Book of the Week - Moira Young, Blood Red Road

The category winners in the Costa Book Prize were announced earlier this week. I was pleased to see a win for one of the books I recommended last year in the novel category (Pure by Andrew Miller). However, the one which really caught my eye was Blood Red Road by Moira Young in the Children’s category. It is a young adult book which should also appeal to older readers and a couple of interesting characteristics – it is the first book in a trilogy and is currently being adapted for film by Ridley Scott’s production company. Blood Red Road is dystopian post-apocalyptic novel, written in an unusual dialect, which has received very strong reviews.

Moira Young was born in Canada and trained as an opera singer before settling in the UK. So far as I can tell, the true first was a paperback with a gatefold sleeve and the pictured cover, published 2nd June 2011 in the UK by Marion Lloyd books. A hardcover US edition was published five days later by Margaret K. McElderry Books. However, I may be mistaken on this and I would be interested if anyone can confirm or point out a different priority.

I was lucky enough to pick up a first edition in a local bookshop towards the end of last year, and will get this signed at some stage if I can. I have no idea of the print run – it may have been relatively large, but there do not seem to be many copies around at the moment and if you could find one I would suggest it is a worthwhile buy.

“Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives bearing four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on a quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization."