Black Helicopters
A teenage girl. A survivalist childhood. And now a bomb strapped to her chest. See the world through her eyes in this harrowing and deeply affecting literary thriller.I’m Valkyrie White. I’m fifteen. Your government killed my family. Ever since Mabby died while picking beans in their garden —...
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A teenage girl. A survivalist childhood. And now a bomb strapped to her chest. See the world through her eyes in this harrowing and deeply affecting literary thriller.I’m Valkyrie White. I’m fifteen. Your government killed my family. Ever since Mabby died while picking beans in their garden — with the pock-a-pock of a helicopter overhead — four-year-old Valley knows what her job is: hide in the underground den with her brother, Bo, while Da is working, because Those People will kill them like coyotes. But now, with Da unexpectedly gone and no home to return to, a teenage Valley (now Valkyrie) and her big brother must bring their message to the outside world — a not-so-smart place where little boys wear their names on their backpacks and young men don’t pat down strangers before offering a lift. Blythe Woolston infuses her white-knuckle narrative, set in a day-after-tomorrow Montana, with a dark, trenchant humor and a keen psychological eye. Alternating past-present vignettes in prose as tightly wound as the springs of a clock and as masterfully plotted as a game of chess, she ratchets up the pacing right to the final, explosive end.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN:
9780763661465 (0763661465)
Publish date: March 26th 2013
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pages no: 176
Edition language: English
Category:
Young Adult,
Adventure,
Teen,
Science Fiction,
Realistic Fiction,
War,
Contemporary,
Thriller,
Dystopia,
Suspense,
Terrorism,
Dark
What a surprising little book. Leaves a lot for the reader to decide and interpret. It's shortness could leave something to be desired for some, but I felt it actually added to the bleak atmosphere. Every word had to count. Taut, fascinating, and intense. About a teenage suicide bomber, and w...
To be honest, my reading of this book probably suffers from the fact that I read it immediately after The Different Girl. Which begs the question, if I had read in a different order, if I had read other books in between, would I feel differently? Although the voice is strong, it doesn’t quite come t...
Valley and her brother Bo have been raised by their survivalist father. Away from civilization. Distrustful of government. They witness their mother's death at the hands of Those People in the black helicopters. Most of America is oblivious to the existence of the black helicopters, but Da, Valley, ...
***Note: this review assumes that you've read the book.*** This book is a punch in the gut. Another reviewer has said (remarking on Woolston's bravery, I think), "This book doesn't care whether you like it," and it's true, in the best way. I think it's also true of Woolston's previous book, Catch ...
wow - don't know how I feel about this yet. 3? 3.5 stars? i just don't know....