Divided We Fall.

Reedy, Trent.  Divided We Fall.  Scholastic/Arthur Levine  2014  374p   $17.99  ISBN 978-0-545-54367-5  hs  Realistic fiction  VG

What would happen if the United States found itself facing a second Civil War?  How could it happen?  How little would it really take for this to happen?  Read this novel and find out how one National Guardsman and two politicians take the United States to the brink of war.  

I want to start by saying that I was REALLY looking forward to reading this book.  The circumstances seemed to mirror so much of what is happening in our country at the moment, with the diametrically opposing political and military factions.  The story line definitely lived up to my expectations, but the execution was less impressive.  The characters sometimes seem more like caricatures, and the pace was uneven--so much so, that I kept putting the book down, a sure sign that it was lacking something. The story fills a niche, however, in that I am hard pressed to think of many other novels written for the YA readership that address politics and the military.                  

Summary: What would happen if the United States found itself facing a second Civil War?  How little would it take for this to happen?  Read this novel and find out how one National Guardsman and two politicians take the United States to the brink of war.    

War-Fiction                                           --Lynn Fisher