Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Series: Dustlands, #1
Source: Won
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: January 3, 2012

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.

Lugh got born first. On Midwinter day when the sun hangs low in the sky.

I’ve been putting off Blood Red Road forever. I put it off because I had heard about the numerous spelling errors and grammatical mistakes, and I was positive that it would drive me crazy. Turns out I was wrong. I thought that they were actual mistakes, but turns out that it was an atmosphere-type decision. It definitely worked out, in my mind.

At first it was a little bit distractin, as a lot of constants were dropped, and been was spelled bin, etc. But once I got used to it, it was really no deal at all. I thought that it added an authentic touch to the story, which it definitely needed, being set in a post-apocalyptic world. Dystopian at it’s best!

Saba was a great, strong, kick-ass main character. In the beginning, it felt like her loyalty was a tad lacking, but as we get farther into the book and she grows as a character, I feel like it’s not an issue anymore. She’s made peace with herself, and she finally grew to love Emmi like she should have in the beginning. She also made some great new friends, and I don’t think that I could have loved her more.

Speaking of the L-word, I feel like I should say a few things about our main guy character, Jack. Jack himself is fabulous. He’s cocky and a bit too arrogant for his own good, but deep inside he’s a great guy. He’s sweet and I’m positive that he’s brave.

They go well together, actually.

On another note, I’m a huge fan of the storyline. It never had a dull moment from the beginning, and it was the perfect distraction for me. From kidnappings to cage fights to strange creatures, this book just has it all. It even has good secondary characters! Everyone of them has a purpose, and most of the time they made good friends to Saba and Jack.

All in all, I really enjoyed Blood Red Road. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I liked it more than I ever would have if it had followed my ideas.

Don’t say that, he says. Don’t ever say that. You are somethin, Saba. Somethin good and strong and true. With him or without him. ~Pg. 267