Blood Red Road (Dust Lands) [Kindle Edition]

Moira Young (Author)

Book Description

The book that will “blow you away”** has a dazzling new look in paperback!

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 four cloaked horsemen capture Lugh, Saba's world is shattered, and she embarks on a quest to get him back. 

 

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the outside world, Saba discovers she is a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba’s unrelenting search for Lugh stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization. 

 Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetic writing style, and an epic love story—making Moira Young is one of the most exciting new voices in teen fiction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

 “It’s Mad Max and The Hunger Games meets True Grit. . . .The author moves between ruthless action and gorgeous, buttery narration. . . . In the hands of a lesser writer, that style might have dragged, but first-time author Young is talented, and she’s just getting started. . . This is a must-read, where girls rescue boys, and where the future looms up full of hope and loss, struggles and archetypes that give the story a timeless, classic edge.”
–The Globe and Mail

“Eerie and adventurous. . .on par with Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and Paolo Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker. . . Blood Red Road has a cinematic quality that makes it white-hot. . . .The fervor is more than warranted.”
–LA Times

“Brutal and thrilling.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“Not only will it satisfy the cravings of Hunger Games fans, but it is—dare I say—better than The Hunger Games. . . . This book will blow you away. . . . Blood Red Road simply delivers. The story, the writing, the characters and the narrative voice are stunning and completely original, setting this book apart from the crowd of dystopian novels.”
—Hollywood Crush, MTV.com
 
“[Blood Red Road is] poised to be the next big thing in teen fiction, and with good reason. . . . The world . . . is beautifully wrought, as well as terrifyingly plausible. . . . Young has taken familiar pieces of everything from Gladiator to Lord of the Rings and put them in the hands of a spunky, moody heroine who breaths new life into old motifs.”
—Quill & Quire

Review

*"Young's powerful debut, first in the Dustlands series, is elevated above its now familiar postapocalyptic setting by an intriguing prose style and strong narrative voice that show a distinct Cormac McCarthy vibe. It's a natural for Hunger Games fans."

--Publishers Weekly *STAR

“Blood Red Road will capture any reader who picks it up. I love everything about Saba - her language, her intensity, her heart. Everyone should read her story.”--James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner

“I absolutely loved Blood Red Road. What a great read! Moira Young goes over the top with a most engaging heroine. Saba is a crusty, foul-tempered warrior woman who must be covered in scar tissue by the end of the book, but men still follow her around like starving wolves. The dialogue is fast and often humorous, the pace never lets up. No situation is so bad that it can't get worse in the next couple of pages. I especially liked the awakening of the hellwurms as they emerge to feed. Well done, Ms. Young!”--Nancy Farmer, author of The House of the Scorpion

“Better than The Hunger Games. . . . This book will blow you away.”—MTV’s Hollywood Crush blog

“Is it any surprise that Ridley Scott swiftly optioned the book?”—New York Times Book Review

“Blood Red Road is an eerie and adventurous dystopian fantasy on par with Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and Paolo Bacigalupi's Ship Breaker.”—LA Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 902 KB
• Print Length: 480 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books; Reprint edition (June 7, 2011)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004INH9P4
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,693 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 93 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Had a hard time adjusting May 12, 2011

By Alexandra Cenni VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

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. Read more ›

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great story, a bit hard to read. June 6, 2011

By Maria Waddell

Format:Hardcover

I hate to start off a review with a negative, but it was a big one for me and I see for many others as well. The writing style. It was horrible. Moira Young wrote the book in the voice of Saba, not just the dialogue, but the whole thing. Saba had a dialect that seemed a cross between the deep south and Texas, the uneducated parts, so there was a lot of drawl and misspelled words. It was incredibly painful to read over 450 pages of that.

Aside from that, the story was very entertaining. It's great to read a novel with a powerful young woman as the main character. Saba does a lot of growing up throughout the novel as she learns just how strong and creative she can be. Even when she's down about as far as she can get, she doesn't give up, she keeps fighting.

Young keeps the action and adventure moving swiftly so I never got bored, even with such a long book. She handled a myriad of leading characters with great finesse, giving them depth and separate personalities - and I never got any of them confused, which is easy for me to do in some novels!

This is marketed as a young adult book, but adults will enjoy it, too. Give it a read! It comes out tomorrow (June 7, 2011)!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 Stars for Blood Red Road By: Moira Young June 9, 2011

By L. Reeves VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Blood Red Road, by author Moira Young is one of the latest editions to the YA dystopian genre that's taking readers by storm. The characters of Young's dry and dusty world will stick with you long after finishing.

In the first few pages we meet Saba and her family - twin brother Lugh, little sister Emmi and their father - who live a meager life on the rim of a dying, if not pretty much dead lake. It's a harsh life, as is any life within a dystopian world. They live day to day, waiting for rain that might not ever come.

Saba takes her strength from her brother. She follows his lead and works hard to do her part. Lugh is the golden boy - so to speak and does all he can for both of his sisters. Their father has been somewhat of a lost soul since their mother passed away years earlier. Then there's the youngest child, Emmi, nine, who is just trying to find her way in the family.

When a big red cloud comes fast and furious across the dry lake bed, none of them could imagine what was about to happen next.

I thought that Saba was strong at the beginning of the book, but she's a different person at the end. She was stubborn, hard headed and fiercely determined. To me, she's the epitome of a heroine in the ever growing popularity in the dystopian genre. She faces everything with the same strength and stubbornness, but grows because of it and her family and the other people she meets along her journey.

Jack is one of those people she meets along the way. He's a character to say the least. He challenges Saba and while the two tend to butt heads, there's more to it than meets the eye. I loved Jack! It's all about the push and pull to their relationship that I couldn't get enough of.... There is a bit of romance to the story, but it's something that's in the background.

The writing took me awhile to get use to. It wasn't anything I'd experienced in other books to this extent. I'd have to say it was more the narrative of Saba that was a struggle at the beginning. Once I got use to it, it wasn't anything I even noticed as much. However, it fits the characters and the world that Young has created.

All in all, Blood Red Road is filled with some amazingly strong characters in a bleak environment. Young's story and characters are ready to take the genre by storm. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially fans of the dystopian genre. And for me, the long wait begins for the next book in the Dustlands series. Enjoy! Read more ›

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Distracting writing style September 28, 2011

By Kbaila

Format:Hardcover

I was reluctant to read this one. Not sure exactly why. I saw it being promoted around its release date and read some reviews, but something made me hesitant. I eventually acquiesced and bought a copy.

Now that I have finished it, I am willing to admit that it was a decent story with some truly likeable characters. However, the writing style/language was a huge distraction for me. It's written in what some are calling a poetic or prose style. But, as far as I'm concerned, it's written in a backwoods, backwards English that made my grammar driven mind cringe. I can honestly say that it took till the very end of the book for the bad English not to interfere with my reading of this book. I just don't see how the writing style added to the book. Though I thought the story was gripping and exciting, I wish I would have just gotten it from the library rather than spending money on it.

Saba and Luce are twins who live out in the desert with their half crazy Pa and little sister Emmi. When Luce is kidnapped, Saba swears that she will find him. Saba tries to dump Emmi with an old friend of her mother's, but Emmi ends up following Saba and the two must find a way to put up with each other. They set out on their search and end up on quite the adventure, meeting both friends and enemies along the way.

More About the Author

Moira Young has been by turns an actress, dancer, and opera singer, but her first loves are books and writing. A native Canadian, she now lives in the UK with her husband. Blood Red Road is her first novel.