Review: Sherwood
/
3 stars. Annoyed. I really enjoyed Hunted but found this lacking. I knew almost immediately that I wasn't in the right mood for something that felt so incredibly YA, but I tried to give it a fair chance. Here's why it didn't work, for me:
1. I don't believe in young love, or even true love. I KNOW, I'm ice cold. But I simply cannot. Cannot. Wrap my head around the idea of two kids being in love. Infatuation? Of course! I don't mean to be rude, I'm just saying I couldn't relate. I thought I knew what love was at 16. I did not. In my experience, that's sort of true for everyone. Ah, youths.
2. I was supremely bothered by Robin's "voice" haunting Marian's mind and passing along guidance, like an amateur Obi Wan. I don't know, it just didn't feel like a mature facet of Marion's character growth. Romantic? Maybe. I recognize that this was a device that represented her grief and her growth. It just made me roll my eyes.
3. It was a little too on the nose with the gender stuff. I 100% support the message, just not the execution. My head is really sore from being beaten by that stick. Why yes, it is easier to fight the bad guys in pants. Please spell it out for me, this is groundbreaking. [Clarification: I absolutely adored the message and the underlying themes here.]
4. I love the idea of a gender-flipped Robin Hood, but didn't enjoy the specifics of the premise. Robin's ... ghost? What?
5. One of the primary antagonists was physically scarred, and his disfigurement was frequently highlighted as a feature of his villainy. So was his ambition, and intelligence. I'm not comfortable with this. I know, I know ... it turned out alright in the end. But I initially wanted to label this as problematic.
Here's the thing though (and perhaps I should've led with this) - by the end of it all, I was REALLY into it. I couldn't put it down. Marian really is such a badass and there were some seriously awesome twists and turns. The story of Robin Hood is super irresistible to begin with and I got way caught up in the fighting and the romance and the idea that symbols can inspire revolutions.
Even my cold, cold heart is positively delighted by an archery contest.
I do recommend this. I just don't think I was in the mood, to start.
Also, the ending is very abrupt.