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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interestingly prognosticative.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Started and finished date - 07.05.25 to 10.05.25.
My rating - Three Stars.
This book was okay read but I didn't love it and people who like internment by Samira Ahmed, the hunger games by Suzanne Collins or the choice by Claire Wade may like is book. The cover of book was okay. The writing was okay but it was bit hard to follow and the atmosphere was okay. The paced of plot was well structured and this book was steady paced. I mixed about the characters and I would have like them flash out bit more.
My rating - Three Stars.
This book was okay read but I didn't love it and people who like internment by Samira Ahmed, the hunger games by Suzanne Collins or the choice by Claire Wade may like is book. The cover of book was okay. The writing was okay but it was bit hard to follow and the atmosphere was okay. The paced of plot was well structured and this book was steady paced. I mixed about the characters and I would have like them flash out bit more.
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For a long time, America has been the bully of the world, tampering in others' affairs, driving nations against themselves, bombing them with unmanned drones, and doing seemingly everything possible to keep stability from returning to them. It is also one of the biggest contributors to pollution and global warming.
In the future–as Omar El Akkad imagines it–the tables have turned. Rising oceans and intense storms have flooded the coastal cities, while further inland once fertile environments are desiccated by heat and drought. Efforts to ban the behaviors responsible for the damage result in the breakout of a second American civil war. And the rest is history.
The novel is both the story of a family and the story of a nation at war with itself. The narration, which mostly follows the life of a young girl from Louisiana through the war, is interrupted by excerpts from primary sources during the war, like books, speeches, and military documents. The pieces brilliantly fit together into an epic tragedy.
There are many layers to American War: family, politics, history, war, morality, loyalty, patriotism, revenge, psychology, etc. El Akkad masterfully weaves them together with superb use of literary devices and a dynamic plot full of twists and turns.
This is not a book that tells readers what to think or that provides a clear picture of the way things should be. It is honest, realistic, and therefore painful and chaotic. The prose is beautifully written and not overly complex, but it is not an easy read. It will make you hurt, and it will make you think. There will not always be answers, and it will not always make sense. This will make a lot of readers uncomfortable with it.
For these reasons, this book is not going to take the world by storm this year. However, as more people read and process it, they will realize what a masterpiece it is. It very well could go down as one of the great novels of our time, and one that every high school or college student is reading and analyzing 50-100 years from now.
In the future–as Omar El Akkad imagines it–the tables have turned. Rising oceans and intense storms have flooded the coastal cities, while further inland once fertile environments are desiccated by heat and drought. Efforts to ban the behaviors responsible for the damage result in the breakout of a second American civil war. And the rest is history.
The novel is both the story of a family and the story of a nation at war with itself. The narration, which mostly follows the life of a young girl from Louisiana through the war, is interrupted by excerpts from primary sources during the war, like books, speeches, and military documents. The pieces brilliantly fit together into an epic tragedy.
There are many layers to American War: family, politics, history, war, morality, loyalty, patriotism, revenge, psychology, etc. El Akkad masterfully weaves them together with superb use of literary devices and a dynamic plot full of twists and turns.
This is not a book that tells readers what to think or that provides a clear picture of the way things should be. It is honest, realistic, and therefore painful and chaotic. The prose is beautifully written and not overly complex, but it is not an easy read. It will make you hurt, and it will make you think. There will not always be answers, and it will not always make sense. This will make a lot of readers uncomfortable with it.
For these reasons, this book is not going to take the world by storm this year. However, as more people read and process it, they will realize what a masterpiece it is. It very well could go down as one of the great novels of our time, and one that every high school or college student is reading and analyzing 50-100 years from now.
I think I wanted to like this book more than I ended up liking it. It’s got a fascinating concept and interesting world building, but the story the author chose to tell within that world wasn’t always riveting. It came off like a book that was about “big things”, but the author didn’t bother building a compelling story at the heart, so it ended up feeling a bit hollow.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
medium-paced