Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Oct 31, 2011

Listen up since you may never hear these words from me again about any other book: I am not surprised in the least that this book is getting such buzz, nor that rights to the film have already been acquired by Ridley Scott. You want to know why? Because this book has everything that will keep anyone, whether a reader or movie-goer, hooked: action, suspense, drama, unpredictability, emotion, romance, and great characterization.

Unlike other dystopian YA novels, Blood Red Road isn't More...

8 comments like (66 people liked it)

Aug 18, 2011

Wendy Darling rated it:

This review may contain mild spoilers, but they're nothing that you won't see in the trailer for the film. That's right, Ridley Scott optioned this book for a film before it was even published, and it's easy to see why. It's a hugely entertaining spectacle full of adventure and excitement and thrills, with action scenes that you can clearly picture as you read them.

Saba's twin brother Lugh has been kidnapped by a band of horsemen, and she sets off alone on the quest to bring him back More...

29 comments like (54 people liked it)

Apr 21, 2011

Tatiana rated it:

This book is not going to be out until June, so I feel very lucky for having had an opportunity to read it so early. I hope it will get enough promo buzz over the next few months to reach tons of readers, because Blood Red Road very much deserves it. It is a stand-out in the new crop of dystopian/post-apocalyptic YA fiction, most of which is crap.

The novel is basically an adventure quest set in a distant post-apocalyptic future. Saba's twin brother Lugh is kidnapped in front of her e More...

26 comments like (71 people liked it)

Apr 21, 2011

Flannery rated it:

Have you ever wanted to read a bleak quest novel narrated by a rough and ready Elly May Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies? If so, this one’s for you! Just kidding. Er, sort of. The narration style of this will certainly alienate some readers but after the first 15-20 pages, I didn’t really notice it anymore. In fact, it actually felt comfortable. Saba, the protagonist in this work, lives in a barren dustland with her Pa, younger sister Emmi, and her twin, Lugh. Saba’s narration is due to the More...

11 comments like (51 people liked it)

May 24, 2011

Sparrow rated it:

!!!!! This book kicks my ass. Moira Young has gotta be the Beatrix Kiddo of y/a writers. She comes in here, probably blindfolded or some such, turns the conventional rescue story on its head, and then writes it all out in solid, beautiful dialect because that’s just how badass she is. The effortlessness alone is enough to make me think we’ve arrived in some new country of storytelling. Suddenly, we’re in the middle of it, and I didn’t even realize the tour bus could go there.

I d More...

24 comments like (32 people liked it)

Jan 20, 2012

Jo rated it:

“If you know how to read the stars, you can read the story of people’s lives.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Blaaaahhh I had such high hopes for this book and I thought I was going to love it. And I did until about half way through… and then ~~I just wanted to punch things~~ the red hot descended and things got fuzzy.

High Points.
The first half. Emmi. Jack (and his hairless chest). Ike. Tommo. Nero. The setting, Ms Young certainly knows how to set up a story and build More...

13 comments like (14 people liked it)

Apr 30, 2011

Vinaya rated it:

The whole time I was reading Blood Red Road, there was a part of me standing away and thinking — where is it? Where is the part that's going to twist me up and spit me out? Where's that intense feeling that marks a book I truly loved? Tragically, I never did reach that part.

In part, my expectations are to blame. I read too many reviews and they all loved the book so much, I think I was expecting it to be as spectacular as the Second Coming of Christ. My expectations were pretty much More...

14 comments like (27 people liked it)

Jan 12, 2011

karen rated it:

this book is one of the most-anticipated release titles in teen fiction, and i got to read it early because ariel is a gift to mankind.take that, teens!! you guys get fast metabolisms and hopeful outlooks and unlimited potential, and i get advanced readers copies. even steven.

so she gave me this book about twins and a bird, which is like giving a new young mother a buddy book where a kidnapper teams up with SIDS for adventures and romance.but i braved my fears and read what i was hop More...

18 comments like (53 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2011

Ceridwen rated it:

If I had read this younger, I would have loved this. People say stuff like this all the time, and sometimes it's a dig. You know, the old saw about how teens are stupid and they cannot differentiate good writing from bad so we as older readers should either a) not read books directed at the teen market or b) not judge it according to the literary standards of books aimed at adults. A pox on both ideas. I don't think we should just hang out in our little genre marketing ghettos: I only read YA, y More...

51 comments like (34 people liked it)

Apr 21, 2011

Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker rated it:

My First Impression-

What the hell is this writing style?

Immediately, you notice the grammatically incorrect sentences. For example:

“Lugh’s bin sayin it fer a while now. Pa’s gitten worse. Mind you, he ain’t bin right fer a long time”

My thoughts on this writing style:

At first, I had a hard time reading it. After about 20 pages, I did not even notice it. As the story progresses, you realize how important this writing style is to por More...

