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rideauriverreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
notsogoldilocks's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and War
eyebrightt's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
i really liked parts one and two - i blasted through them super quickly - but part three fell flat for me. part four was better, but benjamin just doesn't get enough development for me to feel much invested in him as a character.
el akkad also fumbles gender and sexuality in this pretty hard. sarat in parts two and three is described in a pretty lascivious tone of voice, which becomes really disconcerting when you consider how old she is in these sections. that shower scene is a remarkably good lesson on how to be as weird as possible about your 12 y/o protagonist being naked. it's harder to get absorbed in a story like this when your author is noticeably weak at writing teenage girls.
there were some other strange worldbuilding choices as well, to add to this. the usamerican south seems to have achieved postracial harmony by the 2070s, given that nobody gives sarat any grief for being either biracial or visibly black; they take more issue with her height and "masculine"/androgynous build, the latter of which wouldn't be unexpected for a young girl pre-puberty. but i digress. sarat's family being catholic is somehow the most controversial thing about them to the other southerners. for some reason.
el akkad also fumbles gender and sexuality in this pretty hard. sarat in parts two and three is described in a pretty lascivious tone of voice, which becomes really disconcerting when you consider how old she is in these sections. that shower scene is a remarkably good lesson on how to be as weird as possible about your 12 y/o protagonist being naked. it's harder to get absorbed in a story like this when your author is noticeably weak at writing teenage girls.
there were some other strange worldbuilding choices as well, to add to this. the usamerican south seems to have achieved postracial harmony by the 2070s, given that nobody gives sarat any grief for being either biracial or visibly black; they take more issue with her height and "masculine"/androgynous build, the latter of which wouldn't be unexpected for a young girl pre-puberty. but i digress. sarat's family being catholic is somehow the most controversial thing about them to the other southerners. for some reason.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Death of parent
bonfeld's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and War
charlotteg's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Rape
imogenclendinning's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Murder
wandering_seal's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oooh this was good in the most grim, unremitting way possible.
I did struggle with the pacing at the start, but overall this was such an interesting piling on of events. I particularly loved the shifting focus at the end - the conclusion was exactly what I expected and also not at all.
I listened to this on audiobook, and while I thought it was so, so well done I do wish I'd a physical copy of the book so I could flick back between some of the events and documentation as well.
I did struggle with the pacing at the start, but overall this was such an interesting piling on of events. I particularly loved the shifting focus at the end - the conclusion was exactly what I expected and also not at all.
I listened to this on audiobook, and while I thought it was so, so well done I do wish I'd a physical copy of the book so I could flick back between some of the events and documentation as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
theemeraldgirl23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The last third of the novel made it all worth it to me. The heart of the story is so raw and emotional and Sarat's story was just so multi-faceted. At first I thought I was in for another "not like other girls" story, but it turned out to be much more than that. This story is about family, love, heartbreak, life existing in gray. This a story where the protagonist isn't good in the traditional sense. War has no real winners and this showcases that perfectly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
wanderlust_romance's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This book is so deeply thought provoking. What would the future look like in the wake of fossil capitalism leading to a second American Civil War? American War so vividly imagines a tense, bleak, and violent landscape that has also been drastically impacted by climate change. The story is set primarily in the South, lending an air of dystopian Southern gothic, and follows members of the Chestnut family from 2070 onward.
El Akkad's experience as a journalist during the post-9/11 War on Terror is an element critical to this storytelling. It is such a visceral reminder that as Americans, we passively watch military violence unfold through our television and cell phone screens, and perhaps think "I'm glad that isn't us." And so, American War flips the script on that and says no - this is now happening here, in the "land of the free" and the "home of the brave." As the story progresses, you see the war's impact on the Chestnut family. Their displacement, their poverty, their hunger, their resentment, their coping mechanisms - and perhaps most significantly as it pertains to Sarat's character and plot arc - their losses. Sarat was such an interesting and complex character.
The writing here is really incredible. The story moves quickly but lingers in just the right places where ideas around militarism, patriotism, imperialism, violence, and displacement demand to be explored with more depth. El Akkad's prose is lyrical, able to paint a vivid scene while also pulling forth emotion from their characters. I really enjoyed the varied use of "historical texts" as an endcap to each chapter, as it provided additional context and tied back to the prologue's narrator.
The audiobook performance is one of the best I have ever encountered and a stunning portrayal of the text. I would highly recommend listening.
