Our War

by Craig DiLouie

A prescient and gripping novel of a second American civil war, and the children caught in the conflict, forced to fight.

When the president of the United States is impeached, but refuses to leave office, the country erupts into civil war.

10-year-old Hannah Miller, an orphan living in besieged Indianapolis, has joined a citizen's militia. She had nowhere else to go. And after seeing the firsthand horrors of war, she's determined to fight with the Free Women militia.

Hannah's older brother, Alex, is a soldier too. But he's loyal to the other side. After being separated from Hannah, he finds a home in a group calling themselves The Liberty Tree militia.

When a UNICEF worker and a reporter discover that both sides are using child soldiers, they set out to shine a light on something they thought could never happen in the United States. But it may be too late because even the most gentle children can find that they're capable of horrific acts.

Genres: Fiction, Dystopia, Horror, Science Fiction, War, Speculative Fiction, Audiobook

386 pages, Hardcover

First published August 20, 2019

About the author

Craig DiLouie is an author of popular thriller, apocalyptic/horror, and sci-fi/fantasy fiction.

In hundreds of reviews, Craig’s novels have been praised for their strong characters, action, and gritty realism. Each book promises an exciting experience with people you’ll care about in a world that feels real.

These works have been nominated for major literary awards such as the Bram Stoker Award and Audie Award, translated into multiple languages, and optioned for film. He is a member of the HWA, International Thriller Writers, and IFWA.

Reviews

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story about child soldiers in the militia fighting in America's imagined second civil war. While I'm sure DiLouie was inspired by the fractious political landscape of the US, I think even he would have been surprised by the continued fallout of the disputed 2020 election results and the events of January 6. His imagined future could have become reality at that point, and worryingly, it still doesn't feel far-fetched.

While this book suffers in comparison to Omar El Akkad's chilling American War, it does manage to tell the story well using characters who for the most part are deeply affected without being deeply politicized. I think that is true to life for so many average citizens, and particularly children, who are drawn into civil conflict. They are for the most part victims of circumstance who fall into violence rather than partisans actively seeking it.

In the end, people use their cause to justify doing almost anything. They dehumanize themselves and the enemy. They end up doing horrible things and thinking it's normal.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine the horror of a second American civil war. The atrocities people can wage on each other, but nothing could be as heinous as using children as soldiers, innocents caught up in the devastation of war when they are the greatest victims.

Two young siblings will be separated when their parents are killed, Hannah, 10, will fight with the Free Women’s militia. Her older brother, Alex, will fight with The Liberty Tree militia. They will become enemies, yet neither knows the other is alive as war and death strip them of their childhoods and they begin to lose a piece of their humanity in battle.

Somehow, the country doesn’t know of the child warriors, but a determined reporter and a UNICEF worker from Canada will risk their own lives to uncover the truth and share it with the world. Will this exposure be too late to save the children? Will it be too late to save what is left of Alex and Hannah?

OUR WAR by Craig DiLouie is a gut-clenching tale of brutality, loyalties and the destruction of the values they are fighting to save. War creates monsters, it creates heroes, but will the cost in the end be too much? Will the children be the ones to pay it? Mr. DiLouie has created an eye-opening tale with some wicked sharp edges.

This tale of failed politics comes home to American soil and it is brutal in its telling, captivating in its presentation and heartbreaking in its telling.

I received a complimentary ARC copy from Orbit Books! This is my honest and voluntary review.

Publisher: Orbit (August 20, 2019)
Publication Date: August 20, 2019
Genre: Scifi Fantasy | Dystopian
Print Length: 400 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Lisa Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where to even start describing this powerful and upsetting book? It feels all too real, as an increasingly factionalized and radicalized America is plunged into a brutal civil war. Sides are drawn -- and armed. It's deadly serious, and as is sadly the norm in armed conflicts, children are the ones who are caught in the middle, starving, orphaned, witnessing death and brutality that no child should have to see,

Hannah is one of several POV characters; others include a hard-charging journalist pursuing her next great story, an inexperienced but determined UNICEF representative, the militia leader who takes in Hannah's bother Alex, and Alex himself. Each shares their unique viewpoint on the war and its impact, and through each, we see the futility of the armed conflict and the seeming hopelessness of any attempt to find a resolution.

The political situation in Our War is, honestly, not so far different from our own current situation. It's scarily easy to imagine these events evolving from where we stand today.

As a reporter, Aubrey had always been shocked by the right wing's war on facts. They regularly vilified anybody in fact-based professions, from scientists to doctors. They generated and consumed propaganda and called anything else fake. For them, reality wasn't as interesting as a good simple narrative that had them righteously and perpetually enraged.

At first, I found it confusing to keep track of which side was which, but I think that's part of the point. After all, your view of whether someone is a patriot or a rebel may depend very much on which side of the line you yourself are standing on.

The writing here is raw and shocking and immediate, and makes for a completely gripping read. Above all, the children caught in the middle are the ultimate victims here, and seeing the war through Hannah's eyes is truly gut-wrenching.

[LordTBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ★★★★-

Synopsis

A prescient and gripping novel of a second American civil war, and the children caught in the conflict, forced to fight.

When the president of the United States is impeached, but refuses to leave office, the country erupts into civil war.

10-year-old Hannah Miller, an orphan living in besieged Indianapolis, has joined a citizen’s militia. She had nowhere else to go. And after seeing the firsthand horrors of war, she’s determined to fight with the Free Women militia.

Hannah’s older brother, Alex, is a soldier too. But he’s loyal to the other side. After being separated from Hannah, he finds a home in a group calling themselves The Liberty Tree militia.

When a UNICEF worker and a reporter discover that both sides are using child soldiers, they set out to shine a light on something they thought could never happen in the United States. But it may be too late because even the most gentle children can find that they’re capable of horrific acts.

Review

Thanks to the author and publisher for a finished copy of Our War in exchange for an honest review. Receiving a copy of the book did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.

Our War is a heart-breaking and harrowing novel about a bleak alternate reality that we may just find ourselves in in the very near future. Much like Chuck Wendig’s Wanderers and Rob Hart’s The Warehouse, DiLouie continues the 2019 trend of novels we need right now in order to make us more aware of where our country is headed if we don’t band together and fix the chaos and broken systems. Change can happen and there are glimpses of it across the nation, but there are still too many bad decisions being made that outweigh the progress.

It is crazy to think that this is sort of where we are now with our world, and on a smaller scale, nation. That books once thought to be dystopian or pre-apocalyptic fiction would be closer to non-fiction than they were just a few years ago. Not saying that any of these authors have the ability to time travel and show us exact glimpses of our future, but just that imagination and reality are becoming too similar in certain ways. With the gun violence of today, the nation seemingly splitting itself up into the left and right, religion taking a backseat to everyday life, and people becoming offended at every single piece of information that comes their way, it isn’t a coincidence that fiction such as Our War is being written at such a rapid pace. The world is becoming a fairly scary place to live and sometimes, Canada does seem like a welcome permanent vacation.

DiLouie does a fantastic job of immediately grabbing the reader’s attention and holding it throughout, tearing at heartstrings and digging into the nitty-gritty of emotional connection with his characters and the messed up world they find themselves in. Hannah is the shining star in this bleak account of an alternate America and one that I think will resonate even more with parents who have young children. I can’t imagine seeing elementary aged children toting AK-47s or carrying backpacks with enough explosives to level a building, but it is unfortunate that things like this are occurring at an elevated rate in some countries. The fact that our schools are, even now, having to consistently be on alert for gun violence is absolutely ridiculous.