46 comments like (32 people liked it)

Nov 03, 2011

Isamlq rated it:

Highlights: a kidnapping, cage fights to the death, a delusional psycho King and killer worms. Ha! Blood Red Road is chock full of adventure that I could not get enough of. So, yup, I loved almost every moment of it. There’s also the added bonus of a Jack and Saba~ their interaction was a cool (sweet?) break in between all the heart pumping action.

Saba is so strong. I won’t lie, she did have moments of “duh” but overall I found myself admiring her strength. With her father killed sh More...

8 comments like (13 people liked it)

Aug 17, 2011

Lisa O. rated it:

2.5 stars

There are many successful books that get turned into movies. Not necessarily good movies. Actually, it is very rare for the movie to be better than the book. But not impossible.
Blood Red Road might be one of such rare cases.
I read somewhere that this book was optioned to be become a movie even BEFORE being published. That's where the problems lies: Blood Red Road is trying too hard to be a movie before even being a book.

That means that while it's More...

13 comments like (22 people liked it)

Nov 14, 2011

Rollie rated it:

This is indeed a great book. Special thanks to my friend Maria for letting my eyes get into the pages of this book.

On a midwinter day, when the sun sets low they were born. Lugh, handsome and shines like a sun, was born first; whereas Saba, beautiful like a darkness of night, followed after two hours. The twins lived bonded to each other in an isolated place named Silverlake. As they continue to grow, they realized how much neither of them was worthy to live if either would be separ More...

48 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Jami rated it:

Okay, wow. I mean, seriously, wow. I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't think I was going to love Blood Red Road like I did. In a land now over-flowing with post-apocalyptic, dystopian novels, many of them really stinking, this one was a breath of fresh air.

So here's the thing. I don't love when authors try to get all dramatic by not using quotation marks to indicate dialogue (and why that creates drama, I have yet to figure out). In fact, I stopped reading a book once th More...

5 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2012

Leyoh rated it:

A mini review for those of you who are yet to move this from your to read pile:

It's a fantastic adventure, fast paced, feisty and fun. The perfect book for an escape from the real world.

And for those of you who don't mind spoilers or have already read it:

It does have it's flaws as I'm sure you'll have noticed -

The star gazing theology disappeared half way through the book?!?!?
Pinch just would not die and damn you Saba for not making sure, not once but twice!
The moonstone made the romance with Ja More...

5 comments like (6 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2012

Mocha ღ Latte rated it:

More of my reviews at A Cupcake and a Latte:YA Reads, Reviews & More!

An Incredible Addition To The Genre

Strong and diligent Sada has spent her entire life living in Silverlake, a now dried-up wasteland disturbed by constant sandstorms. The long hated Wreckers have long been gone leaving an abundance of landfills for Saba and her family. Everything is routine until Saba's twin brother, Lugh, is captured by four cloaked horsemen during a monstrous sandstorm. With her loving More...

3 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jul 29, 2011

Krystle rated it:

This book is like:

and

Why? Saba’s got that bad ass attitude like Katniss, cagefighting that Wolverine does in the first movie, and killer worms from Tremors. Awesome combination if I do say so myself.

The first thing you notice about the book is the terse, short, and simple sentences used stylistically to evoke Saba’s voice. Not to mention everything’s written out phonetically so that will give a lot of people c More...

4 comments like (19 people liked it)

Dec 05, 2011

Ela rated it:

Also posted on my blog, YA Anonymous- For YA Addicts

What I thought when I read the first line of Blood Red Road was, "woah, what the hell?!"

I actually said this out loud in my local library, where it's usually silent, so I earned a number eyes my way and a harsh shushing from the librarian at the counter.

The sentence, "Lugh got born first", surprised me. But I read on, thinking it was just some random typo (everyone makes mi More...

21 comments like (11 people liked it)

Aug 17, 2011

Maja rated it:

2.5 stars

I believe that, consciously or unconsciously, every author has a list of priorities he/she keeps in mind when writing a book. I know that every reader has priorities/expectations/preferences when choosing what to read. Unfortunately, Moira Young’s priorities and mine are very, very different.

To be perfectly fair here, she didn’t write this book for me. She wrote it for teenagers who have a hard time focusing on anything for too long. And I have to give it More...

