The War Within: Beyond Borders

Beyond Borders #2

by Rosanne Hawke

Taken at gunpoint into Afghanistan, Jaime and her friends are caught up in a shadowy secret world of intrigue and terrorism. Will they escape the Mujahadeen fighting their holy war? Or will the wars within themselves consume them? For Jaime, this trip is to prove painful enough to change her life forever, yet rest the ghosts of her past.

208 pages, ebook

Published September 1, 2016

About the author

When little I ran around with a jotter and a pencil, pretending to write a story but not knowing how to spell any words except Dick, Dora and cat. My mother asked me to tell stories. A lot of my stories stayed in my head, as being the youngest and living in the country didn't bring many opportunities for an audience. I was born in Penola, in South Australia. We had a sheep farm until I was six, then we moved to a property in Central Queensland. I went to school at a one-teacher school in Banana, a little country town named after a bullock.

My first short story was published in the Moura State School magazine in 1967 when I was in grade 8. At 14 years, I moved back to South Australia and attended Gawler High School where I won an Arts Scholarship to complete Years 11 & 12. I started a romantic novel when I was 17 but I burnt it later.

It wasn't until I was working in the Middle East and Pakistan, teaching ESL, bringing up kids, when I started to write seriously. My kids loved the story game we played and one night after telling a story, my daughter asked me to write it down.

I have a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Adelaide and teach Creative Writing at Tabor Adelaide, South Australia, a Christian accredited tertiary institution. I have researched Cornish identity in Australian children's literature and enjoy writing about culture, faith, relationships, displacement and belonging, music and cats.

Reviews

[Ilisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first thing I noticed about The War Within was the cover, it was haunting, beautiful, mesmerizing – “Read me…. I am a complex, difficult, multiple layered book with an amazing will-make-me-cry ending !” They say that a picture is worth a million words, and the above ones barely make a dozen, but that was the non-verbal speech The War Within screamed at me.

Match it with the blurb, and you have a future cannot-put-down read –

Australian teenager, Jaime Richards, returns to her dear Pakistan in the second book of the Beyond Borders series. The old world charm is still there – the villages, the bazaars and the mysterious rugs – but Jaime no longer feels safe and confident in this new Pakistan. Taken at gunpoint into Afghanistan, Jaime and her friends are caught up in a shadowy secret world of intrigue and terrorism. Will they escape the Mujahadeen fighting their holy war? Or will the wars within themselves consume them? For Jaime, this trip is to prove painful enough to change her life forever, yet rest the ghosts of her past

The book actually has a prequel titled Dear Pakistan , and I was hesitant to read The War Within , cause I have this OCD about reading series from the first book, and plus there would be things which I would not understand, as I had not read the first book. But, I was feeling adventurous and decided, Let’s read ! And my dangerous risk payed off, as it seems our protagonist undergoes character development and is more mature in the sequel, which is awesome cause I like that level headedness in a protagonist. Also despite allusions to the prequel, Rosanne Hawke has incorporate the references seamlessly, so that The War Within can be read as a standalone.

Continuing from the blurb, Jaime is a teenager who has Australian origins but had lived in Pakistan for a lot of years. In fact, she has returned to Pakistan in her holidays from a year long stay in Australia. You know the usual – trying to fit in high school, not get overwhelmed or freaked out by the stark difference between you and the norm, finding your identity etc. In the first chapter, we see her arriving at Pakistan, excited to be back as she missed the country as hell, but nervous as hell too cause will it be the same ? Of course not, but people have a funny habit of trying to make themselves comfortable with believing that yes, things have stayed exactly the way they were when they left, right down to the plants in the garden. Jaime keeps reassuring herself that everything is fine. In the course of the book, we see Jaime realizing what changes occurred when she was away, and how she deals with them.

Surprisingly, I loved the setting – Pakistan. If you do not know the controversy surrounding it, read history and newspapers. I’m going to focus on the part of Pakistan which Hawke zeroed on, showcasing the country in a new light –

” A lot were photos Dad had taken when we lived in Pakistan. The ones of snow-topped mountains always tugged at my heart. So did pics pf Chitral and the Kaghan Valley, so beautiful with flower fields, alpine lakes and rushing rivers. The pics of the bazaars reminded me of how much fun they were. Dad had taken shots of multi-coloured spices lined up in hessian bags, shawls and carpets hanging outside for shoppers to admire. Then there were street vendors cooking tikkas, pakoras and curries my stomach craved for even now. I could feel Pakistan calling me home again and I couldn’t wait to experience it all again. “

Wonderful description, and I thank Hawke for that cause it turned out to inspire want-to-stop-reading feelings, unfortunately. Jaime meets her old friends and acquaintances, remembering the past –

” Carolyn’s brother died a few years ago when we were taken hostage as kids during a terrorist attack. “

It doesn’t come off as practical, but Jaime as a matter of fact tone. Many times, I felt that while it is good of her to have this attitude, she should go with the flow so much, or take questionable incidents so lightly. Jasper, Jaime’s friend lost his father, and she tries to re-connect with him again. The narrative is split between the both of them, which is confusing as Jaime’s POV is in first person, where as Japer’s POV is in third person. The shift from one perspective to another is not great, at times I felt the feelings were forced, cause the way Jaime and Jasper see the world are so opposite.

