Review: Blood Red Road

Author: Moira Young
Pages: 459
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Source: Library
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge
Synopsis: 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 a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back. 


Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization. 


 Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.


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Blood Red Road took me by surprise. The book had a unique story with the most captivating characters. Very memorable and I can't wait to read more!

This kind of book, books about quests are usually hit or miss with me. Moira Young's book was a bulls-eye. It was similar to Graceling in the way that it was the same kind of story and as I adored Graceling of course I enjoyed this book too. The world was dystopian but we didn't know too much about it. The story doesn't focus on the world that much, it was more on the characters achieving their goals.

Saba is awesome. She's the kind of character people may not like in real life because she isn't too kind, considerate or sweet. She's very much cruel and will do whatever it takes to survive and save the people she loves. She's not a perfect heroine and I loved that. She was such a great character because she sucked a bit then did something incredible and etc. Her relationships were unique and entertaining. Her character wasn't a cliché and I think of her as a total badass like Katniss, Tris and Katsa.

Now the romantic interest, Jack... *swoon* I think I fell for this guy even before Saba. The reason they met was a bit strange and, okay, they didn't have a normal relationship. That wouldn't suit this couple though. Their romantic tension was insane. Nothing happened until they were both ready. Jack is a really great character though. He's a slippery thief who's arrogant and provocative on the outside but is good on the inside. Yes, there are many guys like that in YA lit but this one still managed to impress me. I think many readers will like Jack. Oh, and no love triangle so that's good!

The other characters were also well fleshed out. There were many of them and they weren't always focused on too much- Saba was very brief in descriptions- but I did get a sense of most them and I loved them. They all had something special and different about them and were so compelling to read about. I can't wait to read more about them.

The way Blood Red Road is written sometimes confused me in the beginning. I hadn't ever realized how important quotation marks were until I read a book that didn't have them all. It was a little confusing because I'd hav to pay attention to exactly what I was reading to figure out if it was dialogue and I reread some parts. I didn't have a problem with this, I thought it was a good reading exercise and after a while I got more comfortable with it.

The plot of Blood Red Road was full of action and originality. Everything I read was interesting and I loved reading of Saba's journey to find Lugh. After adjusting to the dialect I was hooked to the story and it completely pulled me in. While the main story of finding Lugh was good, I found Saba's small changes in character equally interesting.

I'm not going to say much more about Blood Red Road since this is already a pretty heavy review so I'll say it's a great read and great for fans of Graceling. This isn't a typical dystopian book, it has more to offer and I think readers should give it a chance. 4.5 stars,

**** & 1/2 *