Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com

‘Ari Goes to War’ is the second book to feature Ari and Starla from the pen of British author, P J Sky. The story is written in the third person and the past tense, with the story being told from the perspectives of several characters. The chapters are all of even length and fairly short.

Some time has passed since Starla was kidnapped from the city of Alice and taken to the wasteland. There she was rescued by Ari and returned to her father, the mayor and ruler of the city. Starla has been unsettled since returning and is now fully aware of the poverty that exists beyond the safety of the city walls. She is therefore determined to do all she can for the people on the outside. On route with alms, Starla’s plane is brought down and whilst the other survivors are left behind, Starla is kidnapped by a group who worship The Morning Star.

After her success last time, Ari is chosen by the ailing Titus Corinth to launch a mission to bring his daughter safely home. Ari joins forces with Keshia, a girl who lives on her wits on the streets of Bo, and we follow their adventure as they set out to find Starla.

There are some colourful descriptive passages as the girls encounter several different factions, each with their own agenda, who want to prevent a successful rescue.

The plot is uncomplicated so for readers who lots of twists and turns and a climactic reveal, then it’s possibly going to fall a little short. Nonetheless, there’s a lot of drama and excitement, with Ari and Keshia having huge hurdles to clear before they can reach the disused mine, where Starla is being held.

To counterbalance the frantic action, there is a fair amount of soul-searching, with the main characters all examining their own feelings as well as the dynamics of their relationships with each other.

Although this story is a follow up to Ari’s first outing, readers are given sufficient backstory to read it as a stand-alone book. The author has used some interesting similes and metaphors which add depth. Sometimes a sequel can fall a little flat but hopefully young adult fans of Ari and Starla will enjoy their paths crossing once more. I award four stars.14 s Maria JohnsonAuthor 4 books24

This is the sequel to P.J. Sky's first novel, 'A Girl Called Ari'. In this gripping sequel, Ari, a girl from the wasteland, must again help Starla, a girl from the city, after her plane crashes. Yet along with many others, Starla has put her trust in a dangerous figure. Can Ari find her friend? Will Starla even want to go back home?

A fast paced and well-written novel with a unique feel. Highly recommend for fantasy and sci-fi fans. It could probably be read as a stand-alone, but recommend you read 'A Girl Called Ari' first. PS does include some casual swearing.1 S.S.Author 1 book14

What a fantastic sequel to the first novel!

The world building just got bigger. I really enjoyed all the complexity and connections presented in this book between both: different groups of outsiders, and Alice city dependence on wastelands. The additional depth provided by a focus on the catastrophic event and artefacts of the past world made this world reach and easy to understand, marvelously building on what was shown in the book #1.

The faith aspect of different beliefs (and additionally a cult!) was a very prominent in “Ari Goes To War”. I found it a really interesting aspect which not only deepened the world that action is set in but also deepened the characters that appeared on the way.

Talking about characters, I loved how Ari remained the same from the outside - with her short and snappy answers, survival focus and tendency to getting quickly annoyed. At the same time, she has also changed so much. The new layers of her emotions - guilt, loneliness, feeling the sense of responsibility and compassion - all of that built the new Ari from the insight. And it had a huge impact on the actions and decisions she took.

With all the above, it’s a fast-paced story, full of adventures with a good number of twists, multiple conflict points and an unpredictable story line. In other words: real page turner.

Highly recommend for fans of dystopian/post-apocalyptic reads!1 Jonathan TaylorAuthor 2 books4

This book is a great read. A noticeable improvement over its predecessor, one which utilises and expands upon the setting in meaningful and fulfilling ways. I can’t recommend you start with this book, given its many call-backs to the first, but you will enjoy it, especially if you read the first.

And now onto the review itself. The plot follows Ari, who has now become a war refugee, finding her place within a new city. Due to her newest friend Keisha getting herself in trouble with a very influential crime syndicate, the two of them are charged with retrieving Starla, who, after returning to her birth city in the first book, finds herself taken away from it, again, only this time her presumptive captor is someone Ari herself is familiar with, and not for pleasant reasons.

Introductions out of the way, what distinguishes this book from others, including its predecessor? I will start by mentioning what it carries over, and chief among these points is how Sky plays with perceptions. Her last book only had two POV characters, this one expands it to four, and because these perspectives are spread further out, both geographically and in terms of their life experiences, the author gets a lot more opportunities to showcase the setting, the people, the events, and the aftermath depicted in the book. All the insights into the ways characters think and react to their surroundings are highlighted as well, and quite a bit more poignantly, with better emphasis, and stronger connections.

As for the improvements, the first one to note is how the descriptions of environments, surroundings, and settings have improved. They are a little more abstract, more minimal, allowing the reader more room to fill in the blanks. Coupled with the stream-of-consciousness narrative flow the book runs upon, this creates a more immersive, more relatable story, that manages to keep its tension and its approachability throughout, even in the face of more outlandish situations, characters, and action sequences. Speaking of, the action sequences have improved from the last book as well. More of them are up close and personal, which is where Sky’s comfort and expertise zone is, but the long-range action scenes have improved as well. The impressions of the characters are translated more effectively and more dynamically, everything flows better and becomes more memorable.

