#BookReview: Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy

Another American Civil War

This book is about the outbreak of another American Civil War. This is something political wonks have talked about since the end of the last outbreak of the last one. Is it possible for another civil conflict to occur? Could it happen again in our lifetime? What circumstances would be needed to create such a rift in our nation that we’d fight ourselves again? I like to think that Trent Reedy is wrong and that another conflict couldn’t happen again. What about you, is it possible?

One thing that adds credibility to this series is the pedigree of this author and storyteller. Much like every author I’ve ever interviewed, he grew up voraciously reading and telling tall tales to anyone who would listen. Then, he went to the University of Iowa to major in English, determined to become a writer. To pay for that education, he joined the Iowa Army National Guard, serving one weekend a month and two weeks a summer as a combat engineer. In the National Guard, he learned about discipline, rifles, machine guns, and all kinds of minutia about explosives.

After graduating from college, his unit was mobilized to serve in the Global War on Terror. His “one weekend a month” became one tour in the heat of Afghanistan. In an instant, years of training and playing soldier became deadly serious. But it was real, and he was committed to honoring his commitment to Uncle Sam. All of that life experience was layered into this book, allowing this YA political thriller to come to life in ways nobody else could.

Published on January 28^th, 2014

The Story

Danny Wright never thought he'd be the man to bring down the United States of America. In fact, he enlisted in the Idaho National Guard because he wanted to serve his country the way his father did. So when the Guard is called upon the governor's orders to police a protest in Boise, it seems like a routine crowd-control mission ... but then Danny's gun misfires, spooking the other soldiers and the already fractious crowd, and by the time the smoke clears, twelve people are dead.

The president wants the soldiers arrested. The governor swears to protect them. And as tensions build on both sides, the conflict slowly escalates toward the unthinkable: a second American civil war.

With political questions that are popular in American culture yet rare in YA fiction and a provocative plot that asks what happens when the states are no longer united, Divided We Fall is Trent Reedy's very timely YA debut.

This novel was well-written, and the prose was crisp and clear. The author left no room for missteps or misunderstanding without being too purple for its own good. The target audience is young adults, so the author kept to a more workman-like verbiage. That doesn’t mean that the plot was watered down, far from it. The author let the political intrigue carry the day, with just the right amount of salty action from the combat that overshadowed the story. What can I say? He nailed the pacing, which made for an enjoyable reading experience.

The Characters

The main character's name is Danny Wright, and he’s a high school kid who enlisted in the National Guard as a way to fund his future plans. When the conflict erupted, he hadn't finished his training and was a high school senior. He shouldn't have been able to be mobilized, but everyone pitches in during an emergency. He’s an overall likable character, though he seemed a bit naïve. I don't know how much of that interpretation was from my adult self, looking backward or a fair assessment of the main character.

Throughout this novel, the main character is a leaf on the wind, drifting along as the tides of war. He was pulled ever onward towards the inevitable. Still, I felt it was a reasonable description of a kid with no real-life experience during this time of national strife. Despite having questionable agency, Danny was likeable, and you felt for his circumstances. However, as an adult reading this, I was left wondering how his chain of command and the adults in his life had failed him, letting it get to the point where he was put in the position that he was.

Overall, Danny Wright will make your knife hand twitch and pull at your parental heartstrings. He was the quintessential ‘every-man,’ well ‘every teenager,’ who I rooted for from the first page. The character arc over the course of the trilogy was compelling enough that I’ll likely re-read this book, which is something that I rarely do.

The World

How was the world-building handled? Was it revealed as the plot went along? Was it just enough to carry the story, data dumps, or was it David Weber ordering a pizza? Was it Tolkien-deep or

Now, let’s dive deeper into the world where this story takes place. I had a few major complaints about this novel. First, the constant use of the word "assault rifle" by military personnel who were supposedly highly trained was annoying. That's not a term I've ever heard used by anyone with training in firearms. Mostly, that term is used in political circles and has little to no actual meaning other than to tell you the person isn't literate in firearms.

Secondly, I didn't like the amount of time spent addressing sexual issues by the main character. In my books, I don't mind that, but not when the protagonist isn't a legal adult. This really bugs me, but not enough to stop reading. While I didn't stop reading, this bugged me because the book is supposedly for children, and that is where you find it in Barnes & Nobel. This is certainly not a children's book; the amount of swearing and graphic violence is undoubtedly for mature audiences only.

Another one of my complaints about this book was the premise for the flashpoint of the civil war in question. The whole nation is up in arms about a government ID card that could track your movement; however, everyone in this novel has a "comm," which already does that. Writing future-proof stories involving technology is hard, so I cut the author some slack here, but I noticed it. If I hadn’t been writing this review and was reading for fun, maybe I would’ve missed this. Maybe?

