Review: Blood Red Road (Dustlands, #1) By: Moira Young

Title: Blood Red Road (Dustlands, #1)
Author: Moira Young
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry, 512 Pages (June 7th 2011)
From: the Publisher/Amazon Vine Program

Synopsis: 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.

Review: 4 Stars - Blood Red Road, by author Moira Young is one of the latest editions to the YA dystopian genre that’s taking readers by storm. The characters of Young’s dry and dusty world will stick with you long after finishing.

In the first few pages we meet Saba and her family - twin brother Lugh, little sister Emmi and their father - who live a meager life on the rim of a dying, if not pretty much dead lake. It’s a harsh life, as is any life within a dystopian world. They live day to day, waiting for rain that might not ever come.

Saba takes her strength from her brother. She follows his lead and works hard to do her part. Lugh is the golden boy – so to speak and does all he can for both of his sisters. Their father has been somewhat of a lost soul since their mother passed away years earlier. Then there’s the youngest child, Emmi, nine, who is just trying to find her way in the family.

When a big red cloud comes fast and furious across the dry lake bed, none of them could imagine what was about to happen next.

I thought that Saba was strong at the beginning of the book, but she’s a different person at the end. She was stubborn, hard headed and fiercely determined. To me, she’s the epitome of a heroine in the ever growing popularity in the dystopian genre. She faces everything with the same strength and stubbornness, but grows because of it and her family and the other people she meets along her journey.

Jack is one of those people she meets along the way. He’s a character to say the least. He challenges Saba and while the two tend to butt heads, there’s more to it than meets the eye. I loved Jack! It’s all about the push and pull to their relationship that I couldn’t get enough of. There is a bit of romance to the story, but it’s something that’s in the background.

The writing took me awhile to get use to. It wasn’t anything I’d experienced in other books to this extent. I’d have to say it was more the narrative of Saba that was a struggle at the beginning. Once I got use to it, it wasn’t anything I even noticed as much. However, it fits the characters and the world that Young has created.

All in all, Blood Red Road is filled with some amazingly strong characters in a bleak environment. Young’s story and characters are ready to take the genre by storm. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially fans of the dystopian genre. And for me, the long wait begins for the next book in the Dustlands series. Enjoy!

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.