Bookmarked Quotes
El Akkad's experience as a journalist during the post-9/11 War on Terror is an element critical to this storytelling. It is such a visceral reminder that as Americans, we passively watch military violence unfold through our television and cell phone screens, and perhaps think "I'm glad that isn't us." And so, American War flips the script on that and says no - this is now happening here, in the "land of the free" and the "home of the brave." As the story progresses, you see the war's impact on the Chestnut family. Their displacement, their poverty, their hunger, their resentment, their coping mechanisms - and perhaps most significantly as it pertains to Sarat's character and plot arc - their losses. Sarat was such an interesting and complex character.
The writing here is really incredible. The story moves quickly but lingers in just the right places where ideas around militarism, patriotism, imperialism, violence, and displacement demand to be explored with more depth. El Akkad's prose is lyrical, able to paint a vivid scene while also pulling forth emotion from their characters. I really enjoyed the varied use of "historical texts" as an endcap to each chapter, as it provided additional context and tied back to the prologue's narrator.
The audiobook performance is one of the best I have ever encountered and a stunning portrayal of the text. I would highly recommend listening.
Bookmarked Quotes
Prologue: My favorite postcards are from the 2030s and 2040s, the last decade before the planet turned on the country and the country turned on itself. A visual reminder of America as it existed in first half of the 21st century, soaring, roaring, oblivious.
Ch.4: Your side fought the war but the war never happened to you. In the Red country the war happened. If you lived in the South during that war, maybe you were never forced from your home at gunpoint, but you knew someone who was. Maybe you didn't lose a loved one when the Birds came and rained down death with no rhyme or reason, but you knew someone who had.
Ch. 6: "An empire is when many small countries become part of one big country, willingly or otherwise," Gaines said. "An empire is what we used to be."
Ch. 6: Somewhere in the caverns of her mind awoke memories of the place where she was born: the mud banks, the hot tin box, the mouth of the Mississippi. Like a stranger to herself, she was surprised to discover she'd started softly crying.
"We forget sometimes," Gaines said, "that there are still beautiful things."
Ch. 7: "I sided with the Red because when a Southerner tells you what they're fighting for-be it tradition, pride, or just mule-headed stubbornness-you can agree or disagree, but you can't call it a lie. When a Northerner tells you what they're fighting for, they'll use words like democracy and freedom and equality and the whole time both you and they know that the meaning of those words changes by the day, changes like the weather."
Ch. 13: And even today, all these years later, we live with the consequences. They didn't understand, they just didn't understand. You fight the war with guns, you fight the peace with stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
verysarahbennett's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Bennett Family Book club read. :) I've been really putting off writing this review because there's so much to this book and I know I'm not going to catch everything that's worth saying about this book, but I'm going to give it a go.
This book was tough but SO thought-provoking. It's wild that it came out in 2017, before the pandemic, when biological warfare/pandemics are such an interesting part of this story. It was extremely scary in the sense that the book is very believable and possible as a somewhat near future. It's a really powerful dystopian message that touches on global warming and climate change, pandemics, division in the country, war. The way the world has transformed in such a little amount of time from the current day and the way everyone is still just finding a way to live and make do is heartbreaking and universal. A really strong statement about America and its relationship with the world and with itself.
Sarat was a very fascinating main character to follow. It definitely was interesting to see how she thinks and functions, but I still feel like I couldn't completely grasp everything about her as much as I wanted to. I still don't understand her motivations or how she specifically got moved so far in one extremist direction.
It was a really great book club book--love it or hate it (or not even finish it), there's SO much to discuss; you probably wouldn't even need to have prepared questions in advance.
This book was tough but SO thought-provoking. It's wild that it came out in 2017, before the pandemic, when biological warfare/pandemics are such an interesting part of this story. It was extremely scary in the sense that the book is very believable and possible as a somewhat near future. It's a really powerful dystopian message that touches on global warming and climate change, pandemics, division in the country, war. The way the world has transformed in such a little amount of time from the current day and the way everyone is still just finding a way to live and make do is heartbreaking and universal. A really strong statement about America and its relationship with the world and with itself.
Sarat was a very fascinating main character to follow. It definitely was interesting to see how she thinks and functions, but I still feel like I couldn't completely grasp everything about her as much as I wanted to. I still don't understand her motivations or how she specifically got moved so far in one extremist direction.
It was a really great book club book--love it or hate it (or not even finish it), there's SO much to discuss; you probably wouldn't even need to have prepared questions in advance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War