Saturday, November 12, 2011

Review: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Blood Red Road (Dustlands, #1)

Paperback: 459 pages
Release date: June 7th, 2011
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Source: Bought
Goodreads 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 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.


I had a vague knowledge about this book. All I knew was it has a post-apocalyptic story (which made it a must-read for me) and rave reviews on blogs and other sites. I’m not surprised to love it, and that is not just because of my gravitational pull towards Dystopia. It was also because of this strong and independent and stubborn heroine that riveted me into reading it. 

Blood Red Road goes straight up to my list of favorite Dystopia books, or better yet to my favorite reads this year. It was everything that I hoped for and more. It was fast-paced with an outstanding and gripping plot and I just loved every single bit of it. It also held a resemblance with Chaos Walking because of the misspelled words and funny accent. There were also elusive descriptions about the world before it became the way it is in the book. But I have no problem with that since it made the story unique with the other dystopias. 

I realized that I loved Saba, the heroine, just after reading the book. It was because I didn’t always like her because of the way she treats her little sister at the beginning ‘til about halfway through. She improved and developed so much throughout the novel. Determination and love for her twin brother drives her to embark on a journey, with little knowledge of how much cruelty transformed the world and made it dangerous. She survived it all and even met people who can be really trusted along the way. 

Anyway, it is the characters I loved the most about the story. Emmi, Ike, Tommo, the Free Hawks, and of course, Jack. I liked all of them and their relationship with each other. Jack’s a very lovable and funny guy. He’s exactly the kind of person Saba needs and I definitely agree with the heart stone. ;) There’s more to him than meets the eye and I can’t wait to know more about him and his past. 

Moira Young is the kind of author who knows how to bring the book alive. I was deeply immersed in the story and everything in it. It was an action-packed and adventure-filled book that will leave you wanting for more and searching for novels similar to it. 

This was such a wonderful debut from an author that I’m excited to read more from! I definitely recommend it to all my fellow Dystopia buffs. 
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4 comments:

  1. Great review! I wasn't sure what to think of this one since it's not getting reviewed on the blogs I frequent anymore. Made me think it was dying out. I still may look into reading it, though.

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  2. Thanks for the great review! :) I recently got this book last week but I haven't started it yet. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much!

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  3. I really love this book! I so badly want the next one to come out already. Your review is dead on.

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  4. I really liked Saba too. Something about the imperfection of her hating her sister really humanized her for me. I wanted to see if and how she would overcome her obstacles and see her grow as a character. I also liked the writing, and how it used simple speech. Can't wait for the sequel, "Rebel Heart". (Did you know that they renamed the book for the paperback release? It's now known as "Blood Red Road: Dust Lands". Personally I like the original title better.)

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