Sunday 23 December 2012

Review: Blood Red Road by Moira Young


Blood Red Road (Dust Lands, #1)Date Read: December 22nd, 2012
Date Published: 2011
Publishers: Marion Lloyd
Format: Paperback
Pages: 417
Blurb: 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


Review:
It took a while to finish this one because I was moving house and coursework deadlines just kept coming at me. But last night I decided to pick it up again after not reading for a week and a half and i finished it in three hours. It's safe to say I got into it good and proper.

I've never read a book like this before. The writing style that Young used was so unique and different, I'd never seen it done like that before. What I found strange at first was that there weren't any speech marks. In my head I was going "Well, how am I going to know what's being said and what isn't?" But the fact is that I knew exactly when someone was speaking and it's funny because I could clearly hear what they would sound like. And that doesn't always happen with a book. But the thing that threw me the most with this book was that the whole thing, the description, the narrative, was written in the way that Saba, the main character, speaks. So that involved non-standard grammar and words spelt on the page how they would sound in her voice. It was refreshing because it was different and made the story more real for me.

Saba had such a strong and unique voice. She didn't stand for any nonsense, she was a fierce heroine and I liked that. She didn't moan, she was focused on the task at hand, finding her brother no matter what it took. And boy did she go through a lot. If I was her I would have given up but she didn't and I admire her character for that. She made me laugh at some of the things she said and I connected with her. And some may read this book and think of her as a mean character for not being friendly with her little sister but I see why she does it. But everyone can change.

There were a lot of interesting characters in this book and every single one of them was different. For the most part Lugh, Saba's brother, wasn't in it so we only got glimpses of him or what Saba described him as. I hope that in the next book I can learn more about him. Emmi, their little sister, was sweet and kind and put up with a lot. In the end she proved to be a fighter and a strong girl, who surprised quite a few people. At points in this book there were characters who I despised so much that I felt Saba's anger at them. I won't mention too much about them or what they do but it isn't nice! But the King, he was one strange being. You'll see for yourself if you read it or if you already have then hopefully you'll feel the same as me. He reminded me of one of those crazy villains you see and what clarifies this point is that he talks about himself in the third person. Gina thinks he is crazy.

There is one person in this book I feel a crush growing on. Jack. The handsome thief who is good looking, funny and has that arrogance about him that makes you like him for his witty comments. But it was so frustrating when Saba wouldn't let herself be close to him. I think I slapped my forehead at one point because she acted so stupid. But you can just tell that they are meant to be together and I look forward to reading more of them in the second book.

So overall this book has a strong story that is captivating and intriguing. The world is so different from ours yet it seems as though it could be real. The characters all have their place and everyone is important to making this book what it is. I enjoyed this very much and I think that Young is a magnificent author for creating this story.


Rating: 

2 comments:

  1. Yaaay I'm so glad you liked this one!!!! I bought it a while ago, but I still haven't read it :/ even my mom has and she says it's good. With you loving it and all I think I might just have to pick this book up :) awesome review!

    ~Emily@Emily's Crammed Bookshelf

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  2. I loved the book! I'm planning on rereading it again because I've forgotten most of it :) New follower

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