BLOOD RED ROAD (Dustlands #1)
by Moira Young

PUBLISHER: Marion Lloyd Books (UK) | Margaret K. McElderry (US)
RELEASE DATE: May 2011 (UK) | June 2011 (US)
FORMAT: ARC, 531 pages
GENRE: Dystopian, Young Adult
SOURCE: Publisher

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. (Goodreads)

GUEST REVIEWER: Andrea

The moment this book landed in my hands I was intrigued. The plot sounded fantastic, but after a quick flick through I was afraid to read it. Not one speech mark graces the pages of this book, and it’s written exactly how Saba, the narrator speaks. A dialect not dissimilar to our own; without the rules and regulations of ‘proper‘ English.

There was no need to be afraid. After two pages I was hooked. It’s easy to imagine our society breaking down, for whatever reason, and our language slowly disintegrating to something more guttural as the world reverts back to simpler times. The language really compliments the whole world and feel of BLOOD RED ROAD, and now I could not imagine it any other way.

Moira Young uses just the right amount of dialect to give Saba the perfect voice and to set the scene of a vague dystopian future. She doesn’t go overboard, and the writing just flows as the world builds up and the characters come to life.

As you can probably tell; I loved this book. The world is rich, and well thought out. Saba is flawed, and not always a nice person. She loves her twin brother, but hates her little sister. It’s a relationship that grows as they’re thrown together in their quest to save Lugh, but it’s not a relationship that becomes perfect overnight, making them both seem very human.

On her journey to rescue Lugh, Saba is kidnapped and put to work as a cage fighter. She meets Jack, another cage fighter, and is instantly drawn to him, though she doesn’t know why. Until he opens his mouth and she realises how arrogant he is. When she’s finally able to escape she can’t leave without him even if she doesn’t know why. Her own feelings frustrate her almost as much as Jack’s comments do.

Jack is cocky, good looking, and he rubs Saba up the wrong way. She can’t understand her feelings for him, she likes and loathes him all at once, and it makes her mad. Their fledgling relationship adds the perfect amount of romance without being clichéd.

VERDICT:

This isn’t a young adult romance novel, though it has romance. It’s an adventure story, a story of friendship, love and loss, it’s exciting, and the characters are easy to relate to and come to love, even if they aren’t perfect – probably because they aren’t perfect.

RATING: 10/10

MOIRA YOUNG ONLINE
Website | Goodreads

BOOKS IN SERIES ORDER
1. Blood Red Road
2. Rebel Heart

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