Tara Stout

If I could give this a negative star I would. I harbor a strong hatred for this book. It is grotesque and weird. This book is simply disturbing. Most of the events that supposedly transpire in this book seem fabricated, their purpose only to make the reader wish they could throttle the characters. Speaking of the characters, the way the author depicts the multitude of characters leads the reader to assume that they are all horrible people who commit horrific acts in the name of protecting their country thousands of miles away. The worst part is how he attempts to spin the story and paint the characters as innocent young victims when they are anything but. These characters commit heinous acts such as strapping an explosive device to a puppy and detonating it as well as shooting an infant water buffalo to release their "pent up grief and anger". The characters are adults traipsing around a traumatizing warzone, thinking they have it the worst. They continue to confuse me as they seem to view themselves as children instead of the adults they are; adults who are capable of knowing good and bad, right and wrong. This mindset of theirs serves to only illude themselves into thinking they are mistreated children that have no consequences for their actions. I'm not even going to touch the gross misogyny in this or else I might write another page. I'm going to stop now because I cannot fully translate my hatred for this book into legible words.