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Blood Red Road by Moira Young (Book Review) 

By  Raindropreflections

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.

Cover: I love this one. For some reason I like to think of myself as a desert girl (don’t ask) and so this one totally appeals to me. There are other covers, too, but I do so love this one. Simple and mysterious works wonders.

Before Reading: did I mention that I waited literally MONTHS to get this book? I was like the twentieth person who had this on hold at the library, and dang, people just don’t hurry, do they? Admittedly, this book is kind of big, but I finished it in two days, didn’t I? But the library came through like it always does for cash-strapped teenage bookworms, and here we are. 

My Thoughts

The writing was something like this: I can’t do this to y’all, and I ain’t going to, neither. Like, you know, Patrick Ness’s writing. but surprisingly, I wasn’t all COPYCAT! Because this book is very, very different from Patrick Ness’s books.

There are no quotation marks. This was totally unsettling, because instead of the characters speaking, I felt like I was hearing an echo of them instead. But it worked for the story, and that’s what’s most important.

Then there was the pace. Dude, if anybody wants to learn about pacing, or heck, to read some good-paced work, Blood Red Road is it. Every. Single. Moment. Was used. I’m not even joking. This book was compact, and things kept happening, YAY, and wow, it was like watching an effing movie, I swear. Amazing.

The characters themselves were a complete delight. Saba was fierce and crazy and brave and the polar opposite of the OMG-I-need-my-hot-boyfriend-to-save-me type girls that occasionally crop up in YA books. She was totally blockheaded at times, though, and it pissed me off, but hey, people are like that in real life.

And Jack- I get that he’s awesome and all, but he’s just not my type. Long hair, crooked nose… meh.

Books Worth Reading:

But you know who is, well, swoon-worthy? And if you’ve read the book, you’re going to think I’m a bit crazy, but I was secretly in love with DeMalo, the Tonton general or whatever he was. Here’s a description from Blood Red Roadto prove why:

He’s a Tonton. Tall, like they all seem to be, and robed head to toe in black. But this one wears metal body armor over his robes where the rest wear leather. A shiny breastplate an armbands from his wrists to his elbows. Long dark hair tied back. A watchful face. A strong face, with broad cheekbones. You don’t call men beautiful, I know that. But all the same, that’s what he is.

*swoon*

So yeah, I’m crazy. Weirdly enough, I didn’t notice the long hair part. Heh. Well, it isn’t going to be a part of my mental picture. Just ignore that long-haired part, unless it’s your thing. And *swoooooon* like me.

Okay, so it’s just me who was bowled over by the mysterious DeMalo. Okay, fine. To each their own.

By the way, he isn’t one of the love interests in the book. I’m don’t know if there’s a possible love triangle, after what happened at the end (ZOMG it was crazy and made me fall for DeMalo even more). There had better not be a love triangle. EVERYONE knows that DeMalo is mine. Pfft. Besides, Saba seemed scared to death of him anyways, even after all that fawning at the beginning.

Books Worth Reading:

The point of this rambly, fangirly-for-DeMalo post is, you need to read Blood Red Road. It’s awesome. It’s unconventional, it’s fast-paced, and the dystopian world was amazingly developed. Well, I wish I knew the term for the futuristic world of this book (and others) because damn, everyone KNOWS this is no utopia so as a general rule, there cannot be a dystopia. Science-romance-thrill-action fiction? That’s what this book is.

By the way, Jack and Saba’s story is AWESOME. Carla from The Crooked Shelf uses this really cool term: slow burn. Yeah, Jack and Saba’s story was a slooooow burn. No insta-love. It was more this: like-hate-dislike-like-love. Thank G for a story that FINALLY progresses in a chronological manner.

Parting Thoughts: READ the book! That’s all I’mma say.

Rating: 4.5/5. Need I elaborate?