Tochi Onyebuchi

In 2172, when much of the world is unlivable, sisters Onyii and Ify dream of escaping war-torn Nigeria and finding a better future together but are, instead, torn apart.

War Girls

Colleen

4 Stars
 
*A diverse near-future SciFi story inspired by real-life tragedy*


I read Onyebuchi’s debut Beasts Made of Night when it came out and enjoyed the Nigerian-inspired fantasy story even though it was rough around the edges. War Girls is the start of his second series. This time, the story is inspired by the Nigerian-Biafran War with a Sci-Fi twist.

I strongly recommend doing some independent research about the Nigerian-Biafran War. It is a conflict that is not often covered by Western schools, and any knowledge of those events will help better understand the events in War Girls.

The story is set in Nigeria in 2172. The war is still raging on and leaving a perpetual cycle of hate and violence in its wake. The story follows two sisters, one forced to be a child soldier and desperately trying to keep her little sister from the same fate.

The writing in War Girls is noticeably more polished than in Beasts Made of Night. The character development was the most marked improvement. It was so easy to become wrapped up in Onyii and Ify’s story. But unfortunately the book is also written in present tense which I absolutely hate. This sadly fell into a whole string of present tense books that I read in a row, so I was extremely worn out with the nails-on-chalkboard affect caused by that drudgery that is the present-tense novel. This is obviously a personal hang-up that doesn’t faze some people. 

War Girls does have a lot going for it though. It’s diverse, covers an ignored part of history, and touches on many important topics particularly relating to war. The whole story is an example of the proverb “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” No one wins in this never-ending cycle of hate.

This story also has the benefit of intelligent, fierce girls - not just meathead warriors (a common pitfall of many stories that try to make female warriors).That said though, I would still recommend this book for mature teens. The story does not romanticize or sanitize war, so there is a lot of graphic violence not suitable for younger audiences. 

The first part of this book was five star quality despite being written in present tense. But the problem I ended up having with War Girls was similar to what happened with Ender's Game: a really great story that went on even after the main plot arc ended. The later part of both books had some serious pacing issues. The last quarter of War Girls dragged on with a few random bursts of action. And unfortunately, the slow parts left me with way too much time to dwell on the awkward present tense writing. Then the fast parts felt like they were trying to cram too much action and loose ends into too short of a span.

I most likely will continue on with the series even though it didn’t make my favorites list. Although I had some issues with the writing, this story has enough good elements that I would still recommend it. 


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Casey Stevens

Heather Harrington

This took me a few chapters to fully get into the story and oriented with the characters, but once I was, I really enjoyed this. It's full of action, but it was the family aspects that really stood out and what made the story for me.

Tejumola Niquel

Really a 2.5 but honestly, this just wasn't for me. I respect the writing, and there was so much rich discussion about war, diaspora, trauma, racism, classism, and the list goes on. My biggest issue was the science fiction, which is honestly the entire book which is why it got a lower rating from me. I didn't get the system, and technology went completely over my head, and I struggled to visualize what the characters were even talking about. That became extremely distracting, and ultimately I lost interest in the underlying messages by part 2. I will say that I did love the incorporation of Nigerian culture, and I thought the conversations about war and what war is like as a child were impactful. I do think there were some good moments, but ultimately I wasn't that impressed.

Two sisters are torn apart by war and must fight their way back to each other in a futuristic, Black Panther-inspired Nigeria. The year is 2172. Climate change and nuclear disasters have rendered much of earth unlivable. Only the lucky ones have escaped to space colonies in the sky. In a war-torn Nigeria, battles are fought using flying, deadly mechs and soldiers are outfitted with bionic limbs and artificial organs meant to protect them from the harsh, radiation-heavy climate. Across the nation, as the years-long civil war wages on, survival becomes the only way of life. Two sisters, Onyii and Ify, dream of more. Their lives have been marked by violence and political unrest. Still, they dream of peace, of hope, of a future together. And they're willing to fight an entire war to get there. Acclaimed author, Tochi Onyebuchi, has written an immersive, action-packed, deeply personal novel perfect for fans of Nnedi Okorafor, Marie Lu, and Paolo Bacigalupi.

Belle Ellrich

*I WAS PROVIDED A PHYSICAL ARC FOR THE PURPOSES OF A BLOG TOUR. THIS DOESN'T AFFECT MY OPINION*

This novel is a beautiful novel.

The words are addicting, the imagery is astounding, and the world-building is phenomenal. Truly, one could potentially get lost in reading this book. Tochi Onyebuchi did an amazing job capturing the interest of his readers just within the first few pages.

"Thunder booms overhead, and both their gazes snap skyward to track the arc of a burning mech as it sails through the air. It trails a comet tail of smoke behind it and crash-lands in the forest so close to the camp that the impact tosses Onyii onto her back."
(This is quoted from uncorrected text.)

Diving into the first part of War Girls, I found myself craving for more. I wanted to see where the story would turn, and I wanted to know what would happen to our two main characters, Onyii and Ify. The girls are—in many ways, shapes, and forms—different from each other in that they give two alternating perspectives on viewpoints and judgments.

"A dream. It must have been a dream. Onyii on her back with soldiers standing over her. Onyii slowly getting smaller and smaller as Ify was dragged away. Smaller and smaller until the fog swallows her up. Then the gunshot. No. It must have been a dream. Onyii is still alive. Ify has to get back to her.

"That's when she remembers she's trapped."
(This is quoted from uncorrected text.)

We're thrown into a nearly consumed world of radiation, danger, and fear, where a war-torn Nigeria holds two enemies together: the Nigerians and the Biafrans. It's hard to assimilate between which side to take until you reach further into the novel, but from what we can gather in the beginning, each side is fighting for what they believe in.

Something that kind of threw me off while reading was the sudden time-skip we were pushed through in part two. Four years is a lot of time to just suddenly toss away, and I can't help but find myself asking questions like: "What happened after this?" or "How were the girls handling these new situations?" Overall. it was just really confusing to piece together why the Onyebuchi implemented this time-skip at this point in the novel.

Another thing that happened with part two was the pacing shift. Part one was thrilling, fast-paced, and eye capturing. Part two was more slowed down and informative in a way that a reader could easily find themselves getting bored if hitting certain sections.

However, it soon picked up after we reached part three and were introduced to the aftermaths of the first two parts. I kind of predicted the plot twists that were revealed, but not through the ways they were revealed.

All in all, I did really like this novel. It was beautiful, as I stated in the introduction of this review, and I think it would be really phenomenal if made into a movie. However, those downfalls of part two really got to me in the end.

For that, I rate War Girls 3.5 stars. This novel was really good, and I do suggest it for those who're fans of sci-fi with a twist on real-world happenings.

Liz Griffin

A reimagining of the Nigerian civil war through a science fiction lens. Moving and relevant

War Girls

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