War Girls (War Girls #1)

Let me start by saying that I was really excited to read this book. I heard Tochi speak at YallFest and immediately bumped his book to the top of my TBR. I read it and then I just sort of went “oh… alright… huh.” The premise is amazing, the idea behind the book gets me pumped to read this book. Actually reading it though, made me less than excited about it. Mostly I just felt disappointed. Like, the idea and the beginning were excellent. Fast-paced, gripping, I was very much in to the story. Then came the part that just sort of plopped; like the author dropped the ball. The middle part of the story felt disconnected for me, it was odd to read. It felt so different than the first part, that I thought it was almost a new book. The ending though was this jumbled mix of fast-paced action and everything that made the middle area a dud.

I know that the topics in this book are based on the Nigerian Civil War, I know that it is full of difficult subject matter. I recognize that this book explores the “gray” of war and shows the reality of conflict and survival. I admire the author for writing about this and not making it an easy read for the audience. What bothered me though was the actual writing and writing style. After the first part where I was connected with the characters and involved emotionally, the author lost me. I never again was able to connect with the characters. Which was a shame, because I wanted to love this book so much. But I just didn’t.

If you just want to read my review, then scroll down . But Im going to go off on a small tangent here first, because I feel like I should explain myself:

So as previously mentioned, I read this book backwards (literally). I started at the end and read each chapter in reverse order (dont judge me, I had my reasons). Admittedly, this was an experiment. Partially because I was just curious. Primarily because of the way I read, I often find myself rereading previous portions in order to fully understand what I just read. But also, I find that I enjoy books more when I know where theyre going. Not necessarily knowing the ending, but the comfort in knowing that things are happening for a reason, that its leading to something, and the writing isnt just aimless (cough ACOTAR cough).

And honestly, I think I liked it better. If I had read it normally Id probably be criticizing this book as another unoriginal YA novel trying too hard to be original. In my experience, YA novels are incredibly boring early on. But by starting at the end, all the good parts happened at the beginning, and did a much better job of holding my attention later in the book. On top of that, it was rather interesting to jump right into the action, and then work backwards to see how they got there (like my own little version of Momento).

*Review*
So yes, this is yet another YA novel riding the coattails of Black Panther. But what I like is that War Girls doesnt try to hide it, and instead was its intention all along. Between its characters, setting, and advanced technology, War Girls knows that its basically copying Black Panther, but to a point were its more of an homage than a rip-off.

“She cant waver now. Not when everything that has happened has finally caught up to her. The murder of her family, her life with the Biafran War Girls, her kidnapping, her time with the Nigerians overseeing the separation of families and the detention of children dubbed enemy combatants, her time in prison when she had lived as an accused traitor, her attempted assassination of the person who slaughtered her family. All of it has been leading to this moment.”
(Going back to reading it backwards, this segment gave me quite a bit to look forward to.)

Just like any other YA fantasy, War Girls is slow in the beginning, predictable in the end, and mediocre as a whole. Theres no x-factor or wow-factor here, and nothing that hasnt already been done before to make it standout in an already over-saturated genre.

But where I will give it credit is, in comparison to other YA fantasy, War Girls is pretty nonstop. As mentioned in the excerpt, lot happens throughout the story, and they come almost one after another with little downtime in-between. It does a good job of keeping you on edge, but once you get about halfway through is when things really get interesting. Alliances are made and broken, scenes of mass destruction, body augmentation, hover bike chases, and if anything, War Girls offers a unique perspective on futuristic terrorism.

Typically, I dont recommend reading a book backwards, but I was really curious. I knew what kind of book this was, and knew I wouldnt have liked normally. It worked out pretty well, but I doubt Ill be doing it again (except for maybe the sequel, just because ).

Book Review- War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi
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This was a pretty heavy book.
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Onyii and Ify are War Girls. They live in an all girls war camp trying to survive and protect themselves while their country is in the middle of a bloody civil war. After their camp is attacked, they are separated and forced to live on either side of the conflict.
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The authors note at the end of the book was very sobering and is a must read. While I found this book very interesting, I also found it quite challenging to read. Dont get me wrong, I am so glad that I did read it! But the content was very heavy and the injustice of it really hurt my heart. I am torn about reading the follow up book to this, but since it isnt available yet I have more time to reflect on it.
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I gave this book 3

Captivating. I never even knew what Biafra was before picking up this book and had to look it up to realize it was a real country, briefly. The story echoes the human condition of us vs them, but with technological advancements. There were many themes of culture today, remaining sentiment lingering from the Civil War in Nigeria with Biafra all overlapping with the results of global nuclear war and climate change. The lead characters are female and are strong with purpose, which I found to be refreshing. I would have liked a more detailed description of the mechs before they battled. When is the sequel?

This story introduces us to Onyii and Ify, who are sisters but fighting on different sides of the Nigerian Civil War. I am not a big history buff, but I find the setting, the characters, and the story exciting and eye-opening. And this book is set in the future where body parts can be replaced with pieces of machineryyes, machinesI mean wow, people have gotten intelligent even to reach that point. The author provided many historical references and used words, not from this century, but I am amazed and impressed by the creativity and imagination. Pick up this book and join the sisters as they face their chosen path and keep an open mind and be prepared to learn! It is worth it!

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