saluki's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a short while to get used to reading the dialect, and the lack of speech punctuation, it's written in; but that style also helped give these characters a realistic voice too.
I'll be picking up the sequel Rebel Heart not just for the main characters, but more out of curiosity for two minor characters. And, one is a crow! Yes, Nero is a smart crow and I'm sure there is more to him. Also, without spoilers, a bad-ass character DeMalo is a total enigma... I want to find out more about him.
Totally different to what I expected. There were a few moments when things got tied up too improbably or easily, but it was still a solid and entertaining dystopian tale.
I'll be picking up the sequel Rebel Heart not just for the main characters, but more out of curiosity for two minor characters. And, one is a crow! Yes, Nero is a smart crow and I'm sure there is more to him. Also, without spoilers, a bad-ass character DeMalo is a total enigma... I want to find out more about him.
Totally different to what I expected. There were a few moments when things got tied up too improbably or easily, but it was still a solid and entertaining dystopian tale.
roseybot's review against another edition
3.0
I was told this was an excellent book, but I found it to be a bit... meh. It started out really strong, but the romance bothered me (not helped by my mother's comments while we listened to it crossing South Dakota), with Jack being awfully controlling, and then their "bickering" being rather mundane and simply to create a bickering type relationship. I don't know. I'm not tired of dystopias, but this book reminded me of why people are.
My mother was very gripped, I was not. I can't tell if that's the difference between a writer/reader and just a reader though. Perhaps my critical reading made it much harder to focus on the good.
My mother was very gripped, I was not. I can't tell if that's the difference between a writer/reader and just a reader though. Perhaps my critical reading made it much harder to focus on the good.
lynseyisreading's review against another edition
3.0
This book probably had about as much right with it as there was wrong with it. Hence my middle of the road rating.
It was a pretty good post apocalyptic adventure story. Even if you have to ignore some rather large plot holes along the way. Like your main character developing amazing ass-kicking skills even though she's had one of the most sheltered upbringings imaginable, living on a scrap of dusty wasteland with only her brother, sister and father for eighteen years. Where exactly did she find wrestling classes there, hmm?
The pacing was not bad, either. Apart from the very beginning section when the cast was limited to only two or three characters, the rest of the book moved at a fairly good clip with some nice heart-pounding scenes mixed in with some quieter, more reflective ones.
The characterization of the main character was also quite good, even if she was very unlikeable. I believe that was intentional, however. Her selfish, stubborn nature improved a little bit along the way, but I was still only luke warm about her by the end. I intensely disliked her treatment of her younger sister and her creepy hero-worship of her twin. Having said that, I'm all for flawed characters and can happily read about a horrible person as long as they are interesting and make some progress. And she is, and she does, so that aspect was not bad.
There's a sort of love interest character introduced who is also quite unlikeable at the start. He actually makes more progress than the main character in my opinion.
I believe this book has been optioned to be made into a movie already and I think it will probably make quite a good one as a lot of the scenes will make great visual feasts. However, what you are supposed to get in the book version that you don't get in the movie version is more in-depth world-building and background info. But we didn't really get any of that. It literally read like a movie put on pages.
Because I liked the action scenes I may pick up the next one but it's not one I will be elbowing people out of the way to get my hands on.
3 Stars ★★★
It was a pretty good post apocalyptic adventure story. Even if you have to ignore some rather large plot holes along the way. Like your main character developing amazing ass-kicking skills even though she's had one of the most sheltered upbringings imaginable, living on a scrap of dusty wasteland with only her brother, sister and father for eighteen years. Where exactly did she find wrestling classes there, hmm?
The pacing was not bad, either. Apart from the very beginning section when the cast was limited to only two or three characters, the rest of the book moved at a fairly good clip with some nice heart-pounding scenes mixed in with some quieter, more reflective ones.
The characterization of the main character was also quite good, even if she was very unlikeable. I believe that was intentional, however. Her selfish, stubborn nature improved a little bit along the way, but I was still only luke warm about her by the end. I intensely disliked her treatment of her younger sister and her creepy hero-worship of her twin. Having said that, I'm all for flawed characters and can happily read about a horrible person as long as they are interesting and make some progress. And she is, and she does, so that aspect was not bad.
There's a sort of love interest character introduced who is also quite unlikeable at the start. He actually makes more progress than the main character in my opinion.
I believe this book has been optioned to be made into a movie already and I think it will probably make quite a good one as a lot of the scenes will make great visual feasts. However, what you are supposed to get in the book version that you don't get in the movie version is more in-depth world-building and background info. But we didn't really get any of that. It literally read like a movie put on pages.
Because I liked the action scenes I may pick up the next one but it's not one I will be elbowing people out of the way to get my hands on.
3 Stars ★★★
hoodie04's review against another edition
3.0
Heads up to anyone considering reading this book, it is written with improper grammar and no quotations, it through me off the first couple of chapters. If you can get passed that it is a pretty good read.
mkhaas29's review against another edition
2.0
This is a 2.5, maybe. Usually this type of book would be right up my alley, but not this time. I understand the desire to implement a dialect to enhance a character, but I couldn't handle an entire book without proper punctuation in dialogue, complete with misspellings and poor grammar. This isn't classic literature, or poignant social commentary that could get away with it.
