Book Review: Blood Red Road

Blood Red Road

by Moira Young

Saba, an 18 year old girl, and her family live in a barren civilization, called Silverlake, demolished by constant sandstorms. All that Saba cares about in the world is to be with her brother Lugh, but that is all taken away from her the day the biggest sandstorm in Silverlake hits, along with four horsemen in black cloaks. They kidnap Lugh, and kill Saba’s father. Saba promises Lugh she will do whatever it takes to find him, no matter what happens she will find him, and that is when her journey begins. Saba now has to leave Silverlake along with her kid sister Emmi, in order to search for her beloved Lugh. Suddenly thrown into reality, Saba is lost in the world without anyone to help her. Saba thought that she was worthless without Lugh, but that is definitely not the case. She is a strong fighter, she cannot be beat, people call her “The Angel of Death”. But what she figures out about herself, to her great surprise, is that she is both important and needed. Saba, is teamed up on a quest to find Lugh with her handsome sidekick and a rebellious all-girl group called the Free Hawks, with them Saba stages a showdown that will change everything in her life. Placed in the post-apocalyptic times, Blood Red Road is definitely one of my favorite books of all time, right up there with The Hunger Games. This marvelous book has everything a teen would want: action, humor, and don’t forget the romance. Like The Hunger Games books, this book has been offered a movie deal. However, Blood Red Road has also received a Costa Book Reward to no surprise. Moira Young, author of Blood Red Road, did a remarkable job at describing the awful civilization that the characters in this book live in, I could only imagine how hard it would be to describe it. When I read this book I could not put it down. I felt like I was in the book with Saba and all of the other characters, it captivated me. I would most definitely recommend Blood Red Road to anyone. Two thumbs up, and 5.5 stars.

-Daylia, age 12.

Book review: The School for Dangerous Girls

The School for Dangerous Girls
By Eliot Schrefer

Angela Cardenas is having a really rough year: her parents don’t pay any attention to her, her relationship with her boyfriend is annoyingly hot and cold, and she’s given up on school.  Things get worse when her beloved abuelo dies in an accident that Angela could have prevented.  Out of options, Angela’s parents send her off to the mysterious Hidden Oak, a boarding school with a reputation for rehabilitating “dangerous” female juvenile delinquents.  Things aren’t what they seem at Hidden Oak, though, and the faculty members turn out to be more dangerous than the students.  Angela gets caught up in uncovering the school’s secret past and liberating herself from Hidden Oak’s violent control. 

This book is extra entertaining, and Angela is a fantastic protagonist!

- Sarah

2012 Michael L. Printz Award Winner

Last month, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) announced the winner of the Michael L. Printz Award, an award given annually for the book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.

The winner is Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley.

From the YALSA website:

“Witty, sardonic Cullen Witter agonizes over the disappearance of his beloved brother, Gabriel, while everyone else in his stiflingly dull Arkansas town thrills to the apparent return of a long-extinct woodpecker. Kidnapping, bromance, arcane religious texts, and ornithology collide in this ground-breaking coming-of-age tale.

‘Straightforward, yet increasingly complex, this novel masterfully weaves together themes of brotherhood, friendship, loss and religious obsession,’ said Printz Award Committee Chair Erin Helmrich.”

Where Things Come Back was also the winner of YALSA’s William C. Morris Award, which recognizes the best debut novel of the year.