The plot mainly starts when Jaime, her friend Liana, Jasper and many others go to a hockey competition out of town. Here Jaime and Liana stay with Sonya from the Russian embassy, who is a mystery, with strange attitude.

“Sonya answered so vaguely that it made me feel I’d been nosy. “

“She hesitated, only slightly, but enough for me to wish I hadn’t opened my mouth. “

There was a mystery surrounding Sonya, cause someone tried to kidnap her, and mistakenly took Jaime. I have no problem with a good mystery, but appreciate when its unraveled at the proper time, or explanations are given so that readers are not muddled. What bothered me ? The fact that Jasper and Liana were convinced by Sonya not to call the police but trust her. Sorry, but she’s a stranger and they should have not put their faith in her cause when they found Jaime, all four of them were also taken. Combine that with Jaime, Liana and Sonya not concerned much about going to Afghanistan and not trying to escape when they reached their destination, is a big red flag that I am not liking the book. Jaime’s thoughts were along this range –

” For some strange reason, I didn’t feel totally kidnapped. Maybe it was my mind helping me through, maybe it was my belief in a God who works things out for the best, or maybe I was just naive. “

And thoughts about her kidnapper –

“I was thinking about that ‘please’ for quite a while afterwards. Who had ever heard of an abductor saying please ? “

The minute she started noticing that guy – Sohail, I was like – Seriously ? And Jasper is the bad guy for being suspicious and not getting comfortable and trying to escape ? Sure he has issues, what his father dying, and he may not be smart, but still. That’s a rational decision – trying to escape. I could not wrap my head around those three girls behavior and, even though the reasons given in the end were alright, the pace was too long for me. I would have liked the reasons a bit before, or at least some hints given before. Nevertheless, the climax was so crazy and unpredictable and completely – Can such an escape happen ? When I cannot comprehend stuff, or am not happy with the justifications, I do not recommend those books. Same applies to The War Within. However, as I had mentioned before, the setting in Pakistan and Afghanistan is fantastic so I give the book 2.8 stars.

I don’t agree with Hawke’s style, especially the romance and that ending. The first one – not needed, she didn’t even need that little romance. And the ending was unsatisfactory for me. But just my 2 cents people. Cherio !

Thanks to NetGalley and Rhiza Press for giving me an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

If you liked my review, check out my blog - https://athameblog.wordpress.com/

[Kaye Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was keen to read the follow up book to Dear Pakistan and learn more of Jaime!s story
I was certainly not disappointed and as Jaime alighted from the plane in Islamabad I could feel her excitement and trepidation as she sought to reconnect with the people and country that had been so much a part of her early years.
Her reunion with Jasper and their developing friendship was a minor sweet back story, but it was the adventure of Jaime and her friends when they’re taken at gunpoint into Afghanistan that captured me
It is certainly fast paced and at times a little confusing trying to work out the “goodies and baddies “ but I loved the unfolding story of intrigue and satisfying conclusion.
It makes a great YA read

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I wasn't a huge fan of 'Dear Pakistan', the book that introduced Jaime Richards and explored her move from Pakistan to her birth country of Australia, however on reading the blurb for 'The War Within' I anticipated something a bit meatier, a bit more intriguing and a bit more gripping. Thankfully I was right.
Jaime returns from a year in Australia to spend the summer in Pakistan but things don't go to plan. With her friends heading off to another area of Pakistan, she goes with them eager to share in their fun and catch up with her childhood pals. Not long into the trip though, Jaime and three friends are taken at gunpoint over the boarder into Afghanistan. Although they are well treated, they must find a way to escape.
We are constantly bombarded with the terms 'terrorism', 'war' and 'hostages' and hearing about events in Afghanistan and the surrounding countries, but I am ashamed to admit that I know little – apart from the fact based fiction I have read really – that brings it to reality. This is what Hawkes attempts to do in this novel and consequently I think it's a great way to bring more understanding of the situation to both teens and adults alike.