This novel was gut-wrenching and I don’t know if I was truly ready for it. This may hit too close to home for some, but I can definitely recommend it. Hopefully I have prepared you before your own venture as this book hits some major arteries.

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Craig DiLouie’s Our War is a book that is not as out there as it could be, considering the current political landscape. In fact, in some ways, this could be seen as a warning of what could come. I tend to steer clear of discussing all things political – everyone is welcome to their own view, and I’d rather avoid any arguments that could occur – so I’m not going to dig into the political messages of the story, I’ll simply focus on what I thought of the story itself.

With Our War, Craig DiLouie gives a story that is filled with gritty emotion and leaves you turning the pages to see how everything comes together. You get to see plenty of different sides in the story, digging deep into their lives and how war has changed the way they are living. Some characters you’ll love, others you will hate, but everything will have you desperate to see how things come together.

As much as I enjoyed the gritty emotions and the realism throughout, I did find it rather difficult to get into at first. It took a while for me to wrap my head around the different sides of the war, along with the details of how things reached the point they did, which made it somewhat hard for me to understand at first. I also would have liked a wee bit more action than was given, but that’s simply because I’m an action kind of person with these types of stories. The emotion more than hooked me, but I wanted a wee bit more drama and action from the ending.

If you’re looking for a book that covers the emotional and political landscape of war rather than focusing on the action, Our War is certainly a book worth grabbing.

[Holly (The GrimDragon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Hannah's family and childhood were gone, but they were always there in easy reach for her to remember. Her mind retreated deeper until they came alive again, and this new world, this horrible, cold world, faded away to nothing."

First of all, I absolutely cannot speak about this book without mentioning the beautiful cover designed by Lisa Marie Pompilio, since that is what originally drew me in. It's so fucking impactful, isn't it? I can't help but think of the old war propaganda posters when I look at it.

Our War is a harrowing story about children forced to fight in the second American civil war. There are several POV's, including: Hannah Miller, a 10-year-old who watched as her mother was gunned down in front of her, finds herself joining the Free Women militia in search of somewhere to call home; Alex, Hannah's troubled 16-year-old brother, felt like he had nowhere else to go and ends up on the other side fighting for the rebel forces; Gabrielle Justine, a French-Canadian UNICEF field operative who took a contract to help bring humanitarian aid to the US; and Aubrey, a liberal-media reporter who works for The Indy Chronicle and wants to bring attention to the fact that there are child soldiers fighting in this war.

It is difficult to succinctly capture the gamut of emotions this story evokes. I was in tears by page five. Oof. This book forces you to dive into the uncomfortability of what was, what is and what may be. It makes you confront these problems head on by throwing you into a cautionary tale that feels all too real, because clearly this is based on genuine issues in the world today. I mean.. just take a look at a newspaper. Or Twitter.

"All she'd wanted was to feel safe and serve a cause bigger than herself, a world where nobody shot people from far away or got sliced by shrapnel in the road."

Our War is not an easy book to read. It's not one to devour. Rather, you consume it in small increments. Conserving your energy to read on about the deplorable horrors of humanity - hate, violence, politics, loss and attempting to reclaim your life amidst conflict. It's about survival in the face of tragedy; it's about hope when it feels like there is no hope left.

This story is brutally intense, thought-provoking, deeply profound and incredibly important. It provides a meaningful conversation that absolutely needs to happen about a future that feels like the past. A future that isn't so distant if we don't do something to stop the current American political conflict. The polarizing extremes. After all, "in a civil war, everybody fights and nobody wins."

(A big thank you to my friends over at Orbit Books for sending me a copy!)

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from Orbit in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was not an easy book to read.

DiLouie pulls no punches and his books force us to take a long hard look in the mirror to examine uncomfortable truths. Where One of Us dealt with the horrors of extreme prejudice, Our War tackles tribalism and political radicalization.

In the near future, the president of the United States refuses to step down after being impeached. The country erupts into civil war, with liberals supporting Congress and conservatives standing behind the president. 10-year-old Hannah Miller and her brother Alex find themselves on opposite sides of the war. Though the nation’s political divide is sharper than ever, the siblings are just fighting to survive. Meanwhile, a UNICEF worker and reporter discover America is using child soldiers and set out to expose the truth to the world.

For many, America stopped delivering on its ideals. Instead of solving these problems, we retreated into tribalism. Fed by alternate news sources, we ended up living in divergent realities…Competing ideas of what America is about. Marsh’s election was a symptom, not the disease…The war awakened something primal in us. The war may end, but we may never come together again unless we rediscover that unifying idea of what America is.

DiLouie shows an uncanny knack for capturing what it means to be human. I came into this book expecting a particular political point of view to be favored. Instead, vastly different beliefs were portrayed with compassion and understanding. I fell in love with characters on all sides of the war, complex humans capable of both good and evil.

The horrors of war don’t end with violence. Families are splintered along political lines, those in power turn a blind eye to the use of child soldiers, and Americans can no longer pretend to have the moral high ground compared to more “barbaric” nations. Worst of all, the general public quickly learns to accept their terrifying new reality as normal.

She wondered how future historians would describe what happened to America. Most likely, they’d…call it a period of temporary derangement…but the country had been slowly losing its mind as long as she could remember.

Our War is not an easy read, but it’s an important one. Once again, DiLouie has managed to distill one of humanity’s greatest conflicts into a masterpiece of literature.

Where classics like 1984 or Brave New World warned of dystopias set years in the future, it’s only too easy to envision a world like the one presented in Our War becoming reality in mere months. America may have been losing it’s mind for a while, but the storm that follows the calm could be just around the corner.

More reviews at The Fantasy Inn.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privilege of reading an early copy of this excellent book.

In his latest, Di Louie bravely tackles the topic of an American civil war, divided between Right and Left. With that kind of premise, you might expect a political polemic in which Di Louie lionizes one side and villainizes the other, but that’s not what he does. Instead, we see the desperate tragedy on both sides as they destroy everything they’re fighting to save, even sending children to fight and die as soldiers.

One strength of the novel is its believability. Without the American landmarks, the setting might be mistaken for the landscape of a war-torn Somalia or Sudan. Aid workers navigate a complicated skein of splinter groups, struggling to bring even small amounts of help, the devastation and hatred seeming too vast to overcome. It’s a gripping human drama that reminds us that Americans are not immune to self-destruction and serves as a warning to find common ground before our differences tear us apart.

The story follows two siblings fighting on opposite sides of the conflict and the aid worker determined to end the use of children as soldiers. Di Louie doesn’t flinch from violence and death; this is not a sweet tale. It is, however, a satisfying one that leaves the reader with hope even as it dramatizes the worst of our human nature.

[David Agranoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our War By Craig DiLouie

One of my favorite genres of novels is the warning novel. 1984 and Alas Babylon are taught in schools because of what they say about authoritarianism and nuclear war. Not every novel written as a dire warning is taught in schools but I personally love sci-fi that does this. Speculative fiction as a genre has many tricks up its sleeves but the ability to look at an oncoming disaster and dramatize it is the very best reason to write it. We can debate that point, it is subjective but I think the argument is strong to almost be objective truth. Warning novels are important. So like Sinclair Lewis It Can’t Happen here felt like a well-timed warning 90 years after it was published.

With Our War, Craig DiLouie was put in an uncomfortable place as the author of a warning novel that appeared to be coming true on January 6th, 2021. When right-wing seditionists tried to start the very conflict, he warned about it. I told you so’s from an author safely north of the border don’t make for the most natural book promotion but if the target audience is me – sold. I can relate to DiLouie’s situation as I am the author of a climate change warning novel (Ring of Fire) about wildfires I have had to debate often if I should hold my tongue or look callous promoting it.

