Thursday, July 26, 2012

Review: Blood Red Road by Moira Young


Title: Blood Red Road 

Author: Moira Young 

Rating: 4/5 Stars

I am easily amongst one of the last people to have read Blood Red Road and while I was worried that my expectations would not be fulfilled, Young proved that my worries were baseless. Not only were my expectations exceeded, I was also rewarded with the thought that my wait for the sequel of this fantastic debut would be far less than that of anyone else. While Blood Red Road remains to be a dystopian novel like any other with a protagonist embarking on an epic journey, its true beauty lies in its creative writing style, realistic quality, and fleshed-out characters. I have thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in this brutal, but rich, world and am already counting down the days till the release of Rebel Heart.

In the distant future that Saba resides in, her entire life has been spent in isolation with her family. Yet, Saba has never felt deprived of company as long as she has her twin brother, Lugh, and her wearied father, who claims to read the future in the stars, by her side. But, when Saba’s father is murdered and Lugh kidnapped by four mysterious horsemen, Saba’s life is turned upside down. Now, she must embark on a journey with her younger sister, Emmi, to find and reclaim her brother before his life is in mortal danger. Yet, most surprising of all, will be the strength Saba finds within herself and more than that, a heart where she previously thought there was none.

Blood Red Road has received a lot of mixed reviews ever since its release. While there have been gushing and adoring fans, there have also, in equal part, been repulsed readers. Why? Blood Red Road is written in a dialect that takes awhile to understand, yet, it perfectly embodies the culture and state of this future civilization where books are practically non-existent and education is a thing of legend. Furthermore, Blood Red Road  lacks quotations marks but this, like the purposeful dialect, only further renders the reader into the true mindset of its protagonist, Saba.

Saba is a tough character to like – she’s rude to those who try to help her, she is never grateful for what she has, and most heart-breaking, she is impossibly mean to her younger sister. Yet, for all her feral nature, Saba loves her brother very dearly and it is this love for him that propels her onwards to some of the most difficult and dangerous tasks she will face. I loved not only getting to know Saba and getting inside her head, I also loved watching her grow. Young’s development of Saba’s character was realistic to a point where I simply have to admire her writing style. While Saba may have had one or two moments of shining kindness where the reader thought she was changing for the good, Young proved that true change took longer than that and made Saba resort to her usual snippy self and bury herself in her cloak of indifference. So, while Saba took two steps backward for every one step she took forward, I truly enjoyed reading her flawed character and her struggles to become a better person only made her perfect in my eyes.

While I liked the pacing of this one immensely, I found that it was the sibling relationships, unlikely friendships, strange compromises, and inexplicable romances that made this novel shine. Saba’s relationship with Emmi was easily my favorite as it was heart-warming while managing to be realistic. Furthermore, we were able to not only see Saba’s growth, but Emmi’s too as she grew into a strong and courageous girl. In addition, Saba’s unlikely friendship with the Free Hawks was extremely compelling. I’ll just come out and say it – the Free Hawks are every woman’s dream. I think we all aspire to be headstrong women who can support one another and be there for each other and that is exactly who these women are. While we got to know specific Free Hawks such as Epona, Ash, and Maev more personally than the group as a whole, I admire the simple idea of their group itself. Furthermore, I loved the friendships that Saba sustained with these remarkable people as well.

For all my gushing about relationships, the true one that demands to be highlighted is that between Jack, a charming traveler, and Saba. I’ll admit it – I was skeptical about these two at first. While Jack and Saba’s relationship seems to originally stem from a bout of insta-love, Young makes it work as Saba is as confused by the emergence of her feelings towards Jack as the reader is. Furthermore, despite the chemistry these two feel together, their true relationship grows through conversation, understanding, and a deep-seated mutual respect for one another. In addition, Jack isn’t afraid to point out Saba’s flaws when everyone else is. Together, they make each other better people and I was rooting for their romance (and make-out scenes) the whole way through.

Blood Red Road is simply one heck of an adventure. It barely leaves you with any room to catch your breath and its cast of secondary characters is almost better than the scintillating plotline itself. Plus, this novel contains a set of villains who are not only truly evil, but they are clever as well! While I hated these villains with a passion, I could not help but love what they brought to this story and while Blood Red Road is quite nicely wrapped up, there are still plenty of loose threads to pick up on in the sequel. So, all in all, this is one book you simply cannot miss. It’s a dystopian that demands to be read with characters you won’t want to say good-bye to. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel with bated breath and hope against hope that Moira Young will, once again, exceed my expectations of her writing and deliver a follow-up even more stunning than her debut!

