Rebel Heart by Moira Young

The basics

Title: Rebel Heart

Author:

Series: Dust Lands #2

- Blood Red Road (2011)
- Rebel Heart (2012)
- Raging Star (2014)

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Goodreads Summary:

Saba thought her world would return to normal after they defeated the Tonton and rescued her kidnapped brother Lugh. The family head west for a better life and a longed-for reunion with Jack. But a formidable enemy is on the rise. What is the truth about Jack? And how far will Saba go to get what she wants?

Here’s our recap of what happened in Rebel Heart by Moira Young. Read on for a full plot summary to help refresh your memory.

what happened in Rebel Heart?

  • Jack is on his way to tell Molly that Ike died. On the way, he sees a group of Tonton kill a family so they can live in their house.

  • Jack realises that DeMalo is now in charge of the Tonton and he is now called the Pathfinder.

  • Jack finds Molly and tells her about Ike. Molly locks herself in the back room.

  • The Tonton arrive at the inn.

  • Saba is on her way west with Lugh, Emmi, and Tommo. She’s suffering from PTSD from events in Blood Red Road and she is hallucinating. She can’t shoot anything without thinking of Epona.

  • A pack of wolfdogs chase Saba. Mercy’s dog, Tracker, protects her. Saba passes out and when she wakes up, Lugh is there and shooting at Tracker, who runs off. Lugh doesn’t believe that the dog was Tracker.

  • Lugh has also been traumatised after what happened to him in the Freedom Fields.

  • Tracker shows up again and lead the group to a town. The people there know who Saba is and they take the group captive.

  • Saba is taken to the Sky Speaker called Auriel. Auriel’s grandfather was Namid, the man who taught Saba’s father to read the stars.

  • Auriel tells Saba that the east has been taken by the Tonton under the command of the Pathfinder, and it is now called New Eden.

  • Lugh gives Auriel two days to help Saba with her hallucinations. Auriel puts Saba into a trance, but this is interrupted by the arrival of Maev.

  • Maev says the Tonton attacked the Free Hawks and killed them all. She says that Jack is now a Tonton. Jack gave Maev a coded message for Saba, telling her where to find him.

  • Saba gets ready to leave. Auriel warns her that leaving without finishing the enchantment to help with the hallucinations is dangerous. Auriel gives Saba a bow, and tells her not to stop on the Wraithway.

  • Saba reaches the Wraithway and sees a stream that it filled with snakes. Hermes the horse runs off. Saba chases after him and they stop at a Wrecker temple. Here she sees a man boiling a human head in a pot. Saba kills the man and escapes.

  • Saba is chased by who she thinks are the cannibals, but it’s actually Lugh, Maev, Tommo, and Emmi. Then the cannibals actually start chasing the group.

  • The group runs into a merchant and a camel. They try to steal the camel and the wagon but the camel is loyal to the man. The group takes the merchant – Slim – with them to The Lost Cause inn.

  • The group comes across a Tonton homestead. The girl there is afraid that the Pathfinder will kill her if she’s infertile. Saba kills her and her partner.

  • Saba realises that Slim is part of the resistance.

  • The group reaches the inn. The Tonton are there. They’ve branded Molly on her forehead and are in the process of burning the inn down. Saba and the rest kill the Tonton.

  • The group goes to stay with Cassie and Bram. There’s a barn dance for all of the neighbouring homesteads. Saba and the group are in disguise. Jack arrives with the Tonton. They’re there to collect the pregnant girls, who are to be taken to a “baby house”, where the babies will be raised and then paired off.

  • Jack searches the barn and finds Emmi. The Tonton take her.

  • Saba jumps in the water to save Nero. DeMalo pulls them both out and takes them to his tent.

  • DeMalo shows Saba a rock that projects pictures of how the world used to look before the apocalypse.

  • Saba confronts DeMalo about the homesteads that his people are taking over.

  • Saba and DeMalo sleep together. Saba panics after and leaves.

  • The group are angry with Saba. They’re disguised as Tonton so they can get into Tonton HQ to save Emmi. Saba changes into her own disguise.

  • Slim gives Saba a vial filled with something that will knock someone out.

  • The group reach HQ. The guards check them for brands, which isn’t normal procedure. They spot Saba’s birthmark, but they’re shot before they can tell anyone. Bram is killed in the commotion.

  • Unfortunately, Bram was the only one who knew the passwords for the gates. Saba plans to go in as a prisoner, as a bounty has been put out for her. The group gets through the gates.

  • Saba’s heartstone starts to burn, and Saba follows it, expecting to find Jack but instead she comes across DeMalo. She knocks him out using the poison from the vial.

  • Saba finds Jack and Maev stops her from killing him. It’s revealed that Jack has been helping Emmi. It turns out that Emmi was about to be found out by the Tonton so Jack took her to protect her.

  • Jack planned to bring the Tonton and DeMalo down from the inside.

  • Jack stays behind. Maev is shot. The group escapes. Maev sets off grenades inside the compound.

  • Jack blows up the weapons store.

  • Lugh blames Saba and Jack for Maev’s death.

  • Jack arrives at the camp to speak to Saba about what has been going on. The book ends with someone watching them.

This is a full plot summary of what happened in Rebel Heart by Moira Young. Check out our recap list for more recaps. If you can’t find what you need, you can request a recap from us!

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