That was not the only reason why I jumped on this book as it was also set 53 miles from my hometown in Indianapolis. It is a city I have spent lots of time in so the idea of a Second American civil war novel that was about the battle of Indianapolis had me curious. I will say I had to divorce some of my knowledge of Indy while reading this book but that is not the author's fault and should not affect most readers.

Our War released in 2019, probably written directly in the middle of the Trump years is a solid warning novel. It is about a President who after he is impeached refuses to leave office. I know it sounds familiar. Many of the events mirror reality, President Marsh’s followers in the book get a little further and many blue cities in red states become battlegrounds.

Like many great war novels, Our War follows many different POVs. The narrative is structured in a smart way to balance parallels in the storytelling. Hannah is what I would consider the most important character, she is a ten-year girl left homeless after her parents are killed and she is separated from her brother Alex. She ends joining the Free Women a group of leftist resistance fighters, and of course, Alex ends up fighting with the right-wing militia. They were too young to have ideals before the war started and Dilouie uses these characters to highlight how both sides form their ranks. It is a trope of civil war fiction the family is torn apart and facing off in the war, but in this case, it is important and done well.

The adult characters have plenty of meaningful parallels as well. Including Abigail whose ex-husband fights for the other side. Gabrielle is a French-Canadian worker for UNICEF looking for evidence of child soldiers in Indianapolis. She befriends a local reporter a black journalist named Audrey. On the right side of the conflict, we have Mitch who believes he is on the right side of history, despite my feelings as a leftist myself I was glad he was not painted as mustache-twirling and given his logic for his actions. In many senses, he had more regrets than the liberals about who was fighting on his behalf.

In hindsight, Our War might not seem prophetic but honestly how many of us thought we would see the supporters of a sitting president under his direction storm the capital and try to stop the transfer of power. Well apparently, this Canadian Journalist turned author primarily known for writing horror novels did. He will join fellow Canadian Journalist turned author of The American War Omar El Akkad who wrote disturbing American Civil War novels.

Two very different books, Our War goes less into the future, and Akkad was trying to reflect the madness our country caused in the middle east by reflecting it back. Our War is about the bi-partisan conflict here and now. It is easy to point the finger exactly to the roots.

“Social media had promised to bring people together but only helped polarize them along new tribes isolated in separate echo chambers.”

It can seem dehumanizing and like a video game when it is a battle of names and profile avatars but Our War seeks to explore this conflict spilling into the streets. To take the rhetoric that nebulous when written in comments on Facebook and Twitter and put the conflict into the real world. The narrative is helped by Indianapolis losing power and being cut off from the rest of the country. Otherwise, the conflict probably would have been live-streamed and posted all over. That is one aspect DiLouie missed, the nut bags live streaming putting their feet up on the speaker’s desk and recording for the FBI their acts of sedition is so modern treason but that is the reality. I can see why Dilouie chooses not to focus on that. It wasn’t the point.

As for the role of Indianapolis. I had to divorce my knowledge of Indiana a little bit. It is clear that Dilouie did his research…

“Indy was a blue city, in a sea of Red. At the start of the war, the militias had gained control of the countryside easy enough. They’d roll into town, find out who was in local government, make some changes. None of it was planned. It just happened, a nationwide protest that snowballed into a revolution.”

There is a difference between reading, researching, or even visiting a place and knowing it. Why is Indianapolis a blue city in a sea of red? A couple of reasons, and while there are some progressive artist types on the north that is not the main reason. A huge aspect of Indianapolis overlooked here is the large African-American population. I know from organizing a little in the city that the community is somewhat dubious of young white progressives. That should not bother readers, not from Indiana. That said the black community being underrepresented in the story is the one and only real knock against this novel for me.

I think this novel should be read because it is warning about violent partisanship. That message is more important than the details of the story.

The Brother and Sister's storyline is at the heart of this novel. It is the emotional core as much as it drives a huge chunk of the story. Hannah and Alex were relatable characters who represent a very important class of Americans. Not everyone feels perfectly represented by Democrats and Republicans, but our stupid system only lets citizens choose between Coke and Pepsi. You can’t escape it.

That seems to be the warning of Our War. It is where all the hatred and partisanship go if left to fester. The woman shot storming the capital was Q conspiracy nutbag but she was from our neighborhood in San Diego. The local news interviewed her mourning family. Her grandfather who didn’t share her views lost a loved one to the crazy partisanship as much as the bullet that tore through her.

This is where the novel addresses that issue, I think is not getting enough attention right now. Can we forgive the president and party who caused this because Trump and Ted Cruz were not shy about stoking these flames? Hannah a ten-year-old in the book brings it up. “Sabrina said they should be punished. She said there’s no going back after this, no living with them again. Not after what they have done.”

“I can see her point they declared war on reality and elected a maniac who almost broke the country. When he failed, they rose up and broke it themselves. You can’t reason with them, and they hate our guts.”

They declared war on reality. Can anyone really argue this didn’t actually happen? In the case of Our War the ultimate result is open warfare, and don’t assume because Trump lost this time that this novel won't be relevant again someday. This is a great warning novel, worthy of your eyeballs and attention.



Spoilers…

I did want to comment on something that I consider spoilers.

“This is no place for a child.”
“I’m not forcing her to do anything,” The woman said “I don’t like it either. But after what she has suffered, she can make her own choices.”

“You see a child,”Rafael said. In some ways, she is as old as you.”

And later this results in the most powerful moment of the book.

Hannah Miller knelt on the debris-strewn floor amid shredded bodies, staring into space and hugging her brother’s body.
Something inside Mitch broke.

Mitch has a chance at this point to kill Hannah. She blew up a squad of his men and with it her brother. Mitch points his rifle and can’t do it. She is just a child who is already suffering because she killed her brother. This is the moment of ultimate partisanship taken to its most awful extremes. I enjoyed the fact that while DiLouie appears sympathetic to the left throughout the book at this moment he gives logic and strength of character to Mitch. Alex has a chance to kill his sister and can’t. Hannah is the one who ends up killing her brother and is wracked with guilt. Mitch sees the horror of all this at that moment. Powerful stuff. Excited to talk to Craig about these scenes when I interview him for my podcast so stay tuned for that…

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

When politics fail…

American-Canadian author/journalist/educator Craig DiLouie has published many novels in the genres of thriller, apocalyptic horror and sci-fi fantasy fiction, winning many awards and securing a wide audience. But one area of focus that goes unmentioned is his uncanny ability to create novels about the causes, impact, and devastation of war. His insights into the origin of conflict and the manner in which war distorts and polarizes society, though depicted as fiction, is as fine as any novelist writing today. He lives in Calgary, Canada.

OUR WAR is a fine example of Craig’s unique talent. He creates a quasi-fictional setting, polishes his characters with vivid realism, opens avenues of conflict in both warring terms and interpersonal, familial stances and the result is a novel that becomes as credible as contemporary news.

Character painting in Craig’s hands is an art, as even the spare opening lines of his book serve as witness: ‘Every week Hannah asked her mother when the war would end. Soon, Mom always said, which her child’s mind translated as, Longer than you want. The war had taken her home, friends, and family. If it didn’t end soon, it might take everything. Ten months ago, Hannah and her mother arrived at the refugee camp at Indiana Convention Center…Rough living, the days suspended between tension and tedium, but it was safer than outside….’ In that brief passage the tone and direction of the novel is set, and the reader has been sufficiently seduced into this terrifying world.

