Author: Moira Young
Classification: YA Fiction, Dystopian
Source: Bought
Overall Grade:
A-
Would I recommend it?
A thrilling and surprising dystopian read!
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Summary (from Goodreads):
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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My Thoughts:
Blood Red Road is one of the most surprising books that I have ever read. In a good way.
The novel is written in Saba's sparse, Southern-esque vernacular, which takes a little getting used to when you first start reading. However, once the story gets rolling, you hardly even notice the phonetic spelling and lack of quotation marks.
The story follows Saba, her sister Emmi, the dare-devil Jack, and other friends that they meet along the way as she hunts down her twin brother Lugh. While most dystopian novels these days are so concerned with one specific set of problems and their overall implications (The Society in Matched, for example), Blood Red Road deals with the stories of individuals within the society without spending as much time tackling the major issues.
While many readers may find this unsettling, it makes for a fantastic read, as we watch Saba become a tracker, a survivor, a warrior, and a fugitive in the course of 450 pages (that seem incredibly short, by the way.)
Just when you settle into one mode in the story, Moira Young sends you for a complete loop, guiding their characters into a new challenge. This keeps the story moving incredibly fast!
Saba as a main character is fierce, stubborn, clever, and ill-tempered most of the time. She is definitely a girl that can take care of herself, rather than the damsel-in-distress type heroines that seem to fill the pages of too many YA books today. While reading her story, you will be frustrated as her headstrong nature leads her to make rash decisions. You will cheer for her as she is thrown into surprising, terrible circumstances. You will laugh at her reactions to unexpected love and romance.
You will feel for Saba and the other characters in Blood Red Road, because they are especially well-crafted.
An unconventional, multi-faceted dystopian read that lovers of The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Hunger Games, and Under the Never Sky will enjoy immensely!
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Overall Grade:
A-
Would I recommend it?
A thrilling and surprising dystopian read!
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