kevinweitzel44's review against another edition
5.0
Words honestly can't describe how phenomenal this was.
This NEVER was boring honestly.
I feel like a horrible reviewer because I'm going to say all the same things.
"Never boring," "Saba's a badass", "The romance was wonderful"
But its ALL TRUE.
I feel like the smartest person ever for reading this.
This NEVER was boring honestly.
I feel like a horrible reviewer because I'm going to say all the same things.
"Never boring," "Saba's a badass", "The romance was wonderful"
But its ALL TRUE.
I feel like the smartest person ever for reading this.
sweetpotato91's review
3.0
Al principio se me hizo un poco pesado de leer (por el tema de la traducción) pero pronto empecé a engancharme más y más. Ahora quiero que salga la segunda parte para ver como sigue!
livarlin's review
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
marshthemartian's review
4.0
I've heard reviews about this book, and I was really worried about it. I have heard that it was hard to read because there are no quotations when characters speak, and it's written differently. I mainly listened to this on audiobook, but I did read a little bit. I would have to suggest it on audiobook rather than reading the actual text.
The novel is about Saba and Emmi, who is trying to get her brother Lugh back. Saba and Emmi go through hardships and meet new friends on the way. It is kind of dystopian, but different, at least to me. I really enjoyed the book, and I can't wait until I can get my hands on the next audiobook in this trilogy.
The novel is about Saba and Emmi, who is trying to get her brother Lugh back. Saba and Emmi go through hardships and meet new friends on the way. It is kind of dystopian, but different, at least to me. I really enjoyed the book, and I can't wait until I can get my hands on the next audiobook in this trilogy.
carstensena's review
4.0
Excellent setting, characters, pacing, and plot. It's hard to find readalikes for The Knife of Never Letting Go that come anywhere close to being as good (in my opinion) but this one works!
reedinthelibrary's review
5.0
Really liked the unusual style of this book it really added to the character of Saba. The imagery was vivid and the action was great.
novelheartbeat's review
5.0
Gosh, I don't even know where to start! Even with all the hype, this book was so much more than I expected! I mean, I love dystopians. And I pretty much like most of the ones I read. But this one pushed and shoved itself right to the top of that list! It's the best dystopian I've read since The Hunger Games!
The world building. Ahhh, so fabulous! It was CINEMATIC. I had absolutely no problem picturing everything in my head like I was actually seeing it. (As you all should know by now, I'm big on world building) And there were times when it had the feel of Mad Max, Doomsday, and Waterworld (without the water, of course). Is there a word for that? It wasn't steampunk, but....like the outfits that the Pinches wore reminded me of those movies. The post-apocalyptic style dress. I can't describe it >.<
I think it would have been a bit difficult seeing the prose at first (my inner Nazi cringes): all kinds of double negatives, and bad verb usage like 'Pa weren't' and 'I ain't'....but the audio really pulled it off, and it worked with the story. I liked it though, because it makes you able to get into Saba's character.
Saba. Ohh, Saba. The way I feel about her is complicated. She annoyed the crap out of me sometimes, but overall I mostly liked her. She was selfish, stubborn, and headstrong; and sometimes she was downright mean to poor Emmi. But the fact that she was flawed made her more realistic and relatable. And I gotta hand it to her, she doesn't give up on Lugh no matter what!
Bloody Jack. What is it with him? What is it about him that he seems to charm everybody and everything that crosses his path? Ash, and pretty well every other Free Hawk, my sister, and now my damn crow. I swear, if there was a rock in his path that he couldn't be bothered steppin' over it, all he'd have to do was give it one look and it'd roll outta the way.
JACK. I seriously love this guy! Things were pretty serious until he came along. I loved the levity he brought to the story! Especially when he told Saba, "The next time you look like a fool, it'll be your own doin.'" YES. I found myself giggling many times because of him. He was charming, sometimes arrogant, and I found him incredibly endearing!
Emmi was adorable! She was a pain in the arse, and never did what she was told; but she was tough for her age, and determined. I felt sorry for her because of the way Saba treated her. It actually really irritated me in the beginning how terrible Saba was to her little sister, and how much she took her for granted.
The supporting characters were great too, because they each had their own individual personalities. And I loved the Hawks! Especially Maev. She was badass! I liked Ash and Epona too. And Ike!
The Pinches were horrible people and inspired massive hatred. And Vicar Pinch was SO creepy! He was a bit crazed and disturbed, so he was the perfect scary villain.
