Moira Young

When originally I heard about this book I was very excited. I'm not huge on dystopian novels, but in the case of this one I was ready to invest a considerable amount of time into it because it was a rather long novel (450 or so pages) and the MC is older then most (as far as young adult fiction goes). I kept away from early reviews and excerpts because I wanted to go into the book with a fresh set of eyes, no preconceptions whatsoever.

I really wish I had read a couple at least, so I was prepared.

As a plot BLOOD RED ROAD was thoroughly engrossing. This story is 100% Saba's; her voice, her perceptions, her feelings. Saba doesn't hold back or try to sugar coat things, she's very upfront (to the reader at least) about her faults as well as her strengths. She readily admits that her younger sister is an unwelcome burden, a constant reminder of what they had (a happy family) versus what they didn't have when their mother was alive. She also admits that Lugh is the bright light, the one that leads them and is their guiding force. She doesn't say anything of this with bitterness, she merely accepts that he leads and she follows.

The closeness the twins share is a steady pulse throughout the novel, even when Lugh is taken away and Saba has to face a world where he isn't there to show her what needs doing. I wouldn't say that Saba suddenly realized 'Gee I'm just as smart as Lugh!', it was more of a gradual understanding that Lugh's understanding of the world came from how he saw it. As her perception changed so too did her her ability to interact with the world.

As I said, the plot held me captivated. So its with some irritation that I report it took me nearly two weeks to finish this novel. In that time I put it aside so often I got nearly three times that many pages done on various other books. Even while I sat wondering how Saba figured out a way to keep going, I could not make myself read it any faster than I did.

To put it simply the writing killed me. Not that Young couldn't write, its just because the book was from Saba's POV everything was written as if Saba was writing it down. And since Saba's education was rudimentary at best that meant a whole lot of spelling mistakes, grammar headaches and weirdly placed punctuation. At first I thought it was because it was an advanced reader's copy, but with a sinking feeling I realized that's how the ENTIRE BOOK is written. If it had just been when Saba or the others talked, I could have tolerated it. But when Saba is describing a scene and its in that broken mostly phonetic spelling it grated on me.

That's a personal problem however. As I said, the plot is gripping, I just couldn't get beyond the narrative tone.… (more)

Welp, that was pretty awesome. Dystopian future? Check. Badass survivor chick? Check. Superhot dudely love interest? Check. Cage fighting? Check. Girls cage fighting? CHECK. Fighting an Evil Overlord? Check. Giant man-eating worms? DOUBLE CHECK.

Beyond the superficial stuff and the similarities to Mad Max and his Thunderdome, I most enjoyed Saba's character growth. She starts off as quite selfish and a little too focused on her brother (was I the only one who found it a little weird?) but as her exposure to the world grew, so did she. She wasn't totally reformed by the end of the book and there's lots of potential for her in the next, so it felt organic and not forced. Beyond Saba, most of the supporting characters were well-fleshed, except for the totally bizarro Evil Overlord. I wish there had been some more exploration of his character. Why the Louis XIV getup? The gold face paint? Constantly referring to himself as the King?

I wasn't quite convinced that just because Saba was accustomed to physical labor that she would be a competent hand-to-hand fighter, but she was basically a berserker, so that's okay, I guess. I'd have liked it better if Saba hadn't got pantsfeelings for basically the first young, attractive dude she laid eyes on, but that's me quibbling. I probably would have been crushing on Jack too. I was not in love with the paranormal-ish aspects (rain spells? prophetic dreaming? the heartstone? Uh, yeahno) but otherwise found it pretty entertaining. A lot of the violence was weirdly sanitized, so it's probably okay for the slightly-younger-than-young-adult crowd.

Regarding the dialect, I generally hate, hate reading in it, but I didn't loathe it here. It was consistent and fitting, seeing as how very few people in this iteration of the future had ever even seen a book, never mind having had access to regular education. Of course, YMMV, but I found that it made the story feel more authentic.

If this does end up being made into a movie, I'll definitely be going to see it.… (more)