as Anne writes about the struggles of what Scarlet’s parents are going through too. Divorce and separation are tough topics to base a story upon however I think they’re very important that should be spoken more about.

Looking back on my younger self, I would have really appreciated reading this story. I, amongst a lot of other families, have experienced my parents going through a divorce. Although I was very young, other people might have been through a divorce or separation when they were old enough to understand it a little more. However, I don’t think that’s to say that everyone would understand or know how to deal with negative emotions that they might experience along the way. I thought this book dealt with the highs and lows surrounding this topic very well.

I would definitely recommend readers of all ages to pick this book up, especially those who have been through a similar situation that this book is based around. Shades of Scarlet was published earlier this week on 4th March 2021, thank you NetGalley for receiving a copy of this book.

I, unfortunately, DNFed this book as I thought it was a Young Adult contemporary but it's middle grade and I don't really read enough of them to be able to give good feedback. I can, however, see how many children going through the same thing Scarlet goes through would love this book very much. I'll be sure to recommend to any parents with children.

I enjoy Anne Fines’s novels (I still recommend ‘Blood Family’ regularly), and ‘Shades of Scarlet’ did not disappoint. Whilst family break-up is something many teens face, the actual process is not often a plot line in YA books. Scarlet was a believable and likeable character from the first page. Her reactions to the turmoil around were credible and her growth throughout the novel was clear. Worthy of space in any secondary school library.