Rebel Heart

Rebel Heart by Moira Young
3.5/5 stars
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2012
424 pages
YA Dystopia
Book 2 in the Dust Lands Trilogy

Source: Library

First book Blood Red Road was a surprise hit for me last year so I am pleased to be reviewing its sequel today. I had a bit of trouble getting back into the world but was soon flying through it until...a certain part, which will be discussed at the very bottom in a spoiler section because it cause me great dissatisfaction and is intensely spoiler-y.

The sequel picks up shortly after the end of Blood Red Road with Saba, Lugh, Emmi (the reunited family), and their other companions traveling west looking for a better future. Then Saba receives devastating news about Jack that nevertheless sends her plunging straight back into danger with the rest of her companions following her.

Lugh was a tremendous douche in this book, treating Saba and a potential love interest particularly poorly. I wish we had more insight into his head because this guy barely seems worth all the effort Saba went through to save him. Emmi meanwhile continues to be a sweetheart-she has several great scenes and I loved her. Besides the details mentioned in the spoiler, my least favorite part of the book was the lack of Jack who's only there in the very beginning and end, not nearly enough for my liking.

Saba is in a bad head space for much of the book. She is haunted by some of her decisions and actions from book one (she went through some dark stuff so no surprise there). Although she has been reunited with her family, no one is very happy. I was mostly onboard with her decisions until the spoiler, which just pissed me off. Sorry but the spoiler really is integral to understanding my perspective on this book.

Cover: Redesign! This definitely looks like a masculine person, which is displeasing to me as Saba is definitely still the lead. I'm not sure if it's Lugh or Jack but neither possibility makes me happy. In my mind, this is Saba's story and the cover should reflect that.

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SPOILER ALERT:

So it's bad enough that Jack is barely present in this book and that we are led to think he's betrayed Saba (or us the reader really) but then I cannot believe she goes and sleeps with DeMalo! It almost seems like she is in a trance when she does this and obviously if she was thinking clearly, she would not have (right?) Needless to say I hated this plot development and it really ruined the book for me. The only part I might dislike more is the very ending when it sounds as if Tommo is watching the thankfully reunited Saba and Jack and possibly plotting something dark. Also we've got three guys lusting after Saba? I like her, sure, but that seems a bit much.

END SPOILER

Blood Red Road

Blood Red Road by Moira Young
4/5 stars
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011
459 pages
YA Post-Apocalyptic

Source: Library

I want to start with something I'm very glad I knew before picking up this book. It is written in its own distinct dialect that is not the traditional proper English. "Ain't"s, "cain't"s, and dropped "g"s abound in this book. While this is something that normally bothers me, I think it helped that I was prepared. It also helped that the language is very phonetic. I could hear it so clearly in my head and I imagine this could be a really good audiobook, depending on the narrator(s).

That said, let's move on to setting, characters, and plot. The setting is the distant future with a family out in the hinterlands, at least a day's ride from other people. Father, twins Lugh and Saba, and youngest child Emmi are barely surviving in the parched landscape until a mysterious group of men kidnap Lugh and leave their father dead. Now Saba will do anything to bring back her beloved brother and this sets her off on an epic quest.

Saba is the main character and boy is she prickly! My least favorite thing about her was her dislike of her younger sister, who she blames for the death of their mother. While acknowledging the realism of that, it's the opposite of how I feel about my younger sister (who I adore) so it was painful to read at times. She is really mean to Emmi who, to her credit, never gives up and is very much in the mold of her older sister with her incredible stubbornness and perseverance. But beyond that, Saba is strong, not just physically but emotionally and mentally. She undergoes terrible traumas on her journey to save Lugh and always keeps her head up for the next moment.

However, sometimes the plot seemed to almost stall, lingering in one place instead of high-octane action all the time. And a lot of things seemed too easy, too coincidental and it made it hard for me to suspend my disbelief. The big climax at the end with rescuing Lugh felt too short and I wanted to be blown back by the suspense and excitement, whereas I was able to put down this book at several critical junctures without feeling too much loss.

One last element to mention and not to spoil anything for you but there is a bit of romance...and I loved it! I found the male love interest a little rogueish in the best possible way and I love how Saba kept pushing him away despite the obvious signs of interest. She knew there was something about him, a cocky smile, the way he pokes through her defenses, and the way he lives by his wits. I really liked him as a love interest and as a character.

Overall: Really good-I enjoyed the journey a lot and I am happy to discover there is a sequel due out later this year titled Rebel Heart.

Cover: I think the cover is very evocative of the dusty setting; the sand plays a critical role at multiple parts of the story.