Craig’s plot outline succinctly condenses the scope of the story: ‘After his impeachment, the president of the United States refuses to leave office, and the country erupts into a fractured and violent war. Orphaned by the fighting and looking for a home, 10-year-old Hannah Miller joins a citizen militia in a besieged Indianapolis. In the Free Women militia, Hannah finds a makeshift family. They'll teach her how to survive. They'll give her hope. And they'll show her how to use a gun. Hannah's older brother, Alex, is a soldier too. But he's loyal to other side, and has found his place in a militant group of fighters who see themselves as the last bastion of their America. By following their orders, Alex will soon make the ultimate decision behind the trigger. On the battlefields of America, Hannah and Alex will risk everything for their country, but in the end they'll fight for the only cause that truly matters - each other.’

Despite the subject of war and the tension associated with this particular recreation of an updated American civil war, Craig DiLouie’s prose is eloquent, deeply compelling, and poses a possibility that alerts us to protect our world against such possibilities as depicted in this imaginative story. It touches many chords of recognition, and that is yet another trait of a brilliant writer. Highly recommended.

[Keith Bates · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is absolute trash. I'm not one to bash another person's creative product but this is absolute garbage. I couldn't finish and I tried really hard to do so. I made it about half way.

It's extremely rare that I don't finish a book because I hate it. Even ones I've vehemently disagreed with I've still finished but this was simply atrocious. The characters are one dimensional and unlikable, the dialogue is unrealistic, and the scenarios are largely unbelievable.

And that's for the side that favors the author's bias. It's cliche, flat and and oftentimes a caricature of the beliefs of those represented on the opposing side of the author while glowingly oversimplifying the positions of the author's favorites. This isn't a compelling story at any point and is nothing more than a one sided political argument reminiscent of Facebook comment sections.

The writing style was bad, the editing was bad, and there isn't a single redeeming quality about any character in this book. It causes me a great deal of concern about the future of publishing if this is what is getting selected for publication.

Stay away from this book if you're looking for a compelling story with good characters and a plot. However, if you want bad political takes trying to convince you that they're narrative fiction then by all means proceed.

[John Cunningham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book feels like someone with a lot of misplaced anxiety played too much of the computer game “This War of Mine” and then tried to replicate the Bosnian Civil War in America with his own roster of good guys vs bad guys.

The author’s 2nd American civil war focuses on characters in trapped in fighting in Indianapolis, with the “good guys” being woke social justice warriors, women’s collectives and pride patrols fighting the “bad guy” crude stereotype redneck militia dudes running around in ratty camo and neck beards. In one scene a militia dude runs into battle waving a Bible. I mean, really?!? There's no subtley or nuance with the characters, and the attempts at moral plays fall flat. I don’t have much empathy for any of the characters in the book, they are all shallow and derivative with a layer of fantasy projection by the author into the presumed noble nature of the side he’s chosen to pump as the heroes (hint – their fighting slogans can be lifted straight from any Antifa, Pride or other progressive street parade).

Observation: If the author fears that the US is divided and warns against "othering" -- he's doing a dang good job of othering those he fears. And why does he fear them? Is there ever a dialogue between characters to explore why they chose their side, to hash out his fears or explore why the US is divided today? No. The "othered" conservatives are portrayed as the most pathetic stereotyped gun-toting, bible thumping, pick-me-up driving, flag-waving yee-ha rednecks who are also murderous child rapists who go into battle hopped up on meth. Their motives are not important -- they serve as a monster for the "good guys" to fight.

Any exploration or character growth? Other than the Hannah character who becomes more crazed, the characters all stay the same from beginning to end. And as for the impossibility of his particular scenario -- lets just say that if the US suffered the civil war he portrays, Canada would implode as its economy went into free fall, as the entire food and energy infrastructure collapsed, and mobs of refugees crashed what was left. There would be no safe Canadian haven in which Hannah would find solace with a bacon & eggs eating atomic Canadian family. Not to mention that with the US in civil war (which would cause a global great depression), how does the UN provide relief aid? Much of that is funded and resourced by the US, so is the US sending aid to the UN to aid itself?? So much wrong with his scenario.

A real disappointment since I’ve enjoyed the author’s other work.

[Alicia Smock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wars are not something to be idolized. Hollywood today has glamorized war, encouraging audiences to root for the heroes and long for the villains to be destroyed. And yet, wars, real true wars, are not like what movies depict and only soldiers, the real true heroes who fought, will ever fully understand that. Movies and history books give viewers and readers a mere glimpse as to what actually happens. In a war, perhaps one side is right and the other is wrong… Perhaps both sides strongly prove their point and one cannot tell who to believe… Perhaps both sides, in the end, were wrong about everything… In all actuality, wars destroy homes, lives, and normality. They can take away freedom, sanity, and even childhood. Author Craig DiLouie has done it again by taking readers on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and capturing the true essence of a major political issue in his newest book Our War.

The current President of the United States has been impeached, but he refuses to leave office. The Land of the Free has turned to violence and war has waged across the States for nearly a year. Ten-year-old Hannah Miller finds herself in Indianapolis stripped of her childhood and living with nothing left of her life before the war. With nothing left, she has nothing to lose, so she joins a Free Women militia who takes her in and becomes her second family, teaching her how to survive… by becoming part of the fight. Little does she know that on the opposing side, her older brother Alex is fighting, as well. Both are young and fighting without truly knowing what they are fighting for, only following the orders their commanders give them. Yet for such young souls, they must make a very grown up decision: fight for their country… or fight for each other?

For readers who are familiar with his work and even for those who are reading his work for the first time, DiLouie does not disappoint when it comes to writing an enticingly unique and morbidly alluring story. He focuses on issues found within today’s society and gives readers the honest truth, no matter how exhilarating or heartbreaking that truth may be. For Our War, DiLouie focuses on a terrible war taking place within the United States, but rather than focusing in-depth on the politics and all the goings on during the war, he focuses on an aspect that is normally overlooked within stories: children.

What may remind readers of Ishmael Beah’s memoir A Long Way Gone, DiLouie gives readers an inside look as to what war does to children, especially if they are recruited into the fighting. While DiLouie, once again, does a superb job of juggling characters, the two main ones readers will follow are brother and sister, Hannah and Alex Miller. These two children are so unbelievably well-written, readers will be longing to know what each of them is doing. With the politics of the story kept pretty hush hush throughout the book, readers will have just as much knowledge of the war as the children do. They fight because they are told to fight. They are shown their targets and are told to fire. Once again, DiLouie shows off another wonderful aspect of his writing and that is showing both sides of the spectrum. When it comes to the children and the adults, readers will potentially believe the adults to be brainwashing the children to be fighting a war that is not theirs to fight, yet on the other hand, readers will see that the children fight because they have nothing left to fight for but their lives and the possibility of a future with any living family that may or may not exist.

Aside from the children, readers will also get to witness a more diverse spectrum of the war by following other adult characters such as a newspaper reporter, a UNICEF worker, and a commander of one of the militias. Each of these characters brings a new outlook to the war. The newspaper reporter just wants to report what she witnesses in the world and share the cold hard facts with the world, but is placed in front a mirror of truth that threatens to change her perspective and way of thinking. The UNICEF worker discovers children are being used as soldiers and wants nothing but to get them out of the country and out of the war, yet no one is willing to help her do it. The militia commander has young boys barely on the cusp of manhood fighting under his orders, yet won’t fight children himself. He slowly comes to realize why he began fighting in the war and must discover why he wishes to continue to fight.