Further, the government in this world has already been shown to repeatedly violate civil liberties. How can any character in this book believe that this isn't already happening? Maybe modernity has made me jaded, so it is worth remembering that this novel was written way back in 2014. The political climate has come at us rapidly, so the author deserves some slack for not predicting the future with his non-existent crystal ball.

Finally, I didn't like how the audiobook was done as a stage play. I prefer the standard read without all of the sound effects. I find those to be annoying, but not enough to turn off the audiobook. I know that my audio complaint is mainly an issue of my own personal taste, but I figured I'd throw it in there!

However, it is worth noting that I didn’t hate this book! In fact, I liked it and kept reading it. I am discussing nuance, which requires that a reviewer become a pedantic jerk so he doesn’t miss anything. So, what did the author, Trent Reedy, get right? He was strongest in his creation of a narrative that was both compelling and believable. The scenario in this book was so convincing that it was scary. Seriously, it was one of those stories that won't let you stop thinking about it. Sure, there were flaws with the flashpoint, but the author covered some of those with the bland "tensions were high about a lot of things."

The world-building was also top-notch, but that's easy to do when writing in near-future America. We all already have our own cultural images of home that we bring into the story, making the author's job a little easier. The use of news updates as a way to push the narrative was also a fun touch and one that Trent Reedy didn't overuse. At the same time, there are parts of the story that weren’t as flushed out as I would've liked, the prose fit within the scope of young adult literature.

Finally, the biggest pro of this book is its emotional resonance. As the main character, Danny Wright, learns to hate his country, both the new one and the old one, taking the reader along with him. It was hard to remember, sometimes, that he was talking about the fictional government in this book and not my America. Seriously, the writing was compelling enough that I had to stop a few times to remember that this wasn’t real.

In conclusion, Trent Reedy left me torn on my overall thoughts. I started this novel wanting to like it, and I finished that way. The themes in question were "what if" scenarios that anyone who studied the Civil War or worn the uniform has thought about. However, there were parts that I hated because the characters made stupid decisions, the angst felt overdone, or the military culture seemed off. This is, broadly speaking, why I don’t read YA fiction. And yet… in spite of all of that, I couldn't put it down. And now I'm reading book two. The author made you care too much, which is a mixed bag for me. I certainly empathized with the main character, Danny Wright. I learned to hate as he hated, which is my biggest ick factor because the bad guy is an overbearing Federal Government. I hated that he made America the bad guy because that's what we already get too much of on TV. And just because I'm being nitpicky, there was a typo on the Amazon blurb. But in the end, the author’s ability to make me keep reading was the deciding factor. When that was combined with a premise that I've spent too much time thinking about throughout the course of my academic studies, you have a recipe for a gripping novel.

Politics

This novel was all about politics, which seemed to lampoon modernity. Or did it predict it? I haven’t decided yet, but the premise is a protest turned Boston Massacre Redux. That fateful action ignites a second civil war amidst burgeoning tensions between the Federal governments and state governors. I believe the scenario created by Trent Reedy was plausible and well thought out. The fallout of these larger-than-life personalities blundering through the muck could absolutely happen, which made the novel scarier while being more believable. I have mixed feelings on some of how “the right” side was portrayed, but the author also lambasted “the left” as well. Given the author’s status as a combat veteran from the Late Unpleasantness in Mesopotamia, I felt like he spoke more from the point of view of the ‘every man’ soldier. This made his take on both sides of the vast chasm that is modern politics easier to stomach, regardless of your personal persuasion.

Content Warning

This novel would be appropriate for anyone over the age of 17. This is most certainly not a children's book; the amount of swearing and graphic violence is certainly for mature audiences only. Divided We Fall had a few scenes that hinted at physical romance with one of the female secondary characters, but they faded to black. Nothing happened on screen, but the angst surrounding it was something that felt worth mentioning. I know that this can be a sensitive issue for some families. Further, this novel is about a second American Civil War, so there is death and violence in this book. It wasn’t overly gory by my standards, but your mileage may vary.

Who is it for?

This book is about what would happen if Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Brad Thor, and Dan Brown had an illegitimate love child. If you are a fan of political thrillers peppered with military action and a budding teenage romance, this novel is for you.

Why buy it?

This is the story of the every-man soldier, an underdog warrior who overcomes his lack of training to play an important role in the war nobody really wanted. The concept alone was worth the price of entry. If you love a thrill ride through a worst-case political scenario with a boy warrior at the helm, this is the novel for you!

Seriously, why haven’t you clicked the link and bought this book already? Once you buy and read the book, come back and share your thoughts! Oh, and be sure to leave a review!