Review: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

What You Need to Know:  This YA Dystopian is the best contender for the "next Hunger Games" and an amazing book on its own, and one of my Best Books of 2011.

Summary: Saba lives in Silverlake, a small piece of (kind of) sustainable land carved out of the ever shifting dust that has taken over the world.  She lives with her father, broken since the death of her mother, and her baby sister.  Most importantly, she has Lugh, her twin brother and other half, who provides the hope and happiness in her life.  When strange men ride up out of a storm and steal Lugh, killing her Pa, she swears she will find him.  Saba sets off into the wastelands, and runs afoul of those who prey on travelers in the dust.  Literally forced to fight for her survival, Saba discovers her own strengths and feelings she didn't know she had.

What Worked:  Girl/Girl cage fights!  Amazon-like warrior women! Bitchy heroine!  Smug-Jackass love interest!  Quasi-western setting!  This book is practically Merideth-crack.

Young is an outstanding writer, who does an excellent job of creating a sympathetic but imperfect heroine.  Saba is a fighter, but her single-mindedness in getting Lugh back makes her not terribly likable sometimes.    Her devotion is admirable, but maddening.

Young weaves some slight touches of magic-realism into her story, with destinies being written in the stars*, and stones that will lead you to your heart's desire.  These are very subtle, and add another layer of mystery to the book.

I've said it before, the best Dystopian fiction doesn't waste a lot of time telling us how things got this bad.  Young doesn't tell us at all, choosing instead to focus on her story and characters.

And what a story it is.  In addition to the already mentioned cage fights, there's a prison break, giant killer worms, a suicidal raid... lots and lots of action.

What Didn't: This book starts very slowly, and readers may be put off by the unusual patois that Young develops.   Also, the magical elements of the book are an unusual touch for a dystopian adventure, and could be jarring.

Who would I give this book to?  Teen fans of the Hunger Games.  Adults looking for a good example of the dystopian trend.  My brother (seriously, he's very picky).

There be spoilers ahead, so quit now if that sort of thing bothers you.

Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce

What you need to know: Pierce returns to Tortall, but opens new lands in this exciting, well written fantasy.

Summary: Aly, daughter of Alanna the Lioness and former rogue George Cooper, has a reputation as an empty-headed flirt. In truth, Aly is smart and determined, but the work she's best suited for -- espionage -- is forbidden to her by her parents. Sailing off in a fit of pique, Aly is taken captive by pirates and sold as a slave in the Copper Isles. While planning her escape, Aly makes a wager with Kyrpioth, the trickster god of the Isles. If Aly can keep her master's charges safe for the summer, Kyrpioth will return Aly to her home. Taking the wager, Aly discovers that the Balitang daughters, Dove and Sarai, are at the heart of a rebellion, where the dark skinned natives will overthrow their conquerers.

What worked: Full disclosure time -- I love Tamora Pierce. I love everything she's ever written. All of it. She and Neil Gaiman are tied as my favorite writer of all time. So, in my opinion, this book is nearly perfect.

But, you probably want anyalsis. Fine. Aly is a great feminist heroine. She's smart and strong and detemined to make her own choices. However, she's not perfect. She makes mistakes, she gets distracted.  She might be god chosen, but she's still human.   

An interesting aspect of this book is how it looks at power dynamics.  Aly choses to be a slave so that she may go unnoticed by the enemies of the Balitang family.  The native raka are thought to be sub-human by their luarin conquerers, which allows the raka to plot without fear of discovery.    

Aly also has a unique romance, as her suitor is a crow-turned-man.  This gives the book some welcome humor, as Aly's swain tries to court her by feeding her bugs and giving her sparkly stones.  

What Didn't:  O.K. -- raging fangirl, remember? 

However,  there are a LOT of characters in this book.  It can be difficult to keep them all straight. Also, without a prior knowledge of the women of Tortall, I'm not sure if this book works as well. 

However:  There's a cast of characters listing.  And if you haven't read the Tortall books, shame on you.  

Who would I give this book too:  I recommend Pierce's books all the time.  To everybody.  However, this one would work best for readers who've enjoyed Pierce's other books.