“Sweeney gave me a little too much lead on the pass.”

From Trent Reedy’s Divided We Fall.

Seventeen-year-old Danny Wright was living the perfect American life, a beautiful girlfriend (JoBell), enjoying his senior year with his hilarious best friend (Sweeney), and serving his country by training in the Idaho National Guard… but that life shattered when Danny pulls the trigger that launched America into another civil war.  When the Governor orders his unit in as an intimidation tactic to break up a Boise protest of a new federal law, Daniel does not think much of the order, but as everything around them escalates, a misfire from Danny’s gun is all that it takes to change America forever.  When the ensuing orders and firefight ends, twelve people are dead and the entire country is looking for someone to blame.  While the President calls for the arrest of the soldiers, the governor defies the order and instead promises to protect the men who were at the protest because of his orders.  As individuals and state leaders choose sides, the United States of America quickly finds itself on the brink of a Second Civil War with Danny at the center.  When the governor order the entire Idaho National Guard to secure and block the borders of the state from the U.S. Army, Danny is conflicted, to say the least.  The young soldier must choose between his state and his country, while also trying to handle the eye of the media that is constantly focused on the teen that fired the first shot.

The first book in this sorta-dystopian young adult trilogy is action-packed and thrilling, creating a steady foundation for the rest of the following books.  Reedy does well to create a world that is unique, but similar enough to the reader’s world to be chillingly familiar.  Divided We Fall is a page-turning read that easily draws readers into the story.