Blood Red Road by Moira Young
The first book of the "Dustland Series" introduces us to Saba, her twin brother Lugh and younger sister Emmi, living and barely surviving in a post apocolyptic world, living a meager life on the rim of a dying, if not pretty much dead lake. It's a harsh life, as is any life within a dystopian world. They live day to day, waiting for rain that might not ever come.
One day, horse backed riders arrive in a cloud of dust and forcibly take Lugh as prisoner. Dad is fatally injured in the foray, leaving Saba and Emmi to fend for themselves. It is then that Saba is determined to find Lugh and bring him home again. Along the way, she meets peril, death, pain and an interesting character by the name of Jack.
Discussion Questions:
- It seems that the theme of dystopia in young adult books is a new trend, thanks to The Hunger Games. Personally for me, I found that this book to be more engaging than The Hunger Games. I found the characters more believable, the heroine stronger and the plot more plausible. Agree or disagree?
- Did you find the grammar in the way that Saba was written to be an addition to the character development or a distraction? Why do you think that the author chose to portray Saba in this manner?
I found that the grammer in this book was leaning more towards the fact that these peeple have been living without schooling for what seems to be about a hundred years or so. There are ruins of "Wrecker" cities and our airplanes are littered all over the Sandea. I agree that The Hunger Games character's were more believeable then the one's in Blood Red Road because the monster's in Blood Red Road seemed to be complete fairy tails. While the monsters in The Hunger Games are more real. We all know from reading The Hunger Games that Discrict 13 was the nuclear sector. The Jabberjay's and the Mockingjay's are more believeable then alot of the creatures in Blood Red Road because that could very well happen before the monsters in blood red road ever appear.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion "Blood Red Road" had the more realistic characters. The way Saba narrates the story shows us the different flaws in every character. Whereas in "The Hunger Games" the only character to be shown as flawed really was Katniss even Peeta when it seems like he has flaws, it turns out he just acts to protect Katniss who he apparently loved since he first heard her sing. Yet in "Blood Red Road" Saba shows her flaws straight from the beginning with how she really only cares for Lugh and blames Emmi for their Mothers death. We also see flaws in Jack when he seems like the most helpful guy you could find he turns out to be originally a womanizer with his buddy who owns a bar. With Emmi we see her make bad choices in terms of her own and everyone else's safety. Additionally the way the grammar that Saba wrote makes it more realistic emphasizing that it has been a long time since anyone has had a proper education. As they call us 'Wreckers' we see evidence of our current culture such as all the planes and other buildings in the Sandsea. Personally all in all I loved this book and I say if you even like just a bit of adventure then read this book it's amazing!!
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