A Review for Blood Red Road (Dust Lands #1) by Moria Young

Posted by Donna
Release Date: January 4th, 2012

Finished Date: November 14th, 2012

Publishers: Marion Lloyd Books
Source: For Review 

Format: Paperback

Pages: 417
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

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.

The Review: Blood Red Road is one of them books that I have seen all over the bloggosphere for some time now, and truthfully, I was never really interested in reading it. I’m not sure why, I guess it just didn’t appeal to me but luckily for me, the lovely people over at Scholastic gave me the opportunity to read it – so I took and well, I was completely captivated and utterly enthralled with it. 

It’s not often that I read a book that really seems to stand out from all the others I have read. Don’t get me wrong, I have read some amazing books this year – some of which are my favourite but when I look at Blood Red Road, I can really seem the difference. To compare Blood Red Road to other books – well, it you just can't because it is so fantastically unique that it honestly speaks for itself, and yes I’m talking about how this book was written. Who would have thought something like this work?; “We're on our own. An I feel calm. It seems crazy . . . but I'm calm. Because now I see what I gotta do. An what I ain't gotta do, which is waste time thinkin that anybody's gonna help us. That somebody's gonna come along an rescue us. I cain't count on nobody but me.”

See what I mean? But you know what, it works so well. The style of writing Moria Young uses in Blood Red Road is fresh, beautiful and so, so different that once again, this book stands out from all others. I admit, it does take some time to get used to and it may put some people off but once you get the hang of it, it reads like any other book and soon you’ll find yourself not wanting to stop reading. 

Not only is the style of writing a highlight but the characters are too. Saba as the main character, is feisty, stubborn and brutal. She knows what she has to do to survive and she’ll do whatever it takes. At times, it’s was hard to warm to Saba especially during the moments with her younger sister, Emmi but as the book progresses, Saba really changes and in the end, she becomes a very loveable character rather than just a likeable one. I believe the turning point for Saba comes when she meets Jack. She's never really looked at boys before but it all changes when she meets him. He opens her up and really shows her how she is and how mean she is to her sister. However, despite Saba's faults it's clear how much he cares for her. Their romance is a slow one but it's one you constantly root for through-out the book and I'm really looking forward to seeing more of them together in Rebel Heart. 

“Yer in my blood, Saba, he says. Yer in my head. Yer in my breath, yer in my bones...gawd help me, yer everywhere. You have bin since the first moment I set eyes on you.” 

The story itself is full of danger, mystery and scary things that go bump in the night. There's cage fighting, giant worms, bad people and of course, the evil King. Blood Red Road is isn't short of exciting and highly charged scenes and it's definitely very unpredictable. It's safe to say, I'm so pleased I had the opportunity to read this book because I would have been missing out if I didn't, so a big thank you to Hannah at Scholastic!