An immigrant family tries to make a place for themselves in the American desert. An American family is torn apart by scandal. Two American soldiers battle demons inside themselves after their time at war. A little boy experiences tremendous loss. One act brings them all together to try to right a wrong and make up for the evil they have all experienced.
Laura McBride’s We Are Called to Rise is a gripping novel about the far-reaching damage caused by war. Immigrants forced to leave their homeland because of it, the mental effects on the soldiers who are on the front lines, and the impacts on the communities set to embrace those soldiers when they come home. This One Book/One Community and Indie Next choice hits at the heart of what it means to be a community and to support one another. This is a book about our universal morals and understanding that even the most externally happy among us has a pain they are hiding from the world.
I give We Are Called to Rise 5 out of 5 stars. McBride’s work carries a ripped-from-the-headlines sort of feel – the soldiers’ respective stories and the immigrant family’s as well, feel as thought we have heard them before. But not in the context of how those stories impacted the community around them. I did have a hard time getting into the story at first, but my heart broke a few chapters in and I couldn’t put the story down! As a supporter for our veterans and their families after they return from war, I feel this book does a tremendous job displaying the medical care available to them upon return from the front lines, and the need for so much more. After having read about several immigrant families in my own area and the struggles they faced, I think this book also does a great job portraying the struggles for these families to start over again in an unfamiliar world complete with a language they don’t understand. This book pulled at my heart and made me want to fight for justice for these characters. This is another book that I found myself thinking about well after I finished it!
With mentions of domestic violence, death by gunfire, and torture, this book would be best directed to more mature audiences over 16. I also feel that this may be a tough read for anyone who comes from a home that experienced domestic violence in general – there were scenes that were very hard for me to read. I do feel this would be a great book club read – there is so much to unpack with the actions of both soldiers and their consequences!
I chose We Are Called to Rise for the US States reading challenge prompt “Nevada”. With most of the story happening in Las Vegas, but with scenes set around the world, this was a great read that didn’t focus necessarily on the city or state itself. I listed out several other great options for this prompt in the Sunday Agenda this week though. What’s your favorite Nevada-set book?
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult
- Current audio book: Before We Were Yours, Lisa Wingate
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow
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