"American War"

"American War"
Written by Omar El Akkad
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

"American War" is an alternative historical fiction story, full of survival, violence, and hope. We first meet Sarat Chestnut as a six year old girl, as she first experiences loss, the death of her father caused by an explosive. We quickly learn about the world she lives in: a second Civil War in the United States. The separation and anger had begun with global warming and a lack of fossil fuels, causing the North and South to disagree once more, splitting into halves again. Sarat, her sister Dana, her brother Simon, and her mother, Martina, are sent to a camp in which they receive a tent with minimal supplies.

Dana becomes quickly friends with the girls and boys who lives there. Sarat is a quiet and strange mind, walking around playing with the boys, searching for turtles, and playing in the dirt. Simon joins the rascally boys and threatens to rebel. Martina, their mother, attempts to hold it all together.

This story spans over the lifetime of Sarat, in the most tiresome and slow way. Unfortunately, I found Sarat to be a very boring and simple character, who only became interesting after the main arc of her character. She's fierce and stubborn, but I have grown tired of fierce and stubborn children in ages of war and destruction. I enjoyed reading about Martina and wish that the story had centered around her more. Although Sarat's portrayal was very realistic for a child, I still could not keep my interest. It took me far to long to read this book, purely because I did not enjoy it.

I wish that I had enjoyed the story more. I liked learning of the alternative history: the battles, the assassinations, the plagues, the Birds, and the war in general. I was disappointed that one of the major events of the story was revealed in the first chapters but then completed in the final chapters. I felt there was no suspense or curiosity by the end of the story for this arc.

Another aspect I was disappointed by was the portrayal of Sarat's sexuality. She is revealed to be interested in women, but I felt that this part of her was glossed over and hardly mentioned enough.

Sadly, I was very disappointed by this story and do not recommend it. I was looking for so much more in this story that I just did not receive. I was hoping this story would be very similar to "The Last of Us" or "Station Eleven", but I did not receive what I was looking for. Lastly, I had a thousand questions about this society, but we never received those answers. If you do choose to read this, I do hope you enjoy it, but I just was so unhappy with it.