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Blood Red Road
Moira Young
Released: 7th June, 2011
Book Summary:
Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when four cloaked horsemen capture Lugh, Saba's world is shattered, and she embarks on a quest to get him back.
Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the outside world, Saba discovers she is a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba's unrelenting search for Lugh stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.
Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetic writing style, and an epic love story making Moira Young is one of the most exciting new voices in teen fiction.
What I like: The book has a very nice opening, and a great pace filled with suspense throughout most of the book. It's different from a lot of dystopian novels I've read, because our main character isn't a symbol of a rebellion, she isn't trying to overthrow a government, she's trying to save her brother Lugh after he's kidnapped and she's seen her own father murdered. Her only other living family member besides Lugh is her younger sister Emmi, who by the end of the book proves that just because she's younger does not mean she's an inconvenience or a burden to her sister. Yes the two sisters have a negative bond, but it's played the right way and it was actually a good arc below the main story. Saba also speaking in an abrupt, and strange way added to her character, telling you the kind of life and world she grew up in. There are also a lack of the "damsel in distress" girls, and each girl in this novel was strong in her own way while keeping them wholly themselves. While there wasn't all that much world building to the story, what little we were given was enough to shape what we needed to know about this world, while continuing on an adventure with Saba.
What I didn’t like: Originally the book was hard for me to get into because of Saba's speech pattern, it kept throwing me off but towards the end I realized that it didn't bother me as much, so it takes getting used to, but it will likely put off some readers to it. Saba also was a very good fighter, almost too good in a sense but since she never left the lake I don't know when she would have had that chance. It just didn't seem to fit in with her, even though it was sort of a cool plot point it just didn't seem to have any worth when we're never told she's even wrestled around with her brother. Fight or not fight in someone, you're not good at it without practicing around. Also, there's sort of an instant attraction between Saba and Jack and I got really frustrated by that, that trope makes me angry and I want it to burn. The ending was also too neat for me, I don't have the need to read the other two books to see what happens afterwords because it was so neat. Works well as a staunch standalone though. The ending was also a bit sloppy to me, especially when you look at the rest of the book.
Overall review: Despite some flaws to this book, Blood Red Road was a very good book to read, I quite enjoyed it. It wasn't what I expected when I started to read it, but it was hard to get into with the grammar and such that Saba exhibited. The world building was moderate, but done enough for this story, as it's less of an opening to a complex system in a dystopian series and more of an adventure that happens to take place in a post-apocalyptic world. I am still curious as to what happened to Earth to cause this though, as that was never explained I think, but it was irrelevant to the plot so that's why we don't learn it. Jack was an entertaining character, though he's a bit odd and not someone I was always fond of in the story. I did like Emmi a lot though, I found her to be a very interesting character.
Recommend?: Definitely! It's a very good dystopian (or post-apocalyptic sci-fi) book, and an enjoyable read.
Goodreads: 4/5 Amazon: 4.1/5 Barnes&Nobles: 4.2/5 BookDepository: 4.2/5
My Rating: 4.6/5
Rated Material:
Cover=4.9
Story=4.7
Idea=4.3
Character=4.6
3.5 stars
Blood Red Road was a book that greatly surprised me. I wasn't expecting to fall in love but, without warning, I was sucked in to Saba's world. All that hype that you saw when this book first came out? Completely and utterly spot on. I absolutely adored this story.
Saba is a tough character to love. She's stubborn, fierce as all get out, and witty too. In other words, a recipe for my perfect female character. However her stubborn attitude more often than not causes her to make very rash decisions. I'll fully admit that there were multiple times I wanted to reach in and just slap her for a moment. I understood why Moira Young created her this way though. Saba is used to having to take care of herself. She's used to being a lone wolf.
That is, of course, until she meets Jack. Ah, Jack. Witty, lovable, and sometimes completely lost Jack. He was definitely my favorite character. The perfect opposite to everything that Saba was. Their relationship was rocky, it was real, it was amazing! All work and no play makes Saba a dull girl. Good thing Jack was around! Seriously though, every single character that travels alongside these two shines off the page. They are so well-crafted, that it is hard not to find yourself rooting for them as you read.
What else can I say to make you pick up this book? Refreshingly, Blood Red Road is unlike a lot of other dystopian novels out there. Instead of focusing solely on a society, with a bit of characterization thrown in, Young's book is all about the characters. You'll find yourself beside them as they fight to survive, tackle problems thrown in their path, and wrestle with the age old question of who they really are. It seems odd that this would work so well, but it honestly does. I was able to get so lost in Saba's world, that I honestly didn't want to come back out.
At the end of the day, if you are a reader of dystopian fiction this is a book that you're going to need to pick up. The twists and turns in the plot will delight you. The fierce, dogged pace of the story will make you feel like you're on the brink of exhaustion. Then you'll meet the characters and realize that there is no turning back. Moira Young did a fabulous job with this book. I'm just going to come right out and say I want more. Soon.
I'm entirely shocked to find myself rating this 4 stars. I believe I gave book one a 2-star rating (if I didn't, I should have) because it was so spotty and lacking in character development. This was completely the opposite. While the ending was a but of a downer, I'm definitely interested to see where this series goes.