Going along with the characters’ personalities are a couple of underlying messages readers can take away and use in life, even if they have never fought in a war before. One important message is to respect our proud country’s soldiers. They risk their lives to keep our country free, yet they do not always get the recognition they deserve. DiLouie bring up a very good point when talking about the militia commander who fought in Afghanistan and struggled so much with his PTSD that, when he returned home, he felt the only way to solve it was with alcohol. “It was a time of darkness and seething anger. Americans worshipped celebrities while real heroes died in faraway wars most people no longer cared about” (Loc 1993). Readers, Americans, anyone who is willing to listen, let us take a moment (as DiLouie has pointed out in his story) to thank the soldiers who have fought and continue to fight for this amazing country. They are the true heroes, not the glamorized ones seen in movies.

The other important message is finding what one should fight for. Everyone is placed on this earth to fight for something. Every person is different and, while the characters in Our War are literally fighting for something so that they may survive, everyone today is alive to fight for something, to fight for their reason to live, whether it is a literal, metaphorical, psychological, spiritual, or any other kind of battle. One woman in the Free Women militia speaks to Hannah on why she fights and it is a powerful message for any reader to take away for his or her own life: “I do what I hate for what I love… These women, this city. People I don’t even know. So they can live in a safe, just world. That’s the cause… That’s the cause for me. You have to decide for yourself what it means to you. Do you fight for others out of love, do you fight against the rebels out of hate or do you fight for yourself just to survive?... What you want most will make you the woman you will become” (Loc 1564).

Come August 20 of this year, readers will be able to experience Craig DiLouie’s newest book Our War, another well-executed story about a political problem that could more or less happen in the future. Once again, DiLouie entices people with a story that covers all sides of a difficult spectrum while also giving readers words of wisdom they can use in daily life. He effortlessly jumps between various characters without confusion and his main focus on children characters brings to life a reality many people overlook in a war. The politics leading up to the war are not focused on as much upon, giving more focus on the children and giving readers a better understanding of their point of view, making them wonder, “Why exactly ARE they fighting?” War is not to be glamorized for it is a true and terrifying event. Our War will remind readers what we as human beings take for granted every day and will remind us that we need to appreciate everything we have because, within a moment, it can all be taken away.

**Originally published on my blog Roll Out Reviews on July 30, 2019**

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

A haunting look at the near future when an impeached president refuses to leave office resulting in a cruel civil war that recruits even children as soldiers.

The writing is decent, even better than decent. But this author's political views are hardly disguised in this issue-oriented political tale that offers stereotypical derogatory depictions of "the right" (are they all rapists and fanatics?) and unrealistic depictions of "the left" (clearly is okay with strong women leading the way (but women can be good and bad, too).

The setting is Indianapolis, clearly meant to represent the heart of America. Usually Iowa is chosen, so this is a nice change since books are almost never written about Indy. Almost curious as to why the author did not choose Springfield, IL as that is Lincoln-Land and associated with the previous civil war.

The best parts are showing how children can be hurt and used in war, how aid organizations can be ineffective and out of their element when a large-scale crisis occurs, and how journalists are threatened when facing fanaticism. That said, this also reads like one man planning to express his views of the current administration and its followers and simply chose the novel form to do it.

[Matthew Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a chilling exploration of where the world's fractured politics could take us -- particularly in the U.S. It's heartbreaking to follow a family torn apart by The U.S.'s second civil war and to realize that this doesn't seem as speculative as you'd think at first glance. It's also less on any political side than you'd think.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. Disturbing, thought-provoking, yet hopeful, and enthralling. Full review soon at CDonline.

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. The author wrote One of Us, one of my favourite books I read last year (kind of To Kill A Mockingbird meets Xmen). This book written a few years ago follows the civil war in the US, when a president is impeached but refuses to leave office, it starts a conflict that eventually slides into civil war. It follows a number of characters but mainly a brother and sister who wind up being child soldiers on either side of the conflict. Pretty gut wrenching and though provoking.
Plus I found out the author lives in my city.

[Jessie (Zombie_likes_cake) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm honestly surprised this book is not more popular. Does nobody know about it? Does it hit too close to home (because it really does hit close to home)? Do people need more escapism and no doomscrolling inspired novels? Ignoring whether or not I liked the book in the end, I am honestly puzzled that not more people wanted to read this over the last 2 years that is has been out, this novel has less than 200 ratings as of March 2021, more people should feel intrigued, shouldn't they?

In case you never heard of "Our War" it basically predicted January 6th 2021 and then took it to the next, even more frightening level of a full out civil war. In this "fictional" scenario the situation escalated after a more successful impeachment trial when the president refuses to accept the ruling. Conservatives stormed the Capitol (can you imagine??), liberals pushed back, factions formed and the situation spiraled out of control from there. We start the story about one year into the war in one of the major battlegrounds, Indianapolis. So, in a way this book is an exaggeration of our current state but in another way it is really not that far from where we are in the US. The thoughts and sentiments expressed on both sides of the spectrum (since we follow a good sized cast) are very familiar, there is nothing here that I hadn't heard or read online before. The only add-ons are the actual war details but these are also very familiar when you pay a little attention to war history from around the world, especially from recent decades. DiLouie takes the route of including child soldiers in this story which I appreciated for two reasons: 1) awareness of the issue in general and 2) mirroring our own current situation where we are indoctrinating future generations into certain mindsets.

Reading this was harrowing and stressful but it also had a weird paint by numbers feeling. Maybe it was a bit too close to home after all, literally nothing in here could surprise me, shock me, challenge me. That had also something to do with the characters whose arcs were incredibly predictable to me. I agree that with a bigger group of people to follow it makes more sense to have not too complex of a cast in your story, but this got very stereotypical very fast. There is a certain sense to do that, as in the clichés being the commentary in themselves, but it made the reading a bit bland. I had to push myself to pick the book up again from the halfway point on because I felt at this point I had gotten everything out of this that I could and the novel now would go through the motions. And it did. The writing itself is a bit blunt, I guess one could also call it fast and slightly cinematic but I found it a bit too much straight to the point for my taste. I had read DiLouie before with the fanstastic "Suffer the Children" where I recall not being the biggest fan of his writing per se but being really impressed with where he took plot and characters. Here in "Our War" I think those aspects came in a bit flatter, a bit more foreseeable than I wanted them to. Maybe the problem truly was that it was all not that far fetched and to be excited I needed something more outrageous? You know, more outrageous than war? How sad but I guess that's the world we live in now.

I think it was a smart move to keep the figure of the president and political happenings as much in the background as DiLouie did, it moved the focus to the people caught up and battling the situation. As a reader you might have some questions to the bigger picture but that would have surely overloaded the novel. I also want to touch on how I appreciated that it was shown that there is spectrum on both sides, albeit this is overall a rather left leaning novel and honestly, I am fine with that. I don't need to spend my time bringing up compassion for people who at least willingly align with bigots and racists even if they claim to not share that thinking. I guess DiLouie agrees because he very much shows the downside of tolerating the right-wing radicals on your side.... But he also gives some points in regards to how difficult communication between opposing sides gets the more happens and with people move further and further out from a center. I mean, we all feel already that we passed the moment of just going back to "normal" (whatever that ever even meant), how would we feel after a war?

I think I wanted a lot more from this novel without really knowing what that would look like in detail. Just rehashing our fears is not enough, putting war atrocities that happened overseas on fictional American soil to make us feel the impact is also a bit cheap when you think about it. So while not a terrible book, I think it slightly missed a brighter mark for me personally. Which could have a lot more to do with me than the book. I'll round my rating up because this triggered plenty of thoughts for me but this wasn't a book I wanted to pick up again after a certain point, a book that might have had more impact on me 2 years ago when it came out. But I stick with it, that not more people are interested in this book completely baffles me!

