*I WAS PROVIDED A PHYSICAL ARC FOR THE PURPOSES OF A BLOG TOUR. THIS DOESN’T AFFECT MY OPINION*
This novel is a beautiful novel.
The words are addicting, the imagery is astounding, and the world-building is phenomenal. Truly, one could potentially get lost in reading this book. Tochi Onyebuchi did an amazing job capturing the interest of his readers just within the first few pages.
"Thunder booms overhead, and both their gazes snap skyward to track the arc of a burning mech as it sails through the air. It trails a comet tail of smoke behind it and crash-lands in the forest so close to the camp that the impact tosses Onyii onto her back."
*(This is quoted from uncorrected text.)*
Diving into the first part of War Girls, I found myself craving for more. I wanted to see where the story would turn, and I wanted to know what would happen to our two main characters, Onyii and Ify. The girls are—in many ways, shapes, and forms—different from each other in that they give two alternating perspectives on viewpoints and judgments.
"A dream. It must have been a dream. Onyii on her back with soldiers standing over her. Onyii slowly getting smaller and smaller as Ify was dragged away. Smaller and smaller until the fog swallows her up. Then the gunshot. No. It must have been a dream. Onyii is still alive. Ify has to get back to her.
"That’s when she remembers she’s trapped."
*(This is quoted from uncorrected text.)*
We’re thrown into a nearly consumed world of radiation, danger, and fear, where a war-torn Nigeria holds two enemies together: the Nigerians and the Biafrans. It’s hard to assimilate between which side to take until you reach further into the novel, but from what we can gather in the beginning, each side is fighting for what they believe in.
Something that kind of threw me off while reading was the sudden time-skip we were pushed through in part two. Four years is a lot of time to just suddenly toss away, and I can’t help but find myself asking questions like: “What happened after this?” or “How were the girls handling these new situations?” Overall, it was just really confusing to piece together why Onyebuchi implemented this time-skip at this point in the novel.
Another thing that happened with part two was the pacing shift. Part one was thrilling, fast-paced, and eye capturing. Part two was more slowed down and informative in a way that a reader could easily find themselves getting bored if hitting certain sections.
However, it soon picked up after we reached part three and were introduced to the aftermaths of the first two parts. I kind of predicted the plot twists that were revealed, but not through the ways they were revealed.
All in all, I did really like this novel. It was beautiful, as I stated in the introduction of this review, and I think it would be really phenomenal if made into a movie. However, those downfalls of part two really got to me in the end.
For that, I rate War Girls 3.5 stars. This novel was really good, and I do suggest it for those who’re fans of sci-fi with a twist on real-world happenings.
This novel is a beautiful novel.
The words are addicting, the imagery is astounding, and the world-building is phenomenal. Truly, one could potentially get lost in reading this book. Tochi Onyebuchi did an amazing job capturing the interest of his readers just within the first few pages.
"Thunder booms overhead, and both their gazes snap skyward to track the arc of a burning mech as it sails through the air. It trails a comet tail of smoke behind it and crash-lands in the forest so close to the camp that the impact tosses Onyii onto her back."
*(This is quoted from uncorrected text.)*
Diving into the first part of War Girls, I found myself craving for more. I wanted to see where the story would turn, and I wanted to know what would happen to our two main characters, Onyii and Ify. The girls are—in many ways, shapes, and forms—different from each other in that they give two alternating perspectives on viewpoints and judgments.
"A dream. It must have been a dream. Onyii on her back with soldiers standing over her. Onyii slowly getting smaller and smaller as Ify was dragged away. Smaller and smaller until the fog swallows her up. Then the gunshot. No. It must have been a dream. Onyii is still alive. Ify has to get back to her.
"That’s when she remembers she’s trapped."
*(This is quoted from uncorrected text.)*
We’re thrown into a nearly consumed world of radiation, danger, and fear, where a war-torn Nigeria holds two enemies together: the Nigerians and the Biafrans. It’s hard to assimilate between which side to take until you reach further into the novel, but from what we can gather in the beginning, each side is fighting for what they believe in.
Something that kind of threw me off while reading was the sudden time-skip we were pushed through in part two. Four years is a lot of time to just suddenly toss away, and I can’t help but find myself asking questions like: “What happened after this?” or “How were the girls handling these new situations?” Overall, it was just really confusing to piece together why Onyebuchi implemented this time-skip at this point in the novel.
Another thing that happened with part two was the pacing shift. Part one was thrilling, fast-paced, and eye capturing. Part two was more slowed down and informative in a way that a reader could easily find themselves getting bored if hitting certain sections.
However, it soon picked up after we reached part three and were introduced to the aftermaths of the first two parts. I kind of predicted the plot twists that were revealed, but not through the ways they were revealed.
All in all, I did really like this novel. It was beautiful, as I stated in the introduction of this review, and I think it would be really phenomenal if made into a movie. However, those downfalls of part two really got to me in the end.
For that, I rate War Girls 3.5 stars. This novel was really good, and I do suggest it for those who’re fans of sci-fi with a twist on real-world happenings.