DJ Duel Results: Blood Red Road

Our DJ Duel results post has fallen a few days behind but I'm sure you all used the extra time wisely to vote, DIDN'T YOU?  I'm so proud.


Let's review:  
Last week we both chose songs for Blood Red Road by Moira Young:

DJ Maggie chose "Goodbye Earl" by The Dixie Chicks because Saba takes like her vengeance served with a side of cage-fighting. 
 

DJ Noelle chose "The Story" by Brandi Carlile because y'all it's epic quest lyric beltin' out time. 


And the winner with 80% of the vote is....after the jump!

DJ Duel & Dance Party: Blood Red Road

Here's how our DJ Duel and Dance Party works:  We each choose a song to represent our book of the week.  Our song choices can be based on the lyrics, the style, a nod to a certain scene or an overall feeling associated with the book.  We'll post the songs here and let our readers vote for their favorite along with suggesting songs of their own.  After voting is complete a week later, we'll have a kickass playlist to put on our Spotify!

This week our book is Blood Red Road by Moira Young.  Here is the Goodreads summary and Noelle's review if you want to refresh your memory.  Okay let's do this!

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DJ Maggie: I knew I wanted something upbeat but with a twangy, country feel, and since my knowledge of country music is limited to The Dixie Chicks, I went with Goodbye Earl.

Why? The sisterhood of the traveling kickass female cage fighters takes care of its own. They're fiercely loyal to one another. A threat to one is a threat to all. And the Tonton? HAVE TO DIE! Na nana na naaaaaa!

Lyrics like whoa: Right away Mary Anne flew in from Atlanta / On a red eye midnight flight / She held Wanda's hand as they worked out a plan / And it didn't take long to decide / That Earl had to die / Goodbye Earl  

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DJ Noelle:  I was all over the place (Soundgarden, The Toadies) in my runners up but in the end I picked The Story by Brandi Carlile.

Why?  I'm choosing to interpret the lyrics as being about Saba's relationship with her siblings, not between her and the romantic lead.  Saba goes through so much to save her brother and learns to value her relationship with her sister along the way.  Plus the entire novel is one huge journey, in distance and maturity.  And I just love when that second verse hits, I can't lie.

Lyrics like whoa: All of these lines across my face / Tell you the story of who I am / So many stories of where I've been / And how I got to where I am [...] I climbed across the mountain tops / Swam all across the ocean blue / I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules / But baby I broke them all for you [...] No, they don't know who I really am / And they don't know what I've been through like you do
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It's time to vote!

Thanks for voting! Now it's time for your song requests.  What other songs do you think should be on our Blood Red Road playlist?

Have a theme song for the Free Hawks?  A perfect song for Saba and Jack? Do you know the perfect walk-on music for Saba's gladiator arena entrances?  Or an ode to Nero the crow?

Let us know! Leave your song suggestions in the comment section below.

Review: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Blood Red Road by Moira Young
(Dust Lands #1)
Reviewed by Noelle: June 30, 2011.
Published June 7, 2011 by Margaret K. McElderry
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Buy at Fishpond • Kindle



I thought this was fun as hell. First of all, as you all know, I adore a good adventure road trip tale. I just love 'em--the stranger the people/lands, the shittier the conditions and the steeper the hardships, the better! There's nothing more entertaining to me than a bunch of random personalities dependent on each other for survival while they are saving the world/defeating evil/[insert epic quest here]. So obviously I was pretty on board after reading the story blurb. Yet, I've been burned in the past so although I was eager, I withheld my full-fledged enthusiasm. 

But then I discovered that not only was Blood Red Road an adventure quest/road trip but it was based on hillbillies in a post-apocalyptic world AND featured a heroine with an anger management issues, a girl gang of revolutionaries, an enigmatic dark knight, a Flynn Ryder-esque hero, and the best dang animal sidekick I've seen in awhile (a crow! that plays dice! and "aint much fer huggin"!) and.....OH HELL YES. 

The heroine was awesomely flawed. A couple times I recoiled with a “DAMN, cold!” to some of the doozies Saba lobbed at her sis but then I imagined being responsible for the physical safety and well being of a 9 year old where the best possible outcomes could be dying of thirst and the worst possibilities included slavery, cage fighting for your life and oh yeah, HELL WORMS. I’d probably lose it once or twice at dear lil' sis myself. 

There were a few things that bugged (the totally unnecessary piece of jewelry for one) but for the most part I could easily overlook them because the story as a whole was such a fun ride. 

I'm not sure if it's a sign that ---ack!--I've lived in the South too long or what, but the dialect didn't bother me one bit. While this book is the first of a series, it has a full and complete plot and could stand on it's own. After reading so many first books that bury you with "this is a trilogy!" exposition, I appreciated Blood Red Road so much. I look forward to the rest of the series.  (Even though reading the sequel's title made me do this.) 

Sidenote: You MUST check out this amazing interpretation of the Free Hawks by foralllove.

Rating: 4/5 stars.