Catch-22 is a book that follows a World War II bombardier called Yossarian that wants to leave the army. He isn’t able to because of a catch: the only way to leave the army is to plead insanity but if one is sane enough to plead insanity, they should be sane enough to stay in the army. He is constantly met with these contradictions and catches throughout his time in the army, as he continues to simply want to survive and be done with war.
We Rule the Night caught me completely off guard with its immersive fantasy historical fiction world and narrative of fierce women. People who like the concepts of living aircraft, military, wartime, and magic will enjoy this. There is also the idea of traitors thrown into the mix.
Black Wings Beating is the first book in Alex London’s young adult fantasy series, Skybound. This novel follows twins Kylee and Brysen as they find themselves in the middle of a war between the sky and the earth. Together, the twins will venture into the treacherous mountains to find the deadly Ghost Eagle that could help their people win the war. I enjoyed the complex relationships that London presented, but I hated how Kylee kept dimming herself to fuel Brysen’s arrogance.
The story of the men of the Alpha Company during the Vietnam War. During this story, we learn the stories of these men, and their lives before, during, and after the war. It is not told through one specific person, but instead takes turns in telling the stories of each member through their perspectives, or their fellow soldiers’.
The Things They Carried is a work of fiction; however, it was based on actual events from the author, Tim O’Brien’s time in Vietnam. In a collection of short stories about soldiers in the Vietnam War, O’Brien tells a story that reveals Vietnam’s effects. The best thing about this novel is the author’s writing style; he writes like he’s sharing memories. There are time jumps and events that take place out of order to convey this unique type of storytelling.
Ender’s Game follows a brilliant 6-year-old kid named Andrew “Ender” Wiggin. Set in the future, humans are fighting a war with an alien race called “buggers”. The humans win the war, but are fearful of another attack, and so they train gifted children in a satellite called the “Battle School” to become future commanders against the buggers. Ender is born as a third child in a world where only two children are allowed due to the giftedness of his siblings, Peter a sociopath and Valentine, a caring sister.
Kestrel lives in an empire that relishes in violence and war. They enslave others they conquer and show no mercy. Kestrel is the general’s daughter, and as such she is aware of the methods of her empire. As a seventeen-year-old young woman, Kestrel has a decision that could alter the rest of her life: she can join the military or get married. A strong, independent woman, Kestrel battles for another option.
Red shouldn’t have picked up the letter. Shouldn’t have betrayed her people. Shouldn’t have replied. But she did, and now nothing will ever be the same again. Red is a time traveler working for the Agency, a technotopia, while Blue is an agent for the Garden, a vast, organic entity rooted in nature. As rivals, they travel through strands of alternate realities and dimensions, influencing them to guide the path of the future in an all-encompassing war. They were made to be enemies — so why does it feel so right when they craft the words that bridge the untraversable gap between them?
How do you repair a world torn apart by the horrors of war? Karou might have an answer to this impossible question. Working as the new resurrectionist, Karou has built a formidable army of chimaera from teeth and souls. But things are far from over — the ruthless emperor of the Seraphim prepares to march on the human world with his soldiers dressed as angels, ready to receive a welcome fit for kings. With no choice left, Karou forms an uneasy alliance with Akiva and his army of renegade Seraphim — one that just might change the course of the war.