The beginning was a little slow for me, but it was probably only dragged out because it was an audiobook. But after Saba and Emmi got captured, things really picked up! I loved the setting, and especially liked the desert boat. Very cool! And the scene with the hellworms was INTENSE. I was absolutely captivated!
There were times when I was driving with my hand over my mouth in shock at what was happening. Things didn't always go the way I wanted, and there was loss and sadness. This book made me feel a wide range of emotions: shock, sadness, anger, and TRIUMPH! - in a part toward the end, I was all OHMIGOD YES! out loud (thankfully in the car, by myself).
The only complaint I had was that the word 'says' was VASTLY overused. I understand it's at the education level of Saba's language, but still. It drove me nuts after a couple paragraphs, and the word started to lose its meaning.
I really, REALLY hope that this book will get picked up by a movie producer. It would be amazing on the big screen!
Favorite character: DeMalo. Why? I really don't know, but I have a strange attraction to him. He intrigued me!! I seriously hope there's more of him in book 2 :)
The audio
Heather's voice was a little monotonous at first...but once I got used to it, I really enjoyed listening to her! She pulled off the prose very convincingly, and she had SO many different voices for different characters...I could easily tell who was speaking.
Again, with audio, there's always the downside of not knowing how the crap to spell things. I had to look up many of them, because I was spelling basically all of the characters' names totally wrong. *sigh*
Favorite quote:
"Keep 'em safe, Jack," says Maev. "If you don't, we'll hunt you to the ends of the earth. And when we find you, we'll rip out your guts and feed 'em to the jackals while you watch."
Did I mention I love Maev?
ASSESSMENT
Plot: 5/5
Writing style: 5/5
Narration: 4.5/5
Originality: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World-building: 5/5
Pace: 4.5/5
Cover: 3/5
paperlove's review against another edition
3.0
Inhaltsangabe:
In einer Welt nach unserer Zeit kämpft eine junge Frau um die Befreiung ihres Zwillingsbruders – und für die Freiheit eines ganzen Landes Die 18-jährige Saba lebt sehr abgeschieden mit ihrem Vater, ihrem Zwillingsbruder Lugh und ihrer kleinen Schwester Emmi am Silverlake – bis eines Tages vier bewaffnete Reiter ihren Bruder entführen. Saba schwört, Lugh zu finden und zu befreien. Auf ihrem abenteuerlichen Weg lernt sie die Welt jenseits des Silverlake kennen: ein Land, in dem es keine Zivilisation mehr gibt, keine Bücher mehr, keine normalen Verkehrsmittel. Es wird von einem durchgedrehten König beherrscht, der die Bevölkerung mit einer Droge und mit seinen Soldaten, den Tonton, in Schach hält. In Hopetown muss Saba in der Arena kämpfen, aber sie trifft dort auch auf einen Mann, der sie liebt, und findet Freunde, die ihr bei ihrer Suche helfen.
Meine Meinung:
Noch eine Geschichte, die von mir eine zweite Chance erhalten hat, nachdem ich die Buchversion damals bereits relativ zu Beginn abgebrochen hatte. Schuld daran war vor allem der sehr gewöhnungsbedürftige und gewagte Schreibstil. Die Autorin pfeift auf die gängigen Grammatikregeln und lässt beim Erzählen ihrer Geschichte alle Anführungszeichen weg, so dass man selbst merken muss, was denn nun direkte Rede ist und was nicht. Ausserdem hat sie eine sehr umgangssprachliche Sprache gewählt und schreibt so wie man spricht - ganz unabhängig davon, was der Duden eigentlich vorgibt. Für mich war das eine absolute Qual, denn ich lege generell sehr viel Wert auf die Rechtschreibung eines Buches.
Inzwischen habe ich Hörbücher für mich entdeckt und da mir Laura Maire als Sprecherin schon bei anderen Büchern sehr positiv aufgefallen ist, wollte ich es noch einmal mit Dustlands versuchen - und wurde nicht enttäuscht! Durch Maires angenehme Erzählstimme viel es mir relativ leicht, in die Geschichte hineinzufinden. Sie schafft es nahezu perfekt, Sabas Charakter in ihre Erzählweise mit einfliessen zu lassen, so dass ich immer wieder gespannt zugehört habe und nicht abwarten konnte zu erfahren, was als nächstes passiert.
Anders als andere Jugendbücher, geht die Autorin sehr schonungslos mit den Charakteren um und beschreibt dem Leser eine sehr düstere und angsteinflössende Zukunft. So hat es mich auch nicht überrascht, als immer wieder einige Charaktere, die Saba auf ihrer Reise trifft, das Zeitliche segnen mussten.
