Blood Red Road

     I must admit, when I started this book, I didn't think I could finish it. There are NO quotation marks and that is a pet peeve of mine. It is also written in dialect, also not appealing to me in YA novels. But, since the author is visiting our school in a couple of weeks, I decided to finish it. And boy am I glad I did. What a GREAT book. I loved the main characters, Saba and Jack. It had a great storyline, action, romance, adventure and a crow named Nero that saves the day and can play dice. It had a Hunger Games feel to it in places and there was never a dull moment. All those things make it a great read for young adult readers, if they can figure out the quotation mark thing. But maybe that doesn't bother other people. Saba is a strong female character who can take care of herself and goes on a journey of discovery while trying to save her twin brother Lugh. On the way, she is kidnapped, forced to cage fight to the death, loses her little sister and meets a warrior-thief named Jack. Jack teaches Saba what it means to have friends and how to love family. Of course the fact that he has dreamy silver eyes doesn't hurt the situation at all. Jack holds a firm place in that top ten list of my favorite fiction boys and Saba is a character I would like to read more about. Will there be a sequel? Just one of the questions I have for Moira Young when she comes to school. Give Blood Red Road a try and I guarantee you will find something to like about it. Quotation marks or not. Happy Reading my friends.