At first I found the author writing in the voice of our main character, Saba, to be a bit gimmicky, but after I got used to it, I found the technique helped to establish Saba's voice and was really representative of the post-apocalyptic setting. Of course there are going to be the inevitable comparisons to The Hunger Games, given the spirited female lead, but the setting is quite different. In many ways it reminded me of the Netflix series Into the Badlands. The world is dystopian and bleak, but this is an action-adventure story more than anything as Saba seeks to rescue her kidnapped twin Lugh after he is taken by a mysterious group of black cloaked men. With Emmi, the kid sister she resents, Saba leaves the only home she's ever known and sets out into a world she's only heard stories about but never experienced. Along the way, she discovers her hidden strength and is aided by the dashing Jack and a group of female warriors known as the Free Hawks. If you can get past the intentional misspellings and the lack of quotation marks around the dialogue, I think you'll find this an exciting and entertaining read.

This first book in the Dustlands trilogy is like a cross between Cormac McCarthy and Suzanne Collins, and it’s great fun! Saba is a tough, no-nonsense young woman raised in the dusts of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In marvelously Western fashion, a group of mysterious riders kidnap her twin and kill her pa. It’s now up to Saba to save her brother. Along the way she encounters a corrupt king, a band of heroic amazons, and a charming rogue she feels a peculiar sense of connection to. This book really stands out for me among the different teen dystopian series out there. Saba’s got grit! (submitted by NE)

This book was a really good book, its about a girl named Saba, she had to find her brother that was taken away from her in a sand storm. She remarks on a journey with her little sister and meet nice people along the way. Saba is one with a strong personality. If you like books that are great mystery books read this. Though just to let you know the grammer is not very good the whole book through. Read it its exiting.

This book is sooo exciting, I was glued to my chair. It was worth almost getting grounded for not listening to my mom when she called me. Almost. But I give it a thumbs up 👍🏻 . The grammar is a little different, but I like it because that’s how I write in the first place. LOL

“Blood Red Road” is most certainly not written in a way that most books are. The grammar is grammatically incorrect as they didn’t use quotation marks and many words are spelt how they sound rather than the proper way. This was done intentionally to portray the character “Saba”. Although it takes some getting use to with the grammar, “Blood Red Road” was somewhat interesting. The setting is dirty and dusty with deadly winds and pouring rain. It’s all about survival which makes sense considering the genre is Post-Apocalyptic fiction. The character “Saba” reminded me of “Katniss Everdeen” from the Hunger Games series, with the characteristics of attitude and fear. What was different between the two was that Saba’s character development was done more poorly and her character seemed unrealistic. There were many holes in this book but aside from all of the cons, it was a fair read. If you can put up with the grammar and spelling then you might enjoy this book. I would rate this book a 3/5.
- @Riddikulus of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library

The poor grammatical narration killed it for me before I could even get through the first pages. Looking through to further pages showed that this grammatical spelling style continued to the end.

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HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDEEEEEEEEEEEE

wow good book

Wow. Just wow. Saba is one of those characters you don't forget about. She's very relatable to me and has such a strong personality. Sign me up for that fan club. My favorite characters were probably Ike, Saba, and Jack. Love the Angel of Death name.....at first I must admit I got really annoyed with the whole twang thing but eventually got used to it. It makes this book unique. Onward to Rebel Heart.