Blood Red Road

From the jacket cover:
Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried up wasteland ravaged by the constant dust storms. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother, Lugh, is around. But when a monster dust sandstorm arrives bearing four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on a quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: 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 revoltuionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her civilization.

Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, relentless action, and an epic love story.


At first I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. I struggled with the way it was written...not one speech mark graces a page in this book! That and the dialouge...it is written exactly as Saba speaks. The language compliments the dystopian world created by Young though. What I first struggled with I cannot now imagine any other way!

Saba is a flawed character. She loves her twin brother Lugh, but hates her sister Emmi. However, Emmi and Saba's relationship grows as they are thrown into a quest to save Lugh. It doesn't happen over night though, which makes the relationship all the more human.

On her journey to save Lugh, Saba is kidnapped and forced to be a Cage fighter. There she meets another cage fighter, Jack, who she is instantly drawn to, and she has no idea why. When she is finally able to escape, she knows she can't leave without him. Her own feelings frusterate her as much as Jack's comments do.

Jack is cocky, arrogant, and good looking, and he rubs Saba the wrong way...BIG TIME!! She can't understand how she can love him and hate him at the same time. Their relationship is intense and adds just enough romance to the story.

This isn't a "romance" by any means! It is an adventure! It is a story about friendship, love, loss, trusting others and finding oneself! The characters are easy to identify with, which makes them easy to love!

If you are a fan at all of dystopian books this is a MUST READ!!

I gave this book 5 apples!!