Blood Red Road By Moira Young

Series: Dustlands #1
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
Release Date: June 12th 2011
Source: Bought
Overall Rating: 2/5 Stars
Cover Rating: 2/5 Stars
Synopsis: 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 civilisation.

First Line: Lugh got born first.

Blood Red Road is one of those books that is surrounded by a huge hype. I have seen hundreds of shining reviews for this book so was very excited to get into it. Who I think it lived up to the hype? No I do not. I thought at first it was the grammar and spelling mistakes that stopped me getting into it but I now think their presence wasn't the cause but the execution of them. I loved the Chaos Walking series where a similar technique was used but in this I just don't think it worked. I could probably have gotten over it though if it weren't for the plot... And the characters for that matter. Blood Red Road follows Saba who, after her brother is kidnapped, sets out to find him. Which means crossing the Dustlands which is almost impossible. After that the plot seems to just be random; it involves cage fighting, a gang of girls and killer worms.

I absolutely hated nearly every character. Saba is unbearable. She is a horrible, selfish person who people seem to see as a heroine. I'd put Bella Swan in that category just to keep her out! Saba is constantly beyond mean to her little sister, Emmy, and at one point decides not to leave her to die only because Lugh wouldn't like it. The only bearable characters were Emmy and Jack. Emmy would have made a much better heroine than Saba; she's selfless, brave and much kinder. Jack was a stereotypical YA love interest but he had slight depth to his character which made him more likeable.

Overall, I don't believe that the intentional mistakes worked in this book and instead worked just as an extra obstacle in liking this book. The only reason this book isn't a one star review is that I found aspects slightly entertaining. I normally would now recommend you not to read this book but as I seem to be the minority in disliking it, I won't.

My Favourite Quote:
“Ever heard of the rule of three? he shouts as we run.
No!
If you save somebody's life three times, their life belongs to you. You saved my life today, that makes once. Save it twice more an I'm all yers.”