Blood Red Road by Moira Young

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 received so much praise that I was afraid to read it. Sadly, Blood Red Road didn’t live up to my high expectations.I also didn’t emotionally connect with Saba as much as I wanted to. I also found it hard to get used to the narrative. Though, I do think that Moira Young did an awesome job with the writing of the novel. I liked that the sentences were short and clipped.

I also liked that Blood Red Road was different. It isn’t just a love story or a dystopian or a fantasy or another archetypal genre in YA. It was about family, loss, growing up, and had tons of engaging adventures and action.

Despite the slow beginning and unusual narrative, I liked Blood Red Road. It is something unique and individual compared to books in the YA market right now. I don’t recommend that you go out and buy it, just in case you can’t get through the way of writing. I do however, recommend you go straight out to your local library and borrow Blood Red Road to read.

FTC- Received as an ARC from my local indie bookshop, Copperfields.