Trotz dieser positiven Sachen, habe ich im letzten Drittel ein wenig das Interesse an der Geschichte verloren. Irgendwie konnte mich die Brutalität des Buches kaum mehr schocken und mir hat das "gewisse Etwas" gefehlt. Ich wurde zwar durchweg gut unterhalten, aber das Ende hielt dann wenige Überraschungen bereit, so dass ich die Geschichte für mich als beendet ansehe und kein Bedürfnis habe, die Reihe weiterzuverfolgen. (Ausserdem gibt es den zweiten Band ohnehin nicht mehr als Hörbuch-Version.)
Fazit: Rasant, actionsreich und schonungslos, mit einer mutigen Protagonistin, die ihren ganz eigenen Kopf hat. Als kurzweilige Unterhaltung durchaus empfehlenswert, aber ein zweites Mal würde ich das Hörbuch nicht mehr anhören.
In einer Welt nach unserer Zeit kämpft eine junge Frau um die Befreiung ihres Zwillingsbruders – und für die Freiheit eines ganzen Landes Die 18-jährige Saba lebt sehr abgeschieden mit ihrem Vater, ihrem Zwillingsbruder Lugh und ihrer kleinen Schwester Emmi am Silverlake – bis eines Tages vier bewaffnete Reiter ihren Bruder entführen. Saba schwört, Lugh zu finden und zu befreien. Auf ihrem abenteuerlichen Weg lernt sie die Welt jenseits des Silverlake kennen: ein Land, in dem es keine Zivilisation mehr gibt, keine Bücher mehr, keine normalen Verkehrsmittel. Es wird von einem durchgedrehten König beherrscht, der die Bevölkerung mit einer Droge und mit seinen Soldaten, den Tonton, in Schach hält. In Hopetown muss Saba in der Arena kämpfen, aber sie trifft dort auch auf einen Mann, der sie liebt, und findet Freunde, die ihr bei ihrer Suche helfen.
Meine Meinung:
Noch eine Geschichte, die von mir eine zweite Chance erhalten hat, nachdem ich die Buchversion damals bereits relativ zu Beginn abgebrochen hatte. Schuld daran war vor allem der sehr gewöhnungsbedürftige und gewagte Schreibstil. Die Autorin pfeift auf die gängigen Grammatikregeln und lässt beim Erzählen ihrer Geschichte alle Anführungszeichen weg, so dass man selbst merken muss, was denn nun direkte Rede ist und was nicht. Ausserdem hat sie eine sehr umgangssprachliche Sprache gewählt und schreibt so wie man spricht - ganz unabhängig davon, was der Duden eigentlich vorgibt. Für mich war das eine absolute Qual, denn ich lege generell sehr viel Wert auf die Rechtschreibung eines Buches.
Inzwischen habe ich Hörbücher für mich entdeckt und da mir Laura Maire als Sprecherin schon bei anderen Büchern sehr positiv aufgefallen ist, wollte ich es noch einmal mit Dustlands versuchen - und wurde nicht enttäuscht! Durch Maires angenehme Erzählstimme viel es mir relativ leicht, in die Geschichte hineinzufinden. Sie schafft es nahezu perfekt, Sabas Charakter in ihre Erzählweise mit einfliessen zu lassen, so dass ich immer wieder gespannt zugehört habe und nicht abwarten konnte zu erfahren, was als nächstes passiert.
Anders als andere Jugendbücher, geht die Autorin sehr schonungslos mit den Charakteren um und beschreibt dem Leser eine sehr düstere und angsteinflössende Zukunft. So hat es mich auch nicht überrascht, als immer wieder einige Charaktere, die Saba auf ihrer Reise trifft, das Zeitliche segnen mussten.
Trotz dieser positiven Sachen, habe ich im letzten Drittel ein wenig das Interesse an der Geschichte verloren. Irgendwie konnte mich die Brutalität des Buches kaum mehr schocken und mir hat das "gewisse Etwas" gefehlt. Ich wurde zwar durchweg gut unterhalten, aber das Ende hielt dann wenige Überraschungen bereit, so dass ich die Geschichte für mich als beendet ansehe und kein Bedürfnis habe, die Reihe weiterzuverfolgen. (Ausserdem gibt es den zweiten Band ohnehin nicht mehr als Hörbuch-Version.)
