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A review by eyebrightt
American War by Omar El Akkad
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
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