40 comments like (31 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2011

Noelle rated it:

I thought this was fun as hell. First of all, as my Goodreads friends know, I adore a good adventure road trip tale. I just love 'em--the stranger the people/lands, the shittier the conditions and the steeper the hardships, the better! There's nothing more entertaining to me than a bunch of random personalities dependent on each other for survival while they are saving the world/defeating evil/[insert epic quest here]. So obviously I was pretty on board after reading the story blurb. Yet, I'v More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 29, 2011

Caitlin rated it:

2.5 stars. (This is a long review by the way :] ) First off, I was really excited about this book. I love dystopians not based around a controlling society, but a anarchy. Plus, I love the desert, wasteland feel. Growing up in the desert, I know a thing or two about it. But this also may be the reason why I'm so hard on the book.

Blood Red Road has so much potential, it's practically overflowing with greatness. But sadly it falls short of just that.

I liked the book, but th More...

9 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jun 07, 2011

Brent rated it:

I cannot adequately blog about BLOOD RED ROAD. I loved it far too much to write a review that says more than, “OMG, OMG, AMAZING.” BLOOD RED ROAD is a unique dystopian story about a girl fighting to save the ones she loves, all the while guiding her entire civilization through a revolution. BLOOD RED ROAD completely blew my mind. This isn’t one of my favorite dystopian story—it’s one of my favorite stories, period. I like to call it “literary dystopian.”

Where to start. One of the ma More...

4 comments like (10 people liked it)

Nov 01, 2011

Amy or "Ames" rated it:

A post-apocalyptic western with a touch of sci-fi and the paranormal. No speech marks and a writing style that does not include good spelling, punctuation or grammar. You might be enticed by the former and horrified by the latter but it’s okay, seriously, don’t be put off by it. I didn’t notice it after the first few pages.

In case, I’m losing you and you’re thinking this isn’t for you, it has:
Cage-fighting
Giant killer worms
Strong female characters (Feminists, you wi More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 04, 2011

Ghirardelli rated it:

4.5 stars.

There is a warm, giddy sense of delight I get whenever I read something really good. I get those chills that make my body feel awesome, and I get the heightened sense of creativity. Every time I finish a great book, I have to say, “Hold everything I gotta write/draw/daydream/animate/creativity outlet for a few hours!”

Moira Young’s Blood Red Road is no exception to this. In fact, it dives rather deeply into my core of all things that can and do go right in a s More...

6 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2011

Trudi rated it:

This book is getting 5 stars from me because it provided the perfect kind of escapist, “down the rabbit hole” experience I’ve been craving. It’s awesome adventure on an epic scale. Once I read those first few pages I just had to read a few more, and well … after that I could not put this book down, not even maybe. Okay, so it might not be “classic literature” but it definitely qualifies as “crack literature” keeping me enthralled for hours. Real life fell away and down the rabbit hole I went. Wo More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 05, 2011

Maree ♫ Light's Shadow ♪ rated it:

I was pretty disappointed with this book. I think I might have had unrealistic expectations for it, especially since I waited a month to get it from the library and I knew it was a dystopian by a British author (which is the same as one of my favorite books). So I may be feeling more harshly toward this book than it deserves, but it just didn't live up to most of the dystopians I've read recently, even those with a younger theme that I usually don't like as much.

The first thing was More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 17, 2011

Cinnamon rated it:

This review may also be found on A Thousand Little Pages.

Nothing but a ginormous orange sandstorm signals the approaching danger that fateful day Saba’s darling twin brother Lugh gets kidnapped from Silverlake and taken away bound up in rope. Desperate and broken-hearted, Saba -- with the unwelcomed and unshakable presence of her little sister Emmi -- sets out to bring Lugh back. When the two girls are temporarily detained in Hopetown, Saba learns of the Sun King and the reason for Lug More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 01, 2012

prettybooks rated it:

I’ll be honest with you: I do not understand people who “don’t read young adult fiction” (and likewise, people who only read young adult fiction). You may as well say “I don’t read books” because it’s such a massive generalisation. I have been very impressed with the diversity within young adult fiction over the past year and Blood Red Road is a perfect example. I know it’s cliché to say “I’ve never read anything like this before” in book reviews (and I do it a lot), but it’s true. I found Blood More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2012

Lou rated it:

A taken brother and a brave girl Saba and her sister Emmie in pursuit of his rescue. This is a good story taking place in the desert dust lands with cage fighting, escapes and killer worms thrown in. It delivers with hours of thrills and adventure. I felt I was there with them in the story . These gals are tough and have heart.
The story does mellow down near the last half, but hey it can't all be perfect. I am left with a promising expectation in reading the books to come in this series, More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 18, 2011

Katie rated it:

Blood Red Road was an outstanding example of creating a character driven book. Saba the heroine lives in Silver Lake with her father, twin brother and little sister Emmi. When her father is killed by 4 men who take her brother, immature, self absorbed Saba takes off after them, determined to get her brother back.

This story is about Saba and her quest across barren, unfamiliar lands to get her beloved brother back. Saba is a not so likable 18 year old girl when the story opens. She r More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)