Book Review: War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Onyebuchi's YA scifi novel had me thinking back to the when I first read The Hunger Games. Both books deal intensely with the implications of war within the speculative fiction genre - how does war shape the lives of those forced to fight? What does war do to a culture? To an individual human soul? How are the innocent manipulated by those in power to seek ends they have been taught are righteous but maybe are more mundane?

That is in no way to say that this book is The Hunger Games redux. Onyebuchi, I think, provides a much more nuanced look at war - in War Girls, neither side fighting the war, Nigerians vs. Biafrans, is definitively depicted as the villain, though each certainly considers the other to be in the wrong and both do villainous things to further their respective causes - and also firmly grounds his work in the actual history of Nigeria. (Don't miss the author's note at the end.) It's effective and powerful reading.

I enjoyed the book most when it gets most intimate with its characters. Chapters alternate between the perspectives of sisters Onyii and Ify, with some chapters more introspective and others more action-packed. I engaged with the story most intensely when the sisters are reckoning with their histories, with what made them sisters, and with the strength of that bond. Hardcore techno sci-fi readers will love the action, but I found those sections least interesting (maybe because I had a difficult time envisioning the war tech described).

The final few chapters were a rollicking ride, though I felt like one side character's appearance was a bit of a deus ex machina. The ending felt satisfactory for me, but I imagine that this may not be the last we've seen of Ify, at least.

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