Back of Book: 

Divided We Fall is a YA novel set in a frighteningly plausible near future, about what happens when the States are no longer United.

Danny Wright never thought he'd be the man to bring down the United States of America. In fact, he enlisted in the National Guard because he wanted to serve his country the way his father did. When the Guard is called up on the Idaho governor's orders to police a protest in Boise, it seems like a routine crowd-control mission... but then Danny's gun misfires, spooking the other soldiers and the already fractious crowd, and by the time the smoke clears, twelve people are dead.

The president wants the soldiers arrested. The governor swears to protect them. And as tensions build on both sides, the conflict slowly escalates toward the unthinkable: a second American civil war.

With political questions that are popular in American culture yet rare in YA fiction, and a provocative plot that could far too easily become real.

Book Number: One

Genre: Young Adult | Adventure | Military 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

America's unsteady government and the ever increasing political divide between parties is brought to life in this pre-dystopian story featuring the state of Idaho against the federal government.

Danny Wright appears to be an average senior. He loves football, his truck, the rodeo, and his girlfriend JoBell. But he is also an active soldier in the Idaho National Guard. While the rest of his friends are out partying, Danny is sent on a dangerous mission to stop protesters in Boise. When his gun misfires and causes a massacre to ensue, Danny's world can never be the same again. The state of Idaho takes a stand against the federal government and things get more heated as the lines between right and wrong start to blur and loyalties begin to fade.

When I first started this book, I thought that I was going to hate it. It is rifled with politics, military jargon, and action scenes that I found rather boring. However, I found it to be an interesting enough read, though I know many portions of it flew over my head. I was invested in Danny's relationship with his mother, enjoyed the romance sub-plot, and found the balance between Danny's life as a high school student and as a soldier to be intriguing enough to keep the pages turning.

There were quite a few things that I blatantly didn't enjoy about this book though. I found the news articles to often be pointless and distracting from the actually story. I suppose that they highlighted the divisiveness that the country was going through, but I feel that they didn't add much in the long run. I also really didn't appreciate the racist and sexist comments made by one of Danny's friends, Sweeney, the entire book. I didn't find it funny or endearing at all and wish that the author would have crafted his character in a bit of a different way, though I do suppose this leaves room for potential growth as the series progresses.

Overall, "Divided We Fall" was a very mid-tier book for me. There were aspects of it that I enjoyed, but it was a bit too militaristic and political for me to truly enjoy. Depending on how the series progresses will decide whether I have positive feelings towards it in its entirety. I feel that the books are only going to be filled with more politics and warfare from here on out, so I'm interested to see if I'll end up liking the future installments in this series or not.

Back of Book: 

In this wrenching sequel to Divided We Fall, Danny and friends fight to defend Idaho against a Federal takeover and the ravages of a Burning Nation.

At the end of Divided We Fall Danny Wright's beloved Idaho had been invaded by the federal government, their electricity shut off, their rights suspended. Danny goes into hiding with his friends in order to remain free. But after the state declares itself a Republic, Idaho rises to fight in a second American Civil War, and Danny is right in the center of the action, running guerrilla missions with his fellow soldiers to break the Federal occupation. Yet what at first seems like a straightforward battle against governmental repression quickly grows more complicated, as more states secede, more people die, and Danny discovers the true nature of some of his new allies.

Book Number: Two 

Genre: Young Adult | Adventure | Military 

Review: 🌟🌟

The second installment in the "Divided We Fall" trilogy that spotlights the rebel state of Idaho vs the United States of America.

Danny and his friends are desperately fighting to keep the federal government of the United States out of the Republic of Idaho. Unfortunately, Danny is high up on the United States' most wanted list. Can Danny and the gang protect Idaho and the ones they love, or will they be captured by the federal government of a nation that they once devoted all their loyalties too?

Honestly, I just finished this book and don't remember much of what happened. In the beginning, there was a bunch of sitting around doing pretty much nothing in this underground bunker. Eventually, they leave that bunker and hide in a different place. I feel that this is much of what this book encompassed: moving from one hiding spot to the next. Not what I'd call a very thrilling read.

Another thing I remember is that Danny cheats on his girlfriend, JoBell. This was very frustrating to me and I feel the only thing it added to the story was unnecessary drama. It did allow Sweeney to make a cringe "Twilight" reference, but even the joke was sexist. *sigh* Will he have character growth someday? I seriously hope so.

Beyond these two things, the only other takeaway from this book was gore and warfare. Things exploded, people were shot, stabbed, and ripped apart, and America tears itself apart with little to no explanation. I'm not a huge fan of violence, so I didn't find any of this to be very enjoyable to read. I know I am not the target audience of this series, but I'm here reading them anyway so I guess I'm sharing my opinions about them.

Overall, "Burning Nation" was a boring read full of grueling violence, cheating, politics, and repetitive behavior. I didn't particularly like the first one, but this one was way more boring to me. The only reason I'm really continuing at this point is to see which members of the friend group die. There is no way they can all make it out alive and I'm curious to see how the author deals with this.

Back of Book: 

Idaho, Idaho, land where freedom lovers go

Danny Wright started the Second American Civil War—and now he’s out of it, at last. The Feds have left his beloved home state of Idaho, and Danny and his friends JoBell, Becca, Cal, and Sweeney can live free of US dominance. But that new peace comes with considerable costs, from Danny’s disturbing flashbacks of the fighting, to the ongoing food and power shortages, to the Brotherhood of the White Eagle, whose promises of “security” look more like brutality.

From fertile plains to mountains tall, brothers, sisters one and all

Then Danny makes a shocking discovery about the Brotherhood’s final aims, and he joins a group of townspeople on a dangerous journey across a ravaged Idaho. As America collapses into war and chaos, they find a hidden place to build a society of their own. But is it right to stay safe when the world is cracking apart? Danny must work out his answers to the ultimate questions: what is worth living for, and fighting for, and dying for.

We will defend our liberty, Idaho, our lives for thee

Book Number: Three (Last Book) 

Genre: Young Adult | Adventure | Military 

Review: 🌟🌟

The conclusion to the "Divided We Fall" trilogy showcases an America ripped apart by a devastating civil war and the threat of nuclear warfare. 

I'm so glad that I finally made it through this trilogy. I can't even say these books are bad, but they most definitely do not fall into a genre that I would want to be reading again. They're just too full of gore, politics, and militaristic things for me to really enjoy them despite the valid points that Reedy is trying to bring to life. 

One thing that I really couldn't believe about this book is that, once again, the action doesn't really start until about halfway through the book despite it being the third book. And a big majority of this book is the characters trying to move from location A to location B while being chased down by people with big guns. I don't find this kind of action very exciting, so I was left feeling rather bored. 

I enjoyed the ending quite a bit though. Things in North America got really intense and it was sad to see the horrific things happening in the former United States. The war had only been going for a year and there were many scenarios that very closely resembled those occurring during Nazi occupied territory during World War II. These segments were difficult to read, but I found them to be the most influential and valuable part of this narrative. The loss that Danny deals with and the guilt that he feels towards these events is another part of this book that I enjoyed consuming due to the heartfelt and personal connections felt throughout humanity. 

Overall, I can't say that I'm leaving the "Divided We Fall" series with happy memories, but the series most definitely gave me some familiarity with a new type of genre that I hadn't interacted with previously. My ride with Danny Wright and the crew has finally come to an end and I can say without doubt that the characters were most definitely the highlight of the series. They may be a bunch of idiots who seriously cannot make any intelligent decisions, but they're loyalty knows no limits. I love how devoted the friend group is to one another even during the hardest of circumstances and this conviction for one another kept me turning the pages until the very end.