Fazit: Rasant, actionsreich und schonungslos, mit einer mutigen Protagonistin, die ihren ganz eigenen Kopf hat. Als kurzweilige Unterhaltung durchaus empfehlenswert, aber ein zweites Mal würde ich das Hörbuch nicht mehr anhören.
mel_chan91's review against another edition
5.0
Ommigawd, this book was so good! It was just so exciting from beginning to end, I have read alot of books this year, but this one was so different and yet so good.
I never wanted to read this book because I read that some people gave up on it because of the language used in the book, but it was a piece of cake reading it, and I loved the accent that was used. The plot itself was thrilling and again different. The characters were strong but heartwarming. I loved Saba (she is my new Katniss) and Emmi so much Moira Young really did a good job on them, and of course everyone else! The group connected well together and I got that good feeling from reading and at the same time heartcrushing at some scenes. Like Saba and Emmi's relationship, Saba and Jack and Ike and Tommo.
What else can I say, this a book worth reading! Just hoping Rebel Heart can live up to this book!
I never wanted to read this book because I read that some people gave up on it because of the language used in the book, but it was a piece of cake reading it, and I loved the accent that was used. The plot itself was thrilling and again different. The characters were strong but heartwarming. I loved Saba (she is my new Katniss) and Emmi so much Moira Young really did a good job on them, and of course everyone else! The group connected well together and I got that good feeling from reading and at the same time heartcrushing at some scenes. Like Saba and Emmi's relationship, Saba and Jack and Ike and Tommo.
What else can I say, this a book worth reading! Just hoping Rebel Heart can live up to this book!
krish_'s review
4.0
Would you like to know the silly reason why I didn't want to read this book? Because I thought it'd be a Western. Yes, I did, alright? I read the summary and I thought Western. So I put it off...but something possessed me to buy this book for my e-reader and viola, me being book snob of the year.
Moira Young's Blood Red Road is an adventure. It's bleak, it's fast, it's gripping. Saba lives in an isolated barren land of dried up lakes, shifting sands, and scolding heat with nothing and no one to guide her but her vague father who stares at stars. One day, her twin brother, Lugh, beautiful and main caretaker of the family, is taken away by hooded figures. Pa is killed, and she and little sister Emmi are left to fend for themselves. And here begins a near 500 page adventure. There are cage fights, a maniacal king, a mysterious substance called chaal, flying ships, an army of women warriors, giant flesh-eating worms, a decaying town of people with even more decaying morals...a few more things.
The dialect is one of BRR's most interesting and successful peculiarities. Like the book's landscape, it's bare; abrupt and pointed yet sufficient. It's broken grammar with no punctuations. We are steered merely by the hands of expert storytelling. It might be a deal-breaker for those who like easy navigation because it tests one's ability to read dialogue cues but in all honesty, it isn't that difficult to follow. If anything, it is one of this book's finest distinctions. Saba and her companions wouldn't have been as compelling without it. A culture is defined by its language, why not in books too?
The world. Saba's world is ambiguous with Young lending us no specific geographical hints. We go through mountains, valleys, deserts, woods, waterfalls, disintegrated highways, hollowed-out buildings... That part isn't really all that important. The gist of this reality is that it is corrupt and backwards, where there are once more real life gladiators (which comes full with a cage master, a rabid crowd, and a colosseum) and where a pair of binoculars is called a long-looker. There is a king, his guards, and his subjects. This world is back to primitive territorialism, where people are hanged for simply wandering in on the wrong stretch of earth. Back to one ruler governing all. Back to losing rights and freedom. Back to slavery. Back to being in the mercy of the merciless. The concept is superb, except we're not given much to go on. And so, questions. An abundance of questions. With not much answer. This world seems ancient - the gladiators and the colesseum really dragged me through Ancient Rome, sometimes native with Pa, Jack, and the king's preoccupation with stars, fate, and the philosophy of sacrifice, and sometimes science fiction with its flying ships and carnivorous giant worms. Is this the rule of dystopia and post-apocalyptic fiction? Meaning, does anything go? Or is this world kind of a big confusionis? Okay, I can't stay here forever. Moving on.