2.5*

[Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tragic but realistic portrayal of what would happen if the United States were to enter into a civil war. This had me at the edge of my seat and I felt a knot in my stomach the whole time.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the authors description of how a civil war could start in America was spot on. And I liked the way he realistically portrayed the different sides of the war, without glamorizing any of them. He makes you care about the main character, a child soldier caught up in the war.

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, given the current political environment, this story isn't as far fetched as it might have seemed 3 years ago.

[Caitlin Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The president’s refusal to be impeached by Congress plunges the USA into civil war in DiLouie’s heartfelt dystopian war novel, Our War. While peace talks in Ottawa founder, Indianapolis is under siege, the city's suburbs divided by frontlines as the well-equipped Right wing militias fight to take the city from the Left wing militias that outnumber them.

While there are several viewpoint characters in Our War, including journalist, Aubrey, and Gabrielle, an inexperienced UNICEF worker, the characters at the heart of this novel are Hannah and Alex, siblings separated en route to Indianapolis who have ended up in militias on opposite sides of the conflict.

Although the premise of Our War leans towards the dystopian, this novel is primarily war fiction. Fifteen-year old Alex is essentially abducted and then indoctrinated into the Liberty Tree militia, a right wing organisation founded well before the civil war started. The sudden death of Hannah and Alex's mother leaves Hannah an orphan. Unwilling to end up in the desperation and squalor of the city's orphanage, the ten-year old girl instead finds herself on the doorstep of a domestic violence centre, now the base of operations for the Free Women Collective, one of the Leftist militias holding the city.

What these kids endure is harrowing, and DiLouie portrays their experiences and the way they mould Hannah and Alex with heartfelt realism. Hannah's determination to fight and avenge her parent's deaths is a direct contrast to Alex's lackadaisical view of his circumstances. Where the lasting impression of the Liberty Tree militia is that of weaponised dissatisfaction and sociopathy nurtured into fanaticism, the Free Women Collective can be characterised by the refusal to be victimised by a hostile government regime and the militia groups that represent it. The Free Women have a sense of unity and support, both within their own ranks and with the other left wing militias that’s notably missing from Liberty Tree.

Despite the polarity of these opposing views, DiLouie portrays realistic and relatable characters on both sides of the conflict. Despite his radical views, Liberty Tree Sergeant Mitch is a fairly likeable character while Sabrina and Abigail's initial acceptance of Hannah into the Free Women Collective is an obviously short-sighted act of goodwill. As with many war stories, both real and fictional, it's the fleeting instances when opposing sides connect (such as singing the same Christmas carols on either side of the frontlines) which highlights their shared humanity.

Our War is a deeply moving merger of dystopian and war fiction, compelling in its realistic depiction of urban warfare in general and from the point of view of a child soldier.

Book provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The nitty-gritty: A powerful and realistic portrayal of a near future civil war, Our War is a harrowing, emotional and ultimately uplifting story about the nature of war.

“After we win this war, we can put away the guns for good.”

Last year I was blown away by Craig DiLouie’s One of Us , a grim, alternate history about a group of marginalized people trying to live and survive in a place where racial injustices are commonplace. And so going into Our War , I had an idea of what I was in for. What I didn’t expect was how moving and exhilarating this book would be, and Our War has definitely earned its place on my Best of 2019 list (yet to be written, of course). This time DiLouie tackles a near-future America where political events have led to civil war, a frightening and all too believable scenario, considering what the United States is dealing with today.

The story takes place in Indianapolis, Indiana and is told through alternating voices. When Congress tried to impeach the President, but he refused to leave office, civil war erupted in the United States, turning the country into a battleground where the American dream no longer exists.  A year later, Hannah is ten and living in a refugee camp with her mother—after her father was killed at a gas station and her brother ran off—when her mother is brutally shot down while waiting in line for water. Hannah is taken in by a Leftist militia group called the Free Women, where she’s taught how to be a runner and later how to shoot a gun.

Meanwhile, Hannah’s fifteen-year-old brother Alex has ended up on the other side of the fight. He’s joined a different militia group called Liberty Tree where he’s under the watchful eye of an Afghanistan vet named Mitch. Liberty Tree thinks they’re protecting Americans by overthrowing the government, and it isn’t long before Alex is knee-deep in the fighting himself, learning how to shoot rifles and survive reconnaissance missions to the front line.

Gabrielle Justine is a Canadian UNICEF worker from Quebec who jumps at the opportunity to help American children who are caught up in the war. Once she arrives in the United States, she’s paired up with an American journalist named Aubrey who shows her the ropes, like how to get from place to place in war-torn Indiana. When Aubrey hears a rumor that some of the militia groups are using child soldiers to fight, she knows she’s got a great story on her hands, one that could not only make her career as a journalist, but help the children of war as well. With Gabrielle’s help, Aubrey sets out to interview the children and expose the truth of what’s really going on.

DiLouie doesn’t waste any time dumping the reader straight into the horrors of war. Hannah’s mother is killed by a sniper on page five, quite suddenly and without warning, I might add, and that is not the last death in this story by a long shot. Yes, many parts of Our War were tough to read, but it’s the characters and their relationships that got me through those tough sections. And it’s hard to pick a favorite character! Hannah’s story is the most tragic, probably because she’s the youngest character. Watching her go from a trusting, almost carefree girl to a war-hardened fighter was heartbreaking. The only thing she wants in life is to belong somewhere, to have a home where she feels safe. When she’s adopted by the Free Women, she thinks she’s found her home, and the women prove over and over that they not only care about Hannah and want to protect her, but they care about each other.

I also loved Aubrey’s and Gabrielle’s stories. As a reporter, Aubrey’s job is to tell the truth about the war, even if that truth is an ugly one, but she struggles because not only is she a woman, but she’s a woman of color. Aubrey is smart and tenacious and caring, and I absolutely loved her! Gabrielle is the one completely altruistic character, determined to save the children who are the real victims of war. But she’s confronted with reality early on, and her romantic visions of providing aid to children are shattered when she realizes she must deal with bureaucratic roadblocks, not to mention flying bullets. Gabrielle and Aubrey ultimately don’t spend much time together, but their relationship was wonderful and is made even more so by an event that happens at the end of the story.

DiLouie’s pacing is perfect, and it was very hard to put this book aside when I was forced to. The tension is palpable, the characters leap off the page, and I was terrified for each and every one of them. He also includes some flashbacks that explain what happened to Hannah’s family and how she and her mother ended up in a refugee camp. I loved the way various characters are unexpectedly connected to one another, and these connections made the story even better. I don’t want to give anything away, but I guess it’s just one more reason to pick up Our War, so you can see for yourself what I’m talking about!

DiLouie’s deceptively simple prose is the perfect vehicle for his story. There are terrible atrocities going on, and his almost deadpan delivery of the facts adds a journalistic quality to the story and makes it all feel very real. But despite these horrors, this is a human story about normal people who are caught up in something much bigger and more complex than they ever expected. These people, despite losing nearly everything and everyone they love, have not lost hope, and it’s the story’s hopeful message that makes it so special. Our War has some terribly sad moments, but it ends with that ray of hope I mentioned, the idea that people can come together and change things for the better. The author mentions in his Acknowledgments that he’s written “a novel about love and hate,” and that’s exactly what this is.

