List Out Of Books The Always War

Title	:	The Always War
Author	:	Margaret Peterson Haddix
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 256 pages
Published	:	November 15th 2011 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (first published November 1st 2011)
Categories	:	Science Fiction. Dystopia. Young Adult. Fiction. War

The Always War Hardcover | Pages: 256 pages

Description Supposing Books The Always War

Read Ender's Game or The Virtual War instead.

Advisory:
This book would definitely be rated no higher than PG, possibly G. There are no language or sex issues. And despite the title, there's no violence either.

Review:

I love a good dystopian novel. Give me a protagonist ready to break through the drab, gray malaise of her life and defy a tyrannical government and I'm usually hooked. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of those times. Especially given the current state of our own society - groping TSA agents, inane terror alerts, etc. - I was excited to read a story about a society governed by the constant fear of enemy attack and mandated vigilance. Haddix does manage to capture the malaise, describing a people broken down by war weariness. Many of the scenes are, however, a little too unbelievable. To the extent that there are any adults in the story, they are unrealistically incompetent. The child protagonists are, on the other hand, far too sophisticated. Tessa and Gideon are, at best, high school aged and Dek is viewed by them as a mere child. Yet these three are much more intelligent and capable than any of the adults they encounter. There is simply no satisfactory explanation for why this should be the case. There are really no adults in the society who were as capable as the children of finding out the truth?

The characters don't really grow throughout the book either. Tessa's self-confidence does grow by the end as she begins to trust her own knowledge and abilities, but Gideon and Dek don't really grow much at all. Granted, the story occurs over a short period of time, but there just isn't a whole lot of depth to those characters.

According to the publisher's website, The Always War is aimed at those 7th grade and up. I think they've got that backwards. It should be 7th grade and below. There's nothing objectionable for younger readers and I think older readers would not find the plot credible. This could be a decent dystopian for upper elementary/ lower middle grade readers. It's similar to The Virtual War by Gloria Skurzynski or Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, though it's more tame than those books. But I would definitely choose those titles over The Always War. I'll give it three turntables. I'd rate it lower for myself, but since it's geared for a younger audience, I think it's decent for that age group.

Point Books Toward The Always War

ISBN:	0689873808
Edition Language:	English

Rating Out Of Books The Always War

Ratings: 3.43 From 2682 Users | 410 Reviews

Piece Out Of Books The Always War

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than I thought it would be, but in a good way. I was worried it was going to hang, but happily everything was wrapped up; although, it was done a little quicker than I would have liked. Everything is pretty much crammed into the last chapter, but I still really enjoyed the read. I felt like it was geared a little lower in age range than I typically read so it didn't have the level of detail I'm used to, but I found I didn't really miss it that much.

As I started reading this book, fairly early on I found myself saying, "this isn't one of Margaret Haddix's better works. Her writing is usually much better than this". I even found myself wondering, so is Margaret Haddix just churning out books now to make money on her name? But after finishing it I realize that Haddix was using the story to illustrate a point about war. A very thought provoking and germaine point. So at the end I have forgiven her somewhat for the slightly sloppy story (making

I've enjoyed many books by this author, especially Running Out of Time and The Shadow Children series. This one was a definitive miss for me. If you're looking for a great dystopian novel, this isn't it. Keep looking because there are plenty out there. I just finished Scythe, one of the best I've read in years. I would definitely recommend that one.

I love some Margaret Peterson Haddix titles, others not so much. This is one of the not so much ones. The anti-war message was a little heavy handed and the characters not as well developed as they could be. Even so, it is a quick read and I think it will have some appeal to middle schoolers...it certainly is discussable.

2.5 stars"The Always War" is a very short, simple dystopian. When I began it I was under the impression it was aimed at readers of The Hunger Games, and Divergent. After actually reading it, I've come to the conclusion that its target audience must be quite a bit younger, maybe twelve or thirteen at absolute oldest. When looked at through that lens I see the Always War as a fairly well written, slightly rushed book with a message about the value of hope. Nothing too individual, but it's not

This book was very slow, but once it got going... IT GOT GOING! The last 50 pages were great! But I had to deduct some points because of the slowness

As I started reading this book, fairly early on I found myself saying, "this isn't one of Margaret Haddix's better works. Her writing is usually much better than this". I even found myself wondering, so is Margaret Haddix just churning out books now to make money on her name? But after finishing it I realize that Haddix was using the story to illustrate a point about war. A very thought provoking and germaine point. So at the end I have forgiven her somewhat for the slightly sloppy story (making