Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Cover Comment:
not a girly girl type of cover,
but then again,
Saba is the epitome of the word "tomboy"

SUMMARY (book description from GoodReads):
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 civilization.

Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.

BOOK REPORT CARD:

Cover	1.5
Plot	3.5
Writing	1.5
Characters	4.0
Ending	3.5
Overall Rating	3.0 Very Good (89% - 92%)

LOCATION:
Who knows?! This is dystopian fiction. All I remember is that the place where the main character lived in is dusty and all dried up, like the Sahara. But then, there is a frequent change of the location in the book because the main character travels so much in search for her twin brother.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
Of course there is Saba. She is amazing in every way. At first she was this girl always trailing behind her brother. She made a complete turn-around at the end of the book. There's Jack, the love interest. Jack is secretive, resourceful, protective, and insanely hot. I loved that he lets Saba do her thing, gives her the freedom to be whatever she needs to be, and is isn't threatened by it. He loves the fact that Saba is a strong giril. The relationship between Saba and Jack is confusing, though. There was a part in the book when Jack was pining for Saba. Then a few chapters more, Jack hated Saba. Forward a few more chapters, Saba was kissing Jack. Gives life to the status, "it's complicated."

WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT:
Long story short, Saba goes through scary things to look for her brother, who was kidnapped by the Horsemen. The character went through some sort of slavery / gladiator / refugee kind of thing in the book.

LOVE:
I loved it when the woman shaved Saba's hair to prepare her to be some sort of girl gladiator. From that point, Saba's character changed. She became stronger and more determined to find her brother Lugh. Her character transformed from being a mere follower to a respected leader.

NO LOVE:
The way the book was written. If it weren't for the delicious story, I would have stopped reading at page one. But that's the thing! The story is just so damned good, you won't be able to stop.

FAVORITE CHARACTER:
I like Saba. She is just so determined, it's inspiring. I actually want to be her sometimes. She reminds me of Katniss, but Jack (oh, Jack!) is sure no Peeta.

FAVORITE LINE:
Oh I’m warm blooded. Jack grins. Anyways, Saba likes to look at my bare chest.
Lugh looks at me. Frowns. Is that a fact? he says.


MUSINGS:
Again, I hated the way the story was written. There were a lot of time when I just had to read passages several times just to get through all that wrong grammar and spelling. Eyesore galore. And again, the book is really engaging. It's somehow similar to the Hunger Games in that Saba is like Katniss - girl power through and through. They are also in the midst of oppression by their King (who, for some reason was depicted as King Louis XIV of France).

DOODLES:

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE:
can't find it. doesn't have one (?)

SIMILAR READS:
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Divergent by Veronica Roth

CONTENT REVIEW:
profanity: mild (if you can get through the writing-style)
violence: moderate
sexual content: mild
mature themes: mild
age recommendation: 13+