I went back and fourth between 3 and 4 stars on this one. War Girls is a unique read, I haven't read one like it that I can remember. The book takes the 1960s Nigerian Civil War and combines it with a dystopian but futuristic plot. The war and what took place was devastating to learn about. Little children turned into killing machines is hard to imagine, and the fact that it comes from real life is even worse. While it may not make sense to all readers, I also love how Tochi incorporates both sides of the war into the story. Like in real life, both sides think their way is the right way and this book does a great job at showing that.
War Girls has a very strong start, and right away I was hooked on the smooth writing style, the character development and the amount of action. Onyii and Ify are easy to like, and you really feel for their situation. I always love a good "sidekick" in a story, and I enjoyed Ify's robot friend, Enyemaka as well. The bionics and technology was fascinating, but also hard to understand how it all just happens. Why are people plugged into things so often, and what does it all mean? We don't need a huge backstory on this, but there was a bit of a disconnect to make it seem plausible.
Fast forward to Part II, and I started to lose interest. Once Onyii and Ify are separated, I don't feel like the story is as strong. Connections between characters is rushed, a lot is going on but nothing is happening at the same time. I know that this is a war and surprise explosions happen, but I feel like they were tossed in willy-nilly just because. Plus, there were so many "near death" experiences!
Overall, this was a great read but it was struggle to make it through. If you like historical fiction and futuristic tech, this is definitely for you.
War Girls has a very strong start, and right away I was hooked on the smooth writing style, the character development and the amount of action. Onyii and Ify are easy to like, and you really feel for their situation. I always love a good "sidekick" in a story, and I enjoyed Ify's robot friend, Enyemaka as well. The bionics and technology was fascinating, but also hard to understand how it all just happens. Why are people plugged into things so often, and what does it all mean? We don't need a huge backstory on this, but there was a bit of a disconnect to make it seem plausible.
Fast forward to Part II, and I started to lose interest. Once Onyii and Ify are separated, I don't feel like the story is as strong. Connections between characters is rushed, a lot is going on but nothing is happening at the same time. I know that this is a war and surprise explosions happen, but I feel like they were tossed in willy-nilly just because. Plus, there were so many "near death" experiences!
Overall, this was a great read but it was struggle to make it through. If you like historical fiction and futuristic tech, this is definitely for you.