Blood Red Road

Young, Moira. Blood Red Road. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011. 457p.

 

A civilization built on the bones of The Wreckers and their ancient technology, is reminiscent of the Wild West of yore.  Saba lives on a dried up lake with her twin brother Lugh, her pesky little sister Emmi, and her father.  When cloaked men come and abduct Lugh, it is up to Saba to get him back, regardless of the danger she faces.  Soon, Saba is struggling to survive, and the fate of Lugh depends on her staying alive.

The strength of the novel lies in the creative storyline that is woven throughout the pages.  The dystopian society that has been created includes a number of extremely cruel and bewildering characters, and twisting plot lines that surprise the reader at every turn.  Even elements that can be guessed at are still satisfying when the full story is revealed.

A weakness of the novel is the vernacular of the main characters.  Written in a “country-folk” dialect, it can be tiresome to read after a substantial number of pages.  Affer a’spell, er, after a while, it gets into the reader’s head and is hard to get rid of.  For some readers, this substantial style choice may take away from the power of the novel.

For a young adult reader, Blood Red Road combines adventure, with strong characters, and a desire to find out how the quest will end.  Many readers will see themselves in Saba or one of the others involved in the book. They may discover, as Saba does, that they are stronger than they believe and deserving of the good things in life.  And certainly, the journey that tests Saba’s will to survive and fight will leave the reader tuckered out and maybe looking for some grub, to boot.