The plot didn't jump out at me either, and I dragged my feet getting through it. I wouldn't recommend.
The plot didn't jump out at me either, and I dragged my feet getting through it. I wouldn't recommend.
readingslug's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing awesomely awesome. And I don't know if that dates right because I'm so terribly behind on my goodreads
kittypaws9's review against another edition
4.0
“Blood Red Road” is a great coming-of-age dystopian tale with a strong female lead character.
Saba lives with her father, twin brother and sister in a barren wasteland. One day, a bad sandstorm and cloaked men come for a visit. They wreak havoc and end up kidnapping Lugh. Saba decides to take off on an epic quest to rescue him.
I really enjoy dystopian books, and I have to say that “Blood Red Road” delivers. Young is able to paint a clear picture of the world without taking 20 pages for each description.
A warning, this book is written in dialect. That normally doesn’t scare me off, but I thought it was worth noting since some people can’t stand it. While it is in dialect, I didn’t think it was over the top. It was easy to read, and after awhile you won’t really notice that much (at least I didn’t).
There are many little extras thrown into the book that I just loved. I want you to discover them for yourself, but one I just have to share — Saba has a pet/friend crow. Nero is one of my favorite characters from the book. Now I want one, too!
Favorite line: “Friends don’t owe, she says. Friends don’t repay.”
I don’t normally say this about today’s YA, but I felt like this book could have been broken up into at least two books. Some parts felt kind of rushed. The world was enough that I wanted to visit a little longer in some places, but wasn’t allowed to. I didn’t realize until I had finished, but on the title page it does say, “Dustlands Book One,” so maybe the next book will give me my fix.
I don’t have any siblings, so maybe I don’t know what I am talking about, but sometimes the brother-sister love thing was a little too much. I realize twins are supposed to have a super deep connection, but it rode the line a couple of times between grieving sister and “Flowers in the Attic” feelings. Maybe it was just me?
Final thought: A great, quick read that will leave you wanting more.
Saba lives with her father, twin brother and sister in a barren wasteland. One day, a bad sandstorm and cloaked men come for a visit. They wreak havoc and end up kidnapping Lugh. Saba decides to take off on an epic quest to rescue him.
I really enjoy dystopian books, and I have to say that “Blood Red Road” delivers. Young is able to paint a clear picture of the world without taking 20 pages for each description.
A warning, this book is written in dialect. That normally doesn’t scare me off, but I thought it was worth noting since some people can’t stand it. While it is in dialect, I didn’t think it was over the top. It was easy to read, and after awhile you won’t really notice that much (at least I didn’t).
There are many little extras thrown into the book that I just loved. I want you to discover them for yourself, but one I just have to share — Saba has a pet/friend crow. Nero is one of my favorite characters from the book. Now I want one, too!
Favorite line: “Friends don’t owe, she says. Friends don’t repay.”
I don’t normally say this about today’s YA, but I felt like this book could have been broken up into at least two books. Some parts felt kind of rushed. The world was enough that I wanted to visit a little longer in some places, but wasn’t allowed to. I didn’t realize until I had finished, but on the title page it does say, “Dustlands Book One,” so maybe the next book will give me my fix.
I don’t have any siblings, so maybe I don’t know what I am talking about, but sometimes the brother-sister love thing was a little too much. I realize twins are supposed to have a super deep connection, but it rode the line a couple of times between grieving sister and “Flowers in the Attic” feelings. Maybe it was just me?
Final thought: A great, quick read that will leave you wanting more.
lorathelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This was amazing. Yes, it's another YA dystopian...so it's got a lot of competition. But as I was reading it I never once compared it to other dystopians because it had so much more then that.
As I was reading I kept seeing bits and pieces from other stories that I love come through in the text and plot. There was a little "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome", some "Tremors", and tiny bit "Lord of the Rings" with all the traveling and battling. Young was still able to be original in her storytelling and I felt like I was transported to this world. The romantic storyline between Jack and Saba was also told really well.
Many dystopians leave me wanting. I always want more of a history, an explanation of why the world is the way it is now. How did it get to this horrible state? But I never once thought about that while reading Blood Red Road. I think that's because it really had no purpose to the plot. This could have easily been a historical fiction (minus some of the creatures, which added a touch of sci-fi).
As I was reading I kept seeing bits and pieces from other stories that I love come through in the text and plot. There was a little "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome", some "Tremors", and tiny bit "Lord of the Rings" with all the traveling and battling. Young was still able to be original in her storytelling and I felt like I was transported to this world. The romantic storyline between Jack and Saba was also told really well.
Many dystopians leave me wanting. I always want more of a history, an explanation of why the world is the way it is now. How did it get to this horrible state? But I never once thought about that while reading Blood Red Road. I think that's because it really had no purpose to the plot. This could have easily been a historical fiction (minus some of the creatures, which added a touch of sci-fi).