Our War is a very special book, and I hope it finds the audience it deserves. Readers who are looking for an emotional and complex story need look no further. This dystopian hits close to home, especially if you live in the United States, but its cautionary—but hopeful—message will resonate no matter what country you’re from.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy

[Lelia Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpectedly, I found this to be a difficult book to read, much less review, so I'll just hit a few highlights.

Craig DiLouie is a new author to me but I understand from other reviewers that his strong suit is the portrayal of war and I have to agree he did that very well here. His depictions of the real horrors of war, particularly civil war, made me feel I was right there in the thick of it, standing by my fellow citizen soldiers.

Mr. DiLouie's choice to focus on children is a large part of my discomfort, not that such a choice is a bad thing because we all know children are used as fighting pawns in other societies and they have shown violent proclivities here. I just don't find it as plausible that children would be swept up as soldiers here in a country that is "growing" kids who have a clear view that following adults may not be the best idea in the world. On the other hand, I'm well aware that children have fought in wars throughout human history so I'm conflicted.

The author does plot and action very well, character development a bit less so but that's mainly because having five points of view necessarily means that there's not enough time to get to know them in depth. Still, what I do know, I like. Hannah is especially appealing and watching her morph into a very capable girl, leaving aside her abilities with assault weapons, was a real strength of the story.

Given the events of the past few weeks and the true threats to our country's future, this tale hit much too close to home, hence my difficulty with it. That's my problem, not Mr. DiLouie's; he happens to be a fine writer with a story that will resonate with many ;-)

[Nikki Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger Warning: Adult language and content as well as graphic images/violence

In this dystopian America, eerily similar to our own present time of 2019, a civil war is raging between the liberals and conservatives. The President was convicted of crimes and the Senate attempted to remove him from office; Marsh had different plans, however. He refused to leave his presidency, and the country exploded into kill or be killed. Now, there are hundreds if not thousands of individual militias, barely held together around either the Senate or the President’s cause and fighting for their belief. Hannah Miller, a 10-year-old girl stuck in the middle of Indy with no one to help her must find a way to survive this war. She finds help with the Free Woman, a militia fighting on the liberal side. Unfortunately, her older brother Alex is fighting on the opposite side, due to unfortunate circumstances. Will they ever meet in battle? If they do, will their individual sides rip them apart or can they make peace with each other, and thus with the other side?

The world building of this novel is absolutely stunning. From the get-go there is so much description of this new America, so much so that I barely recognize the country I know as home. No longer is America a land full of opportunity and safety–No, this America is full of mortars, snipers, and hidden IEDs. This America is dangerous. This America has spiraled back down into an almost third-world category. People are calorie counting now, not to lose weight, but to hopefully stretch their rations to last the week before they starve. Cell phones and computers have become obsolete, Americans instead using their one-hour of electricity to cook food or heat up their measly living quarters. Parks are littered with tents, sentries posted throughout as so many militias set up base in the middle of the city. America is a war zone.

Going along with this, Craig DiLouie shocks us with violence seemingly on every page. There is no standing still in Indy or taking your time; to do such is to die. Snipers could be on any roof, bombs could explode anywhere. The enemy could be watching you. DiLouie does an amazing job building up this suspense that the characters feel living in Indy, always on high alert, always expecting something horrible to happen at any moment. In fact, we readers become so accustomed to the blood and death that our characters experience, that we become almost desensitized to it. It becomes our new normal for this new America. And I think that this is exactly what DiLouie was going for. Because for the characters, this is their new normal, this is what they get to live through every day. It is a sad fact that we can adapt to something so tragic, so easily.

On the same par with world building, the character building is also phenomenal, especially with the character who holds my heart: Hannah. We first see her as this innocent and naive little girl, someone we wouldn’t believe could survive on her own. She is such a child, depicted through her thoughts, actions, and even words. But as the novel progresses, we see her grow up. In just a few short days/weeks, this small 10-year-old becomes an adult. I am still marveling at her transformation from the beginning of the novel to the end. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just leave it at that, but as you read, keep track of how Hannah thinks and acts! You’ll be stunned as well. Fighting in a war can really age a person, especially a child.

The writing style of the novel itself was interesting. At times it seemed a little slow and monotonous with too much dawdling in seemingly trivial matters. There are multiple POVs–between Hannah, Alex, the UN agent Gabrielle, and the reporter Aubrey–and each looks into its individual character, as well as the various political factors circulating their life. It was interesting to see the government from a much more direct perspective through the UN and the reporter than how Hannah and Alex see the troubles. It definitely helped me to keep up with the politics of what exactly was going on at what times, and how the civil war was actually affecting America and its government/police forces. However, the bits with Aubrey and Gabrielle were also slightly slow. They tended to be more of an info dump, and less emotionally triggering than when I saw through the eyes of Hannah and Alex. Perhaps this is what made the novel a bit too slow for me–I wanted more action, more of Hannah and Alex’s plights. Or perhaps it was simply the fact that there were soooooo many chapters! They were very short and thus plentiful, and I think that tripped me up a bit. It would have made the novel go faster if the chapters had been longer, at least for me.

I also was a bit underwhelmed with the ending. It seemed to really just peter out, and I was much more of a passive bystander than actually within the novel, as I had been for most of the rest of the novel. It also seemed to go a bit too long and wrapped up the novel a bit too nicely. But perhaps that’s just me, because I enjoy stretching my own imagination as to what happens after the ending.

Overall, I thought this novel was phenomenal. It was a bit scary how many parallels I could draw from this dystopia and our own real America, but that definitely added to the suspense and emotion of the story. The character building and world building were amazing, the multiple POVs gave us further insight into the world and its characters, and I was emotionally invested in the story itself. I had just a few issues with the technical part of the novel, but otherwise, it was a great read! I would definitely recommend it! Hopefully those who read it may gain enlightenment about our own political climate in America right now.

[ChristopherBell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A near-future dystopic novel that integrates what might happen if the government failed. It reminds one of several things thus making it a bit too real. DiLouie plays up a Civil War type conflict where brother and sister are pitted against each other, where families are crushed and ideals are manipulated. Scary.

[Grumpybastard · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very terrifying to read a novel that so plausible that it could actually become a true story in the next year or two. I recommend this book to everyone.

[Jordan (Forever Lost in Literature)]

I am very mixed on how to rate this as of yet. It was really strong in a lot of places, but not as much in others.

Find this review at Forever Lost in Literature!

I finished this book about a week ago and I am still conflicted on how I feel about it and how to rate it. On the one hand, there are elements that make this a really great book with incredible depth and meaning, but on the other hand, there are more than a few elements that simply didn't work for me and left me feeling uncertain. However, I did read through this book in only about two days, so that says something about just how compelling this book ws and how much it dragged me in overall. I've not seen any less than glowing reviews for Our War, though, which leads me to believe that any issues I had might just be very much my own personal opinion.

Our War is not a book for the fainthearted, but it is a book for anyone interested in timely themes, compelling narratives, and characters from a variety of unique backgrounds. The first word that comes to mind when I think about the civil war depicted in this book is 'chaos,' as there is seemingly no end to the unpredictability of this war and the disarray that surrounds it on all fronts. While the lawlessness of the war felt realistic, I felt that the telling of this chaotic war didn't necessarily work well for the reader to follow along with. I had a hard time following along at time and deciphering between all of the different sides and who was who. There's more than just two sides in this war and it's the grey areas among all of them that added depth and realism, but that also left me somewhat confused.

