As Red as Blood by Salla Simukka - OPTIONAL

Simukka, Salla. As Red as Blood, 244 pgs. Crown Books (Random House), 2013. $17.99 Language – R (46 swear, 8 “f”), Mature Content – PG13; Violence – PG13; 

Lumikki likes being on her own, going to school where she no longer has to see the girls who tormented her. As long as Lumikki minds her own business, everyone else leaves her alone. But what if interfering is the right thing to do? What if she finds thousands of euros hanging up to dry in the school’s darkroom? What if that money is drying because blood has been washed off?

The only accurate word that I can use to describe this book is “intense.” As Red as Blood is a thriller that has left me worried and uncertain about what could possibly happen in the rest of the trilogy—but in a good way. Throughout the story, Simukka is continuously changing the point of view being told. The shifts were somewhat confusing, and I wish that Simukka had conveyed more information, i.e., who was now telling the story; however, that confusion did eventually lessen as I became more familiar with the characters. 

HS – OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen