Battle Ground

Battle Ground

by Rachel Churcher

2 out of 5

Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Bex Ellman has been drafted into an army she doesn't support and a cause she doesn't believe in. Her plan is to keep her head down, and keep herself and her friends safe – until she witnesses an atrocity she can't ignore, and a government conspiracy that threatens lives all over the UK. With her loyalties challenged, Bex must decide who to fight for – and who to leave behind.

The Battle Ground series is set in a dystopian near-future UK, after Brexit and Scottish independence.



Review
Bex is drafted in, to protect people from the terrorists. Surely the government wouldn't lie about what is best for the country, and their agenda.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bex and her best-friend Dan are drafted into the army, to help battle against terrorists. They are pulled away from college and marched to a training camp. Despite the intense work, they are proud to be doing their part for their country.

Coincidentally, their close friend (and stirrer of trouble) Margie, left before they did, to join the terrorists. They will soon be fighting on opposite sides.

I liked how this near-future dystopian story felt like it could be the next step for the UK. In the face of so much unrest and uncertainty, the government have imposed a military presence, to help calm the populace and bring peace.
All the while, there are little niggles that things are not as they appear. They are not allowed to call this a civil war, they have to vilify their enemy and call them terrorists.
Media portrays the army recruits as heroes, good people doing their duty; but they are rounded-up, herded into training camps and hammered into tools for the government.

I really wanted to love this, and it is well-written, with a great idea, but I just didn't connect with it.
The beginning was too slow, focussing on Bex's training. It was interesting enough, and helped to add to the layers of distrust, but it was bogged down in the minutiae.

I think my main problem was Bex herself. She is a tool.
In the description it says she has "been drafted into an army she doesn't support and a cause she doesn't believe in". This didn't really ring true for the first half of the book. I got the feeling that Bex was a mind-washed girl, with a vague happiness, content to be pushed into the role of soldier.

In contrast to the flashbacks with Margie, Bex is bland and disconnected from everything happening around her. And some of the flashbacks made me question Bex's attitude at the beginning.
She gets much better in the second half, but it was too late for me to be invested.

I won't be continuing with this series, but I would be open to reading more of Churcher's work.

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