The plot. It started off sending goosebumps all over my arms. I tingled with excitement at the epic potential of this bizarre but intriguing world. Twins born under a midsummer moon and a father who seemed delusional in his obsession with the stars...until Lugh is taken and Pa doesn't seem so crazy anymore. But it stops there. Saba's journey starts and leaves all that cosmic intuition behind. It gets down and dirty. Saba becomes involved in human trafficking, cage fighting and teams up with a group of female bandits. So the first half is Saba acquiring both information to save her brother, as well as back up for her rescue mission. It is also a severe wake up call on how the world outside her Silverlake is operating. The second half is Saba making her way to Freedom Fields towards Lugh. It's mere action from here on out and though I did still enjoy it, it was admittedly fickle. Jack (the dishy love interest) takes control of the mission, which is fine enough, but his ambush strategies were frighteningly questionable. The plot was thin, surrounded by promising subtexts...Young just chose not to explore them, like at all. Which is why it was frustrating. There were many things shown to us without explanation. They were all backdrop to Saba's single objection: finding Lugh...which is a little narrow. Entertaining, but narrow.
Characters are appealing. Mercy, Emmi, and the Free Hawks are my personal favourites. Emmi, wild and young, resolute but still so sweet. She affected me. No lie. The Free Hawks are great. Bad ass women assassins. Not preachy, not hatey. Young isn't making a point that they're women and they're fierce - simply that they are survivors. Girl Power wasn't their motto, but Justice. I liked it. It was clean of gender politics. It was there and you couldn't criticize it. Jack is attractive. Despite being arrogant, secretive, and sometimes prick-ish. I kept waiting for him to disappoint me. Kept waiting for him to turn around and surprise surprise, he's a bad guy. Because isn't that what always happens? But it didn't. He's an asshole who wants to make a difference in the world. Can't argue with that. This book is filled with characters who won't surrender to oppression. Mercy, not wanting to become another chaal-ed zombie. The Free Hawks, Saba and Emmi, Jack and Ike. Now, the twins. I found Saba and Lugh's relationship perturbing. But maybe it's a twin thing. Possibly. Or maybe Young has something in plan. A separate discussion can be made about their relationship but unfortunately, this review has no room for it. I could do with a bit more room between them though.
Now, to the nitty gritty. The psychology of Saba. I agree with other reviewers who point out that Saba's handling of her sudden emergence into society after growing up in seclusion was a touch unconvincing. What with the pressing task of rescuing her brother, and now being the sole guardian of Emmi, she seemed to handle herself quite adaptively. Because Saba should still be quite feral by nature. But there was no shock, no marvel. She was never in fear of the great big world, or ever indignant of how she was treated in Hopetown (by that I mean the bigger picture because of course she was furious about being imprisoned, etc). No question of the social system, no anger towards it, either. She observed the people, was disgusted by it, but had no inclination towards making the world "a better place". But perhaps, she doesn't know what a "better place" is. She grew up detached from society, and so society isn't anything connected to her. It might simply be none of her business. But still. It was only a hindrance because she was being delayed from getting to Lugh. I could argue that the red hot pushed Saba along. That it is precisely because she is so single-minded in her purpose, that everything else is pushed aside. Look, it's fine. I'm still rating this four stars. I just wished we'd had a more "awakening" kind of experience. We could've explored this world along with her. I think it would've been a much more effective angle, both in terms of unraveling depth within the story, as well opportunity to have fun in this landscape. It was like looking around a new store and being engrossed by everything you saw, but then suddenly mom grabs your hand and you're out the door.
This was a great book. My review points out its flaws, with little room for praise. But that's the point. If I can criticize it and still love it, then there must be something undeniable about it. I think there is.
Moira Young's Blood Red Road is an adventure. It's bleak, it's fast, it's gripping. Saba lives in an isolated barren land of dried up lakes, shifting sands, and scolding heat with nothing and no one to guide her but her vague father who stares at stars. One day, her twin brother, Lugh, beautiful and main caretaker of the family, is taken away by hooded figures. Pa is killed, and she and little sister Emmi are left to fend for themselves. And here begins a near 500 page adventure. There are cage fights, a maniacal king, a mysterious substance called chaal, flying ships, an army of women warriors, giant flesh-eating worms, a decaying town of people with even more decaying morals...a few more things.
The dialect is one of BRR's most interesting and successful peculiarities. Like the book's landscape, it's bare; abrupt and pointed yet sufficient. It's broken grammar with no punctuations. We are steered merely by the hands of expert storytelling. It might be a deal-breaker for those who like easy navigation because it tests one's ability to read dialogue cues but in all honesty, it isn't that difficult to follow. If anything, it is one of this book's finest distinctions. Saba and her companions wouldn't have been as compelling without it. A culture is defined by its language, why not in books too?
