REVIEW: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Blood Red Road

Moira Young

512 pages

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Release Date: June 7th 2011

Source: eARC from GalleyGrab

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.

   If you were to ask me to summarize Blood Red Road in one sentence, I'll probably just say: Blood Red Road was one heck of a ride. Though I felt like punching Saba in the nose half the time, I wouldn't take back the time I spent reading this 500+ page debut.


   The concept of Blood Red Road is simple: The girl's brother is kidnapped. The girl sets out to save her brother. What happens along the way is what makes Moira Young's novel all that it is.


   So what is Blood Red Road all about? A lot. Fire, horse-back riding, cage fighting, desert trekking, and a whole lot more. Looking at the list, you would wonder how all that can be incorporated into one book. But trust me, Moira Young did it. And though I disliked Saba a good portion of the time, I could easily see myself in her shoes, being the older sister to three siblings. It's like Emmi, times three!


   Saba and her twin brother are inseperable. Her younger sister, scrawny, little Emmi is Saba's nightmare. They pretty much hate each other. Giving birth to Emmi was what caused their mother's death. So when Lugh is kidnapped, Saba wishes it was Emmi and not her twin. And Saba is going to get him back.


   Being a dystopian, you would expect Blood Red Road to be one of those future-esque, gadget-filled world. Instead, Moira Young takes us to the future that's not much different than our past. It's a world where horses are used for transportation, language is funny, and houses are built with whatever scrap a person can find. But the setting isn't all that makes Blood Red Road what it is. The characters, setting, the twisting plot, and the nonstop action make Moira Young's first book and unbelievable must read.


   I don't want to ruin anything for you, but there shouldn't be any reason for you to NOT pick this book up. Its that good. Really.

The cover does a great job of portraying the scene clearly. The dust and the girl all alone resembles Saba throughout a good portion of the book.

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