18 comments:

  1. Yay! I'm so glad you finally got around to this book Keertana. It's always a good thing when the wait for the next book is a short one. ;) This is a great review! I agree with your points about Saba especially. I found her quite tough to like at times too but did really enjoy her character overall. (She's still a little infuriating in the sequel though). I'm eager to see what you make of the next book. Fantastic review as always, Keertana. :)

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    1. Thanks Sam! I loved this novel and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel! I read your review of it and while you didn't enjoy it as much as this one, I'm hoping I do! :)

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  2. Great review, Keertana! *-* This book sounds wonderful, and though I haven't read it yet, now I'm eager to :D

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    1. Thanks Beatriz!(: I'd love to see what you think of this one as I really enjoyed it, so I hope you will too! :D

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  3. This sounds amazing, you've really encouraged me to read it! I am beginning to love dystopians more and more :)

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    1. Me too, Zoe! I love how much scope there is for imagination and creativity in a dystopian novel, so I'm excited to see what you think of this one! :)

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  4. Great review, Keertena. This sounds pretty awesome. I'll definitely have to pick it up (since you're not the only one to have not read this!) After all, I do tend to stray away from reading some of the hyped books until long after they're out.

    However, your review just firmly set my decision that I need to own this book soon! :D

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    1. Thanks Olivia!(: I can't wait to see what you think of this one! It's marvelous, so I hope you like it! :D

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  5. I'm so glad you ended up liking this. I loved this story! Her relationship with her sister was so wonderful in the way it changed from antagonistic to loving. Jack and Saba's relationship had to be my favorite though! Awesome review, Keertana! :)

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    1. Thanks Rachel! I loved the manner in which Saba's relationship with Emmi changed as well and Jack was such an amazing romantic interest, so I loved his relationship with Saba as well! I can't wait for the sequel! :D

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  6. Great review! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, I was gushing over this one too. Just a little more than week now and then the sequel's available to buy. I pre-ordered it on Amazon.

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    1. Thanks Katja!(: I can't wait to pre-order it too! I'm excited for its release! :D

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  7. You're doing one better than me... I've had a copy since last year and I STILL haven't read this damn book!! I definitely hear the most about the dialect used and I'm really intrigued to see how I'll respond to it. From the way you describe it, it sounds like it will only invest me further into the story. I LOVE how flawed and complicated Saba sounds, definitely not your typical YA heroine. And the relationships seem so well developed.

    ARGH. You do realise my TBR is already bursting at the seams and cannot afford for another book to topple it by trying to jump ahead of the others? Either you don't know or you just don't care, because when you write amazing reviews like this, I have a hard time resisting urges to go grab my copy now. Cannot wait to read this!

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    1. What? Why haven't you read it Brodie? Go, go, go! Read it! It's amazing! Saba really is such a flawed and complex character and everything about the relationships in this one are extraordinary, so I can't wait to see what you think of this one Brodie! :D

      I just don't care Brodie! ;) You need to read this one ASAP, especially since the sequel is releasing soon, so I'll be looking out for your review!(:

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  8. Awesome, I'm thrilled that you enjoyed this! Well, now you don't have to wait so long for the sequel, do you? :) Only two-ish months left to go! (I'm counting down the days, ha).

    I think your thoughts about how every woman aspires (or should) to be like a Free Hawk is perfect. I also love how the author never presented the females in this book as Women Who Have Balls (they have to "prove" themselves to men that they are capable, for example) but rather, it's a celebration of female power. All the women are strong, intelligent, independent, and I really appreciated that during my read of this.

    Lovely review, Keertana!

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    1. Thanks Leanne!(: I'm counting down the days too! ;) I really loved how this novel was a celebration of female power too. Not only were they on equal par with the men in this book, but I love that Saba finally got to lead at the end of this story, not Lugh, as that was a huge turning moment in their relationship. Even Emmi who was a young girl got her share of woman empowerment, so that was remarkable. I hope it continues on in the sequel too! :D

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  9. I haven't read this one yet either :( I really should get to it asap, as there's been nothing but praising reviews around, also I recently received the second book too! Fab review Keertana, I'm glad you had fun reading this, you're reviews convinced me to pick this up sooner! :)

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    1. You received the second book? Yay! What are you waiting for then? You have to read this ASAP Jasprit! I can't wait to see what you think of it! :D

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