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mirificmoxie 's review for:
War Girls
by Tochi Onyebuchi
4 Stars
*A diverse near-future SciFi story inspired by real-life tragedy*
I read Onyebuchi’s debut [b:Beasts Made of Night|33395234|Beasts Made of Night (Beasts Made of Night, #1)|Tochi Onyebuchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491088210l/33395234._SY75_.jpg|54143875] when it came out and enjoyed the Nigerian-inspired fantasy story even though it was rough around the edges. War Girls is the start of his second series. This time, the story is inspired by the Nigerian-Biafran War with a Sci-Fi twist.
I strongly recommend doing some independent research about the Nigerian-Biafran War. It is a conflict that is not often covered by Western schools, and any knowledge of those events will help better understand the events in War Girls.
The story is set in Nigeria in 2172. The war is still raging on and leaving a perpetual cycle of hate and violence in its wake. The story follows two sisters, one forced to be a child soldier and desperately trying to keep her little sister from the same fate.
The writing in War Girls is noticeably more polished than in [b:Beasts Made of Night|33395234|Beasts Made of Night (Beasts Made of Night, #1)|Tochi Onyebuchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491088210l/33395234._SY75_.jpg|54143875]. The character development was the most marked improvement. It was so easy to become wrapped up in Onyii and Ify’s story. But unfortunately the book is also written in present tense which I absolutely hate. This sadly fell into a whole string of present tense books that I read in a row, so I was extremely worn out with the nails-on-chalkboard affect caused by that drudgery that is the present-tense novel. This is obviously a personal hang-up that doesn’t faze some people.
War Girls does have a lot going for it though. It’s diverse, covers an ignored part of history, and touches on many important topics particularly relating to war. The whole story is an example of the proverb “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” No one wins in this never-ending cycle of hate.
This story also has the benefit of intelligent, fierce girls - not just meathead warriors (a common pitfall of many stories that try to make female warriors).That said though, I would still recommend this book for mature teens. The story does not romanticize or sanitize war, so there is a lot of graphic violence not suitable for younger audiences.
The first part of this book was five star quality despite being written in present tense. But the problem I ended up having with War Girls was similar to what happened with [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)|Orson Scott Card|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408303130l/375802._SY75_.jpg|2422333]: a really great story that went on even after the main plot arc ended. The later part of both books had some serious pacing issues. The last quarter of War Girls dragged on with a few random bursts of action. And unfortunately, the slow parts left me with way too much time to dwell on the awkward present tense writing. Then the fast parts felt like they were trying to cram too much action and loose ends into too short of a span.
I most likely will continue on with the series even though it didn’t make my favorites list. Although I had some issues with the writing, this story has enough good elements that I would still recommend it.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars
*A diverse near-future SciFi story inspired by real-life tragedy*
I read Onyebuchi’s debut [b:Beasts Made of Night|33395234|Beasts Made of Night (Beasts Made of Night, #1)|Tochi Onyebuchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491088210l/33395234._SY75_.jpg|54143875] when it came out and enjoyed the Nigerian-inspired fantasy story even though it was rough around the edges. War Girls is the start of his second series. This time, the story is inspired by the Nigerian-Biafran War with a Sci-Fi twist.
I strongly recommend doing some independent research about the Nigerian-Biafran War. It is a conflict that is not often covered by Western schools, and any knowledge of those events will help better understand the events in War Girls.
The story is set in Nigeria in 2172. The war is still raging on and leaving a perpetual cycle of hate and violence in its wake. The story follows two sisters, one forced to be a child soldier and desperately trying to keep her little sister from the same fate.
The writing in War Girls is noticeably more polished than in [b:Beasts Made of Night|33395234|Beasts Made of Night (Beasts Made of Night, #1)|Tochi Onyebuchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491088210l/33395234._SY75_.jpg|54143875]. The character development was the most marked improvement. It was so easy to become wrapped up in Onyii and Ify’s story. But unfortunately the book is also written in present tense which I absolutely hate. This sadly fell into a whole string of present tense books that I read in a row, so I was extremely worn out with the nails-on-chalkboard affect caused by that drudgery that is the present-tense novel. This is obviously a personal hang-up that doesn’t faze some people.
War Girls does have a lot going for it though. It’s diverse, covers an ignored part of history, and touches on many important topics particularly relating to war. The whole story is an example of the proverb “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” No one wins in this never-ending cycle of hate.
This story also has the benefit of intelligent, fierce girls - not just meathead warriors (a common pitfall of many stories that try to make female warriors).That said though, I would still recommend this book for mature teens. The story does not romanticize or sanitize war, so there is a lot of graphic violence not suitable for younger audiences.
The first part of this book was five star quality despite being written in present tense. But the problem I ended up having with War Girls was similar to what happened with [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)|Orson Scott Card|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408303130l/375802._SY75_.jpg|2422333]: a really great story that went on even after the main plot arc ended. The later part of both books had some serious pacing issues. The last quarter of War Girls dragged on with a few random bursts of action. And unfortunately, the slow parts left me with way too much time to dwell on the awkward present tense writing. Then the fast parts felt like they were trying to cram too much action and loose ends into too short of a span.
I most likely will continue on with the series even though it didn’t make my favorites list. Although I had some issues with the writing, this story has enough good elements that I would still recommend it.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars