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supriya 's review for:
American War
by Omar El Akkad
American War is among the rare few grimdark novels that I feel have earned their grim-dark-ness. It tells the story of the second American civil war, which takes place in the not-so-distant future, through one young girl’s journey. Her name is Sarat, who grows up in a Louisiana ravaged by climate change. Through a series of tragedies and struggles she gets drawn into the war herself, and it becomes the defining role in her life. Through her eyes, the author is able to demonstrate (without the preachiness some sci-fi is prone to) the inescapability of tribalism, the intimate carnage of a war for resources, and the dangers of brinksmanship. During one of my favorite sequences, it becomes clear that foreign nations are fueling both sides of the war and have staked interest in either side winning, which feels all too relevant, now. A