Blood Red Road by Moira Young

From Goodreads:

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.

This book is written in a long narrative style from Saba's POV. So, I admit, it took me a minute to get used to it. I honestly didn't think I'd like it and that I would get drawn out of the story. This was not the case. In fact, I easily and quickly got absorbed into the strange dystopian world where Saba resides.

The book starts out innocently enough with the family, barely surviving encounters several men on horseback. They kill their eccentric father and wound Saba while they steal her twin Lugh. There is something about their birthday and the fact he is a male that makes him valuable. All Saba knows is that she promises Lugh she would come and get him and she never goes back on her word.

If you are looking for a sedate book, then look elsewhere. This book is anything but sedate. It is almost non-stop action from the time Lugh is taken. In fact, it is hard to put down this book because you want to find out what happens next. Besides the great secondary characters in this book like the amazonian like Free Hawks, you have the characters of Nero and Hermes. Nero is Saba's crow who has a full personality of his own. Hermes is her horse who is a hero in his own right. So, those that love animals will also love this story. Oh I so loved these characters! Just reading about Nero is worth the price of admission for this book.

I give this book 5 stars. I really enjoyed it. It might take you a second to get used to the long narrative, I promise, it doesn't take long. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good dystopian book and a strong female character. Also, if you tend to shy away from YA, don't let the label take you away from this book. Adults will like it as well.


I received this book form S&S Galley grab and no compensation was given for the review.