Book Review: The Always War by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Title: The Always War

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Pages: 197

Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR

Year Published: 2011

“For as long as Tessa can remember, her country has been at war. When local golden boy Gideon Thrall is awarded a medal for courage, it’s a rare bright spot for everyone in Tessa’s town—until Gideon refuses the award, claims he was a coward, and runs away. Tessa is bewildered, and can’t help but follow Gideon to find out the truth. However, Tessa is in for more than she bargained for. Before she knows it, she has stowed away on a rogue airplane and is headed for enemy territory. But all the pales when she discovers a shocking truth that rocks the foundation of everything she’s ever believed- a truth that will change the world. Is Tess strong enough to bring it into the light?”

My Rating: 3.5/5

This was quite a quick read. I was able to finish it in one day and usually that’s a good thing, but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. It had good points about war and asked the question what if? But I wonder if it didn’t ask this question loud enough. I was impressed with the idea of how technology has changed and how the future looks, but I would have liked to see more descriptive word use so I could picture it better. My favorite part of this book would have to be the description of the characters themselves. I feel that I could picture them better than anything else in this story. I think that teens who are interested in sci-fi and war books would be most interested in this book.

THANK YOU MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX FOR SHOWING WAR AS IT TRULY IS!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny ♥♪♫

Spoiler: The Always War by Margaret Peterson Haddix

This book has an interesting topic that I haven’t read about in quite some time. War in the future. It’s interesting to think about how technology can change the way we fight each other today, but I would have never dreamed that in Margaret Peterson Haddix’s future world the humans would have handed over control to computers. To me that just sounds like disaster, but it proves to not be. I want to mention, before I talk about characters, that timing in this book seemed off to me. It moved far to slow and although I read this book quickly I felt that time was dragging on. It also makes you wonder what you’d do if you found out what you thought your life is was really a lie and what you’d do about that. Would you believe something else? Would you tell somebody or would you keep silent? It’s also interesting to think of the causes of wars and how silly they seem. In this case, water that could be shared is what was fought over. Opens your eyes to how easy it is to fight.

Characters:

Tessa: I didn’t particularly care for the main character. True it was important to write from a person who has a lot of hope, but who has also had a hard time in the war, I found it annoying that she was always hoping that Gideon was going to protect. You’d think that since it’s the future that women would be even less dependant on boys, not the other way around.

Gideon: I think that he had a really good conscious but definitely had post-traumatic stress disorder. And I can’t blame him, being told you killed so many people and then seeing a video showing what you supposedly did has to scare the crud out of you and make you question who you really are. He did the right thing all in all. I think him and Tessa will end up together, to bad for his mom though.

Dek: Definitely my favorite character. For a young girl, who is working on the black market I might add, she has a lot of spunk. It was surely what this book needed a character with spunk, and who would take charge.

The Computer: I know it’s not a person, but it is an important part of what is happening in this book. What if computers could think and act? What if they could lie and do what they think is best for the human race? It’s an interesting concept, but in all honesty I hope I don’t live to see the day.

Moment to Remember:

♥Pg. 125

“Tessa just gaped at both of them. It never occurred to her that there might be a reason behind the war, something the two sides were actually fighting over. The war just was.

 ‘We’re fighting over water?’ she asked weakly.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo