My advice to readers: buckle up and get ready for some intensity. I was on the edge of my seat and read this book in less than 24 hours. It was nearly impossible to put down once I was over the initial information dump of army lingo (which was necessary for me to understand what they were saying). I highly recommend if you can stomach some graphic descriptions of injuries and death. I will be reflecting on some of the questions posed throughout this book about humanity for a good while after putting this book down.

My goodness this book is intense. This historical fiction follows the story of soon to be pilots, Johnnie Mack and his friend Face, and a triage nurse, Annie, and their time in the Vietnam war. It describes day-to-day life of various soldiers in an active war zone, how it changed them, and who they become because of these changes. The character descriptions and development were fantastic. The author’s writing allows the book to read as more of a stream of thought, detailing both what was going on in each experience as well as what was going on in the characters head and I thought that was excellent story telling.

Trigger warnings would include : murder, bloodshed, racism, rape, torture, alcohol/drug addiction.