The character work is improved as well, not necessarily among the main cast, which are as interesting as ever, but more from those around them, the secondary and tertiary characters. They fully benefit from this longer book, they get more attention given to them in terms of their mannerisms, their speech, their intentions, and their previous experiences. This really helps flesh out a world that is otherwise more sparsely described, and creates stronger connections between the people and their environments, and the various elements within locations. I could almost go so far as to call it easy reading as an art form.

Nevertheless, this book isn’t perfect. Some events stretch believability, or verisimilitude, if I were to be fancy, and there are points where the sparse descriptions do make me wish there was more to them, because I can’t really visualise the play-by-play of certain scenes in particular. I have other nit-picks, concerning, first of all, what hasn’t been revealed in this book or the first about the politics of the world, and where exactly the story takes place. There are some weird discrepancies here that I struggle to manage on an intellectual level, though, as far as I’ve seen other , that’s basically just a me thing.

Overall, this book’s qualities stand well over its faults, and allow its author’s strengths and improvements to shine through in a very engaging manner. WS_BOOKCLUB365 11

Thank you to the author for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Ari Goes to War will be available on April sixth.

Ari Goes to War is the sequel to A Girl Called Ari. It continues to follow Ari (and Starla), although this book focuses a lot on Ari’s relationships with others, and how her past affects them. Starla finds herself in a precarious situation and Ari goes to rescue her.

The book continues the story quite well. Ari is a tough-as-nails character most of the time, so it was nice to see a little bit more of what makes her tick, so to speak. There were a couple of other characters for her to interact with, which was interesting, the main one being a girl named Keshia. Keshia lives on the streets and is just trying to get by. Her fingers tend to get a little sticky and she finds herself running from trouble a lot. She makes some bad choices, but it’s either in the interest of survival or in a misguided attempt to help. She was by far my favorite character. To Ari’s credit, she doesn’t ditch Keshia, despite the several occasions when things would have been easier if she had.

I was a little bummed that Starla was once again in need of rescue. It would have been nice to see her character be a little more active. However, the group (dare I say ‘cult’?) that kidnaps her is all kinds of interesting. I really d seeing how that all played out.

While this book is a sequel, the events of book one are explained throughout in a way that would make it completely possible to read as a stand-alone. I appreciated the references to what went on in A Girl Called Ari, since it helped freshen my memory.

Ari Goes to War is a quick read and an entertaining one. Look for it when it releases: in the meantime, A Girl Called Ari is available now and it’s a good time to jump in.

https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.hom...fiction Paige1,746 84

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Ari Goes to War

Author: P.J. Sky

Book Series: The Adventures of Ari #2

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: Dystopian

Publication Date: January 14, 2021

Genre: Dystopian

Recommended Age: 16+ (gore, violence, PTSD)

Publisher: Indie Published

Pages: 342

Synopsis: In a distant future… A world divided… A wasteland at war…

In trouble with the Jackroller crime syndicate, and with the warlords of The Black Mulga on her tail, Ari must confront her past when she sets out across the war-torn wasteland to rescue Starla from the clutches of the infamous Bone Pointer.

Review: For the most part I really this sequel. I thought that it was a very good with green and I noticed throughout the reading that this book can be read as a standalone which is always a plus to any reader I really the world building of this book and I also really enjoyed the pacing.

However, I do feel the book is a bit repetitious in its story. I felt but kind of repeated some of the same events from the first book and I also felt we didn't really get to see any substantial character development especially from Starla.

Verdict: It was good!
DouglasAuthor 15 books41

This is the second book in the series, and they don't disappoint. Ari is a girl living in a futuristic wasteland of a world after "the impact". Starla is the daughter of the mayor of the City, the only real City left. After the adventures in the first book, Starla tries to reach out and help the people on the outside, and somehow help Ari. But it's Ari who must help instead when Starla falls into the wrong hands. Full of action and courage. Nicole ThomasAuthor 10 books34

Great story

As with the first book I really enjoyed this story. The author continued the series smoothly and the ending feels complete while also leaving room for more adventures. It’s definitely a series I will be following and recommend to anyone looking for strong female characters. Jonica123 3

I guess the dingoes have been replaced, but Ari is one of a kind.

I ebooks reading Ari reaching her maturity. Keisha and the captain were welcome additions. I can't wait for what comes next. Sara20

I really enjoyed the first book and I think I d this one more! I d the new characters, and I enjoyed seeing other sides to Ari! It’s a fun, suspenseful at times, read that will keep you entertained!! Anthony Leonard1 review

Better than the 1st!

This book was much more involved than the 1st book. We see more world building and it has a real "Mad Max" vibe. Feather ChelleAuthor 18 books42

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