Despite my confusion over the sides in this horrendous civil war, I was impressed by the sheer world-building of it all. DiLouie does a great job creating an America that is nearly unrecognizable, mired in the depths of war and death and violence that go along with it. Everything is in chaos. The cities that we know so well have been turned into battle sites filled with hatred and desperation. There are IEDs everywhere and snipers waiting in the wings making it a life-risking move to stop and stand still for even a second on the street--it's a true, dangerous war space

DiLouie's writing style is intense fast-paced. The story switches POV between five characters among a myriad of short chapters. Having so many chapters didn't really allow me to fully invest myself in any given character's situation, but I did still appreciate how this gave such a comprehensive look at this war from a variety of different angles and perspectives. One of the things that DiLouie did best with his writing was to provide this multi-faceted view of the war that really allows the reader to get into the heads of people on all sides and explore those grey areas. Of the five characters we follow, two are child soldiers, one is a lieutenant, one is a reporter, and the last is a UNICEF worker from Canada whose mission is to provide aid to the children of the war. As I mentioned earlier, having these multiple perspectives, though I do wish they hadn't all been quite so rushed. I was most interested in Hannah, a child soldier, and reporter Aubrey's POV and most enjoyed seeing their role in this war.

My only other issue with Our War is that the ending seemed to wrap up a bit too quickly for my liking. I felt as though DiLouie was really building up to something, but unfortunately I felt as though the action and impact sort of tapered off in a disappointing way. I'm not sure if perhaps DiLouie was attempting to imitate how disappointing and anticlimactically war itself can be, but for me I was just left wanting a little more. This is similar to how I felt about the chaos of the book--it fit the story well, but it also made it difficult for me to follow along at times.

Overall, I've given Our War 3.75 stars. This rating may move up or down depending on how I feel about it in the future, but for right now I just have too many mixed emotions to give it a firm higher rating. This is still a book I highly recommend to anyone interested in the premise--it's intense, thought-provoking, and a compelling read.

[Pumpkin+Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so unnerved by how plausible this book seems. A second American Civil War caused by Trumpers (in this universe they probably refer to themselves as “Marsh-ans” or something, but we all know they’re Trumpers), a post-apocalyptic future in which big cities exist more like third-world countries, and a world in which the most unrealistic aspect is the fact that apparently nobody’s dropped a nuclear bomb yet? Yeah, DiLouie is basically just saying the quiet part of my constant feeling of impending doom out loud.

If you didn’t feel the same level of, like, deja vu for the future I won’t be surprised, because for me, the most unnervingly plausible part of this book is DiLouie’s street-level knowledge of Google Maps. A couple of chapters in, I actually Googled him to see if, like John Green with his Funky Bones reference that first tipped me off to his own locality, DiLouie is also a Hoosier… and he’s actually from New Jersey? Well, his Google Earth skills are marvelous, because I could mentally follow Hannah from the refugee camp to the Free Women headquarters to the Brickyard Crossing golf course--the only thing missing was a Children’s Museum of Indianapolis sighting. Imagine the pathos DiLouie could have packed into an image of the life-sized dinosaur statues bombed and broken!

But even without the reality boost of a setting that is my closest big city (and a name-drop of my own hometown… we tried, but alas, the rebels got us), I think this book would have been unsettlingly real. I mean, deep down aren’t we all surprised that January 6 didn’t end up in a full-on Civil War? Deep down, don’t we all think that Civil War was just postponed, not completely staved off?

With that realistic setting, DiLouie’s main premise--the use of child soldiers by all sides of the war, at all levels of the conflict--was vivid and disturbing. The rebels had the more predictable, stereotypical uses for their child soldiers, terrible but nothing I’ve not read about before, but what really got me was how the “good guys” also used children. It was devious and compelling, manipulative and awful, and yeah, I totally buy how it went down. One day, you’re telling an orphaned child that everyone in the militia is her mother now and you’re feeding her and praising her and giving her a home, and the next day, you’re putting a suicide bomb in her backpack and sending her over the wall to the enemy encampment.

The only part of the book that didn’t really ring true to me was Hannah’s final chapter. DiLouie doesn’t usually pull his punches, so I kind of think that he just bummed himself out too much and was all, “Dang, I’ve got to give this kid a redemption arc or I’ll never have another good night’s sleep!” I know kids are resilient, and this kid got a LOT of therapy, but I just don’t think she’s pulling out of that level of trauma.

Speaking of deja vu for the future… if The Handmaid’s Tale didn’t already have you planning out your overland, on-foot route to Canada, this book will get you motivated to figure that out. Remember: stay off the main roads and highways!

[Patrick Brettell · Rating 2 out of 5]

BLUF: Ultimately, a disappointment.

I started Our War with a lot of hope. This is a niche genre I’m always interested in but rarely read. For most of what’s out there, the synopses make it sound like the books will be thinly-veiled fantasy where the author kind of hopes a civil war will happen both as an opportunity to best his ideological opponents and as justification for all his prepper work; usually, there’s also an uberman author-insert. Our War, with grim misery right from the start, is not that, and it’s unlikely that the middle-aged male author is pining to play out the role of the 10 year-old girl who is the protagonist whose "side" he's more clearly aligned with.

The hope quickly fell apart. Two-dimensional characters might have been saved by a plausible premise or interesting story, but we get neither.

The background on what caused the civil war is both vague and implausible. Vague would have been fine—vague can be an interesting boon if it’s just referred to obliquely—but it’s just spilled out in a few sentences of thought from an early POV character. Since that spillage occurs very early in the book, I can give it here without being spoilery: Congress impeached and removed the President from office, the President refused to leave office, and the nation descended into civil war with one side claiming to support Congress and the other, the President.

Immediate problems with that scenario (and the number of reviews who praise the prescience of the novel is really disappointing given these problems):

1. Any President with the level of national support this President had would not be convicted in the Senate, full-stop. Over one-third of the Senate would either be cynical opportunists who realized it was in their own best interest to vote against conviction even if they knew conviction was the "right" thing to do or would be earnest supporters of him. Given the way the electoral landscape in the Senate is tilted against urban areas, it might have been slightly more plausible had the parties been switched.

2. Why does one side claim to support Congress and the other, the President? Congress impeached and removed the President. He “refused to leave office”, but that’s irrelevant—the office leaves him (both legally and certainly from the point of view of a Congress-supporter). That means the Congress-supporters would have a new President on their side—either the former Vice President or, in the event that Congress also impeached and removed that official, the former Speaker of the House. The “Congress” side is really the full federal government, then, with the other side led by a rogue ex-President at minimum or maybe a rival federal government if they created their own Congress, though there’s no indication they had done so or had any interest in doing so.

Outside of the precipitating incident, there's another large implausibility that builds on #2: The military-- both active and reserves/national guard-- sits on the sidelines while there's a shooting war going on in the United States. I don't even know why the author made this choice other than to make the conflict lower grade; the book could easily have conveyed the same brother-against-sister, sheer immisseration, everybody-loses message with the plausible reality of professional military units being involved.

The notional reason given for this absurdity is that after one attempt in Maryland, "the generals" discovered that putting down an insurgency was tough, so they decided to sit it out until there was a political solution to the problem. This is not a decision "the generals" get to make. Going back to #2, there is an intact chain-of-command in place. Yes, units and even individuals may split, but for the bulk of the military they either accept Congress's removal of the President and therefore their chain terminates at the new President (likely the old Speaker of the House) or they don't and therefore their chain terminates at the old President. Neither one of those would be inclined to leave the military on the sidelines during an actual shooting war.

I read a lot of fantasy, so I can deal with suspension of disbelief, but in a book that's supposed to be in a contemporary setting? Ultimately I just couldn't get past these absurdities.