War Girls

Honestly, what more could you want from a modern science fiction/fantasy story? This book is packed with people of color being bold and powerful and it is so refreshing to read. The main characters are sisters, Onyii and Ify, and happen to find themselves on opposite sides of an ugly war. What I loved about this book is that while it isn't set in the current day, it still teaches so much about civil wars in Africa, specifically Nigeria. Those aspects of history are often not taught in most history courses and so getting to learn about these horrible wars that happened through a creative venue is really interesting. Because as readers we are invested in the characters of the books we read, this book brings these subjects to the forefront show more and makes them something we are also invested in.

This book can be difficult to read because war and the ugliness that go with it are at the center, but the way the author writes about those things as well as the more beautiful aspects of life like love and humanity really seem to balance out in the end. This book is fantastic and really a huge work of art. I loved reading every page of this and eagerly look forward to more in the future! I highly recommend this book because it isn't just well-written and features a heartwrenching story, but also sheds some light on humanity and what it means to love. I enjoyed the deeper meanings in this book and getting to learn more about historical events that are often swept under the rug. show less

If you're in the mood for action packed sci-fi with intricate world building and real world parallels you should absolutely pick this up. It's got amazing mech fights, fascinating and heartbreaking interpersonal stuff, and wonderfully complex teen girls. Also it's set during a civil war, so the violence feels guttingly realistic at times (hi, when you get to the part with roses call me if you are also VERY UPSET).

My favorite bit is the first of the 3 segments, as I got to know the main characters and learn about the technology and world. I particularly love the balletic and cinematic way Onyebuchi writes the mech fights and the other battles, giving the story a hectic and overwhelming feel during those scenes. For my taste, some of the show more later parts a little slow after the opening action, but ymmv depending on how you like your sci-fi. I also have some spoilery thoughts about frustrations with a few characters' motivations, if you do read this and want to talk!

Finally, read the author's note. I knew so little about the actual history that inspired this story, so I'm planning to read several of the non-fiction titles referenced in the note. show less

Onyebuchi, Tochi. War Girls. Razorbill, 2019.
In a near-future Nigeria, a new civil war is underway, or maybe it is just a continuation of the decades-old conflict there. Child soldiers are brainwashed, programmed, and sometimes made into cyborgs. They pilot battle mechs that are capable of ground and air assault in multiple terrains. The war is observed by first-world nations and space habitats that have longstanding interests in exploiting Nigeria’s natural resources. The plot of War Girls involves a war orphan, Ify, who has been made into a warrior, her cohort of child soldiers, and the forces arrayed against them. There are many powerful human moments in this novel, which transcends the young-adult novel it claims to be. I wish the show more technology were not so much like a Transformers movie, but that is a small complaint. If you pick up this novel, be sure to read the Author’s Note at the end, which puts the story in the context of Nigerian history and of Onyebuchi’s own family. show less

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from BookCon 2019 and Razorbill in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

At the beginning, I was absolutely enthralled with War Girls. The first hundred pages hooked me. The characters were interesting and the world building was fascinating. A lot of science fiction coming out these days feels copy/pasted. The language and setting feel the same – that’s not the case with War Girls.

The science fiction in this book was so refreshing. It was sharp and technical enough that it felt modern and real… even though it’s set a century in the future. A lot of sci-fi I’ve read in the last couple years is very comfortable talking show more about space, but that’s the end of it. Hand-in-hand with space is technology. War Girls has bionic implants, mechs, and advanced weaponry. It doesn’t shy away from technical jargon, and that makes the book feel more immersive.

War Girls centers around a Nigerian-Biafra conflict far in the future. The conflict itself is based on various wars that have devastated the African continent and continue to do so to this day. War is gruesome and unforgiving. The action sequences are intense. There’s death and dismemberment. War Girls is realistic about the affects of war.