The world. Saba's world is ambiguous with Young lending us no specific geographical hints. We go through mountains, valleys, deserts, woods, waterfalls, disintegrated highways, hollowed-out buildings... That part isn't really all that important. The gist of this reality is that it is corrupt and backwards, where there are once more real life gladiators (which comes full with a cage master, a rabid crowd, and a colosseum) and where a pair of binoculars is called a long-looker. There is a king, his guards, and his subjects. This world is back to primitive territorialism, where people are hanged for simply wandering in on the wrong stretch of earth. Back to one ruler governing all. Back to losing rights and freedom. Back to slavery. Back to being in the mercy of the merciless. The concept is superb, except we're not given much to go on. And so, questions. An abundance of questions. With not much answer. This world seems ancient - the gladiators and the colesseum really dragged me through Ancient Rome, sometimes native with Pa, Jack, and the king's preoccupation with stars, fate, and the philosophy of sacrifice, and sometimes science fiction with its flying ships and carnivorous giant worms. Is this the rule of dystopia and post-apocalyptic fiction? Meaning, does anything go? Or is this world kind of a big confusionis? Okay, I can't stay here forever. Moving on.
The plot. It started off sending goosebumps all over my arms. I tingled with excitement at the epic potential of this bizarre but intriguing world. Twins born under a midsummer moon and a father who seemed delusional in his obsession with the stars...until Lugh is taken and Pa doesn't seem so crazy anymore. But it stops there. Saba's journey starts and leaves all that cosmic intuition behind. It gets down and dirty. Saba becomes involved in human trafficking, cage fighting and teams up with a group of female bandits. So the first half is Saba acquiring both information to save her brother, as well as back up for her rescue mission. It is also a severe wake up call on how the world outside her Silverlake is operating. The second half is Saba making her way to Freedom Fields towards Lugh. It's mere action from here on out and though I did still enjoy it, it was admittedly fickle. Jack (the dishy love interest) takes control of the mission, which is fine enough, but his ambush strategies were frighteningly questionable.
Spoiler
Let me remind you that his "strategies" consisted of winging it, and winging it.Characters are appealing. Mercy, Emmi, and the Free Hawks are my personal favourites. Emmi, wild and young, resolute but still so sweet. She affected me. No lie. The Free Hawks are great. Bad ass women assassins. Not preachy, not hatey. Young isn't making a point that they're women and they're fierce - simply that they are survivors. Girl Power wasn't their motto, but Justice. I liked it. It was clean of gender politics. It was there and you couldn't criticize it. Jack is attractive. Despite being arrogant, secretive, and sometimes prick-ish. I kept waiting for him to disappoint me. Kept waiting for him to turn around and surprise surprise, he's a bad guy. Because isn't that what always happens? But it didn't. He's an asshole who wants to make a difference in the world. Can't argue with that. This book is filled with characters who won't surrender to oppression. Mercy, not wanting to become another chaal-ed zombie. The Free Hawks, Saba and Emmi, Jack and Ike. Now, the twins. I found Saba and Lugh's relationship perturbing. But maybe it's a twin thing. Possibly. Or maybe Young has something in plan. A separate discussion can be made about their relationship but unfortunately, this review has no room for it. I could do with a bit more room between them though.
Now, to the nitty gritty. The psychology of Saba. I agree with other reviewers who point out that Saba's handling of her sudden emergence into society after growing up in seclusion was a touch unconvincing. What with the pressing task of rescuing her brother, and now being the sole guardian of Emmi, she seemed to handle herself quite adaptively. Because Saba should still be quite feral by nature. But there was no shock, no marvel. She was never in fear of the great big world, or ever indignant of how she was treated in Hopetown (by that I mean the bigger picture because of course she was furious about being imprisoned, etc). No question of the social system, no anger towards it, either. She observed the people, was disgusted by it, but had no inclination towards making the world "a better place". But perhaps, she doesn't know what a "better place" is. She grew up detached from society, and so society isn't anything connected to her. It might simply be none of her business. But still. It was only a hindrance because she was being delayed from getting to Lugh. I could argue that the red hot pushed Saba along. That it is precisely because she is so single-minded in her purpose, that everything else is pushed aside. Look, it's fine. I'm still rating this four stars. I just wished we'd had a more "awakening" kind of experience. We could've explored this world along with her. I think it would've been a much more effective angle, both in terms of unraveling depth within the story, as well opportunity to have fun in this landscape. It was like looking around a new store and being engrossed by everything you saw, but then suddenly mom grabs your hand and you're out the door.
This was a great book. My review points out its flaws, with little room for praise. But that's the point. If I can criticize it and still love it, then there must be something undeniable about it. I think there is.