Friday, January 21, 2011

Blood Red Road by Moira Young


Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (June 7, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442429984
ISBN-13: 978-1442429987

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.

Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.

Review:

What can I say that would capture the intricacies and complex characters of Blood Red Road? I can't. The characters are everything you want them to be, because you can see who they are from the very first instance you read about them through Saba's eyes. Her "hard-hearted" Angel of Death persona is who she really is, and you catch a glimpse of that practically on every page. It's thrilling and frustrating to see that the decisions she makes only benefit her but that is all she cares about when it comes to saving her brother Lugh. She carries a weighted heart when it comes to all the challenges she has to face when dealing with the cruel and despicable in the King's land. Finding new friends in the most uncommon places only helps Saba realize that finding new is nowhere near a lost cause--not that she ever really thought it was in the first place. Her continuous spirit in trying to keep her friends out of trouble and having to let her little sister tag along is grueling for her, but nowhere near impossible. Trying to get through her thick head is sometimes, but even then she'll acquiesce to reason.

When I first started Blood Red Road, I did not think I would blast through it as fast as I did. It always pleases me so when  I find something new in the YA genre that's never been done before. BRR has everything you want in a book: suspense, mystery, a splash of romance, and some after-the-apocalypse feel that I could never get enough of. It's amazing to see how Saba goes from living in such a desolate home, where it is only her family she contends with on a barren land. She is the pioneer in the book that we vicariously live through to experience the extremities she had no idea were going on in the land of Hopetown.
As for the ever-changing array of characters, it's exciting to see the many people that want to fight with Saba against the King and his Tonton. The syntax and diction for Blood Red Road was unexpected at first--and throughout it did sometimes get on my nerves--but it was something I came to view as suitable in the end. It was only right to have this isolated girl tell her fundamental tale the only way she could and through the only language she knew how to write.

If ever there was a companion novel to BRR, I would pick it up in a "red hot" second. Everything was so fierce and empowering in this novel that I could not put it down for a second; sleep was not an option. I recommend to all that love an idolized heroine to come to the rescue of everyone she cares about, and lets nothing stop her.

Grade: A

This Galley was provided by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for my uninfluenced review.

LiLi

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A-Z Author Challenge 2010

And thanks to the leniency of the creator of this challenge, I must abide to just one rule: Read alphabetically by author. Commit to 26 books.

A: Toni Andrews


B: Kate Brian

C: Megan Crewe

D: Kimberly Derting

E: Loretta Ellsworth

F: Jeaniene Frost

G: Alison Goodman

H: Molly Harper

I:

J: Christine Johnson

K: Phoebe Kitanidis

L: Jennifer Laurens

M: Deirdre Martin

N:

O: C.J. Omololu

P: James Patterson

Q:

R: Penni Russon

S: Kristina Springer

T:

U:

V: Rachel Vincent

W: J. M. Warwick

X:

Y:

Z:

This is as far as I got folks :)
 
LiLi

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Winner: Entice by Carrie Jones

Factoids: 15 entrants, 45 entries. Winner is...

Entry 19, Entrant 8...

Congrats Martha L.!

Congrats hun, thanks to everyone for participating. :) Reply to my email in the next 72 hours, and I'll pass along your address to the publisher to send out your prize.

Look out for my next giveaway for Elixir by Hilary Duff.

LiLi

Sunday, January 2, 2011

2010 100+ Reading Challenge [Completed]


Completed List

1) Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper
2) A Season of Eden by J. M. Warwick
3) Power Play by Deirdre Martin
4) Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe
5) Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian
6) Beg for Mercy by Toni Andrews
7) A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker
8) Angel of Mercy by Toni Andrews
9) In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth
10) Undine by Penni Russon
11) Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson
12) Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu
13) Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
14) The 8th Confession by James Patterson
15) Shadow by Jenny Moss
16) The Espressologist by Kristina Springer
17) Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell
18) Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
19) Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
20) Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
21) Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
22) Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost
23) Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur
24) Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson
25) The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
26) Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens
27) When Mike Kissed Emma by Christine Marciniak
28) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
29) The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
30) Kiss It by Erin Downing
31) I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
32) The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones
33) Tithe by Holly Black
34) Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus
35) Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
36) The Life of Glass by Jillian Cantor
37) For Keeps by Natasha Friend
38) Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti
39) Thirteen Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman
40) Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
41) Mistwood by Leah Cypess
42) Swoon At Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter
43) Penitence by Jennifer Laurens
44) Crank by Ellen Hopkins
45) A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley
46) Oblivion Road by Alex McAulay
47) Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
48) Things I Know About Love by Kate Le Vann
49) Stolen by Lucy Christopher
50) The Deathday Letter by Shaun Hutchinson
51) The Maze Runner by James Dashner
52) Snap by Carol Snow
53) Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony
54) Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
55) Goth Girl Rising by Barry Lyga
56) A Caress of Twilight by Laurell K. Hamilton
57) Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien
58) This Is What I Want to Tell You by Heather Duffy Stone
59) Salvaged by Stefne Miller
60) Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White
61) Silver is for Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz
62) When Blood Calls by J. K. Beck
63) Siren by Tricia Rayburn
64) Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton
65) Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton
66) Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton
67) Dawnbreaker by Jocelynn Drake
68) Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep
69) Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
70) Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson
71) Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
72) Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
73) Never Bite a Boy on the First Date by Tamara Summers
74) Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi
75) A Stroke of Midnight by Laurell K. Hamilton
76) Playing With Fire by Gena Showalter
77) Mistral's Kiss by Laurell K. Hamilton
78) A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton
79) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
80) Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles
81) The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
82) Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison
83) Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
84) Leader of the Pack by Karen MacInerney
85) My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
86) Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin
87) Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton
88) Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton
89) Sparrow Rock by Nate Kenyon
90) Bless Me, Ultima by Ruldolfo Anaya
91) Fire by Kristin Cashore
92) Eon by Alison Goodman
93) Grave Witch by Kalayna Price
94) Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding
95) Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton
96) Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton
97) Dark Time by Dakota Banks
98) Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep
99) The Darkest Edge of Dawn by Kelly Gay
100) Dangerous Games by Keri Arthur

rest of the books read in 2010...

101) Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
102) Minder by Kate Kaynak
103) Entice by Carrie Jones
104) First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost
105) Elixir by Hilary Duff
106) Eve of Samhain by Lisa Sanchez
107) Embraced by Darkness by Keri Arthur
108) The Darkest Kiss by Keri Arthur

LiLi
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