Onyii and Ify are great characters, and I was really hoping for an amazing sibling story… but I don’t feel like that’s what happened. In part one, everything flowed perfectly. There are strong characters, emotional attachments, and good stakes. After that, I felt like things got a little muddled. There was a lot of back and forth in time. I wasn’t sure who the author wanted presented as the “good guys” or the “bad guys” in the conflict. There were just a lot of ideas going on at once and not a lot of follow-through on any of them.

I enjoyed certain, specific scenes. There was a piece in the middle where Enyemaka is in the desert, and that’s a great scene. It’s also not relevant to the story, unless it comes to the surface in the next book. War Girls is over 400 pages and the last 60% is very ambling. I understand that there needs to be a level of chaos, and there was an ongoing conflict, but there didn’t seem to be a straight direction for the story. When something happened, it just seemed to incidentally come together. It felt like there was a lot of high tension all the time and nothing really seemed to flip the switch.

War Girls had a lot of starting potential, but the messiness of story as I got further in was a bit of a deterrent for me. While I’m not entirely against picking up the second book when it comes out, I think I will wait to see some reviews, and even then, maybe go the audiobook route. I think it was really original in many ways, and honestly, it started off really good. I’d still recommend giving it a try, if you’re interested in a post-apocalyptic, story with a lot of diverse characters. It didn’t click with me because of the pacing, energy levels, and the writing in the second half of the plot, but I still think it’s a good overall book and I really hope it does well. show less

Wow. A story with a thousand parts to clench and twist your heart, maybe even break it.

Granted, science fiction isn't my go-to or most-read genre, and some of the more technical or science-y scenes would lose me, sometimes even during the action. (I'm not exactly sure how to word that.) Also, I just found a lot of the novel to be rather slow, with scenes taking too long to get where they were going. Even while the climax was spectacular, it seems the stretch after that went on too long. It's almost like the story had too much of an ending before getting to the ending.

Don't know yet if I'll check out the sequel, but it's great to come across diverse fiction in spaces that could use more of it.

War Girls is a really unique book. It is inspired by a civil war that took place in Nigeria in the 60s and 70s. This book is set in Nigeria but 200 years in the future. The earth has been ravaged by climate change and nuclear disasters and the privileged have fled to space colonies. A civil war rages in Nigeria. The story focuses on two young "sisters" Onyii and Ify whose lives have been devastated by the war. They are separated during a battle and over the years must find their way back to each other. The author is really clever in imaging what technology will be present in 200 years. The science of bionics and AI has advanced; space travel exists and wars are fought with flying mechs. The technology is quite amazing. Unfortunately, show more human nature has not evolved at the same pace as the technology. War is still cruel and devastating; horrific human rights violations occur. This book is thought provoking and specifically focuses on the effects of war on children. War Girls is fast paced and highly readable and should be considered a book for all people, not just YA readers. show less

Listened to audio narrated by Adepero Oduye. While I liked the narator the story itself is challenging to follow in audio format as the story jumps from one group to another.

The year is 2172 set in a civil war in Nigeria. Children are mechanized, body parts replaced with bionic parts and trained to fight in the war using mechs. Neither side is all good or all bad, both claim to be the righteous side of the battle but both sides do horrific things to win the war.

These two girls love each other like sisters but after an attack they are separated, both believing the other is dead. With the girls on either side of the conflict, they are used and manipulated to win for their side of the war until they find out the other is alive and things show more take a dramatic turn.

The story is set in the future and even though there's mech's and bionics it often has a historic feeling. I understood why after listening to the author's insight at the end of the book. The author gleaned a lot of historic information from the 1969 Nigerian civil war and additional conflicts in Nigeria. Not an easy read, in fact it shows the gritty, ugly side of political war, using the perspectives of both sides as well as the failure of outside countries to act on the atrocities being committed by both sides.

I was expecting a completely different story, but the story I read was well done, I liked it and I think others will like it as well.

If you like my reviews I hope you will follow my blog. https://wyldheartreads.wordpress.com/ show less