I received a copy of the book "This is W.A.R. " by Lisa & Laura Roecker for an honest review. This was the first book I read by the Roecker's but it won't be the last. I was drawn in from the start.
The first couple pages of the book are from a dieing "Willa Amos -Rowan" whose initials happen to be W.A.R. Through the short period of time I was allowed to die through her eyes I wanted to know why she was in the situation she found herself in.
I didn't have to wait long. In the following chapters of the book you find about about the lives of 4 privileged teens that spend their summers together at a country club full of mistreated employees , trophy wives, & the always existent "boys club" that seems to never completely catch up with the times.
In this novel the half -sister to Willa, "Madge" gets her & Willa's best friends & made it her (there for their) goal to get justice for Willa who was murdered but because it was the uber rich grandson of the "Hawthorne Country Clubs" Captain's grandson by throwing money around & not so discreetly hushing the staff who depended on their jobs for a myriad of reasons everyone was following the script.
Madge & company had had enough. Though as you read the book & it switches between all 4 girls points of view you get to see that the old adage is true... Money does not buy happiness . In this case neither does revenge.
Justice does prevail by the time this book wraps up & there is a sense of closure. It also reveals the cracks in the "picture perfect" image that many people try so hard to put in place.
I enjoyed the read, wasn't shocked at the things revealed about each of the girls involved in ruining/ exposing the murderer. The fact that they gave themselves a mission to fill the "denial/anger" part in the mourning process was interesting but more interesting was the long lasting affect that W.A.R. Had on women outside the initial group.
This book defiantly had an underlying message of the power of friendship & the message that everyone , no matter what financial slot they fit in struggles with insecurities & good friends & facing who you are, dealing with the positives & negatives that make you an individual is something to acknowledge & not hide. True friends will support you regardless & those that don't aren't worth the time of impressing.
This book will speak to women of all ages without being preachy about the ultimate message. The added bonus is the murder mystery that was pretty obvious to me from the start but gave the story a reason to watch each character evolve into better & seemingly happier girls at the end.
Though its sad when you focus on the fact that it took the death of a young, promising life to bring about these changes thee book left you with a feeling of justice for "Willa" & a chip in that annoying "boys will be boys" mentality that touches every woman's life at one point or another.
In my personal blogs "Mousehead&[email protected]" & "[email protected] I use a rating system of 1.$ through 5$'s. by that rating system this book receives $$$$!
I will defiantly check out other books by the authors of this book as well as recommend this book to friends in the Y.A. Catagory as well as the older crowd. The overall message of this tale doesn't just apply to one age bracket. In its own way I think it has a little something for all.
I'm very appreciative that eidelweiss & soho teen gave me the opportunity to review this book. I read it in one enjoyable day & night.
Thanks for reading my review & I hope you'll check out the above mentioned blogs for more book reviews among other topics. If you're looking for a quick read give "This is W.A.R. a shot. I think you'll be happy you did.
The first couple pages of the book are from a dieing "Willa Amos -Rowan" whose initials happen to be W.A.R. Through the short period of time I was allowed to die through her eyes I wanted to know why she was in the situation she found herself in.
I didn't have to wait long. In the following chapters of the book you find about about the lives of 4 privileged teens that spend their summers together at a country club full of mistreated employees , trophy wives, & the always existent "boys club" that seems to never completely catch up with the times.
In this novel the half -sister to Willa, "Madge" gets her & Willa's best friends & made it her (there for their) goal to get justice for Willa who was murdered but because it was the uber rich grandson of the "Hawthorne Country Clubs" Captain's grandson by throwing money around & not so discreetly hushing the staff who depended on their jobs for a myriad of reasons everyone was following the script.
Madge & company had had enough. Though as you read the book & it switches between all 4 girls points of view you get to see that the old adage is true... Money does not buy happiness . In this case neither does revenge.
Justice does prevail by the time this book wraps up & there is a sense of closure. It also reveals the cracks in the "picture perfect" image that many people try so hard to put in place.
I enjoyed the read, wasn't shocked at the things revealed about each of the girls involved in ruining/ exposing the murderer. The fact that they gave themselves a mission to fill the "denial/anger" part in the mourning process was interesting but more interesting was the long lasting affect that W.A.R. Had on women outside the initial group.
This book defiantly had an underlying message of the power of friendship & the message that everyone , no matter what financial slot they fit in struggles with insecurities & good friends & facing who you are, dealing with the positives & negatives that make you an individual is something to acknowledge & not hide. True friends will support you regardless & those that don't aren't worth the time of impressing.
This book will speak to women of all ages without being preachy about the ultimate message. The added bonus is the murder mystery that was pretty obvious to me from the start but gave the story a reason to watch each character evolve into better & seemingly happier girls at the end.
Though its sad when you focus on the fact that it took the death of a young, promising life to bring about these changes thee book left you with a feeling of justice for "Willa" & a chip in that annoying "boys will be boys" mentality that touches every woman's life at one point or another.
In my personal blogs "Mousehead&[email protected]" & "[email protected] I use a rating system of 1.$ through 5$'s. by that rating system this book receives $$$$!
I will defiantly check out other books by the authors of this book as well as recommend this book to friends in the Y.A. Catagory as well as the older crowd. The overall message of this tale doesn't just apply to one age bracket. In its own way I think it has a little something for all.
I'm very appreciative that eidelweiss & soho teen gave me the opportunity to review this book. I read it in one enjoyable day & night.
Thanks for reading my review & I hope you'll check out the above mentioned blogs for more book reviews among other topics. If you're looking for a quick read give "This is W.A.R. a shot. I think you'll be happy you did.
This book will be available on e-book format as well as physical copy published by Soho Teen. Check out their website for other soon to be released books.