Publication Date: March 19 2019
Genre: YA, Contemporary (Dystopian)
Source: NOVL
Synopsis:
Rebellions are built on hope.
Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.
With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp’s Director and his guards.
Heart-racing and emotional, Internment challenges readers to fight complicit silence that exists in our society today.
*I would like to thank NOVL and LBVRPartner for this advanced reader copy*
They say that history repeats itself and with this book it makes it seem very evident that the world is starting to look a lot like it did back in the 1940s. With the fascist regime of Hitler and the Japanese American Internment camps, our current political environment is slowly beginning to mirror that of the past. In the very beginning of this book it reads much like a dystopian novel, or at least what I am going to categorize as unrealistic. It is hard to believe that something like this could actually exist in the world in which we currently live in. Although the author takes creative liberties it is not far off from what could actually happen and take place in our country today.
Ahmed narrates an emotional story that draws on actual events and ideology of our society that makes this a difficult, but much needed read. While reading this I was filled with an array of emotions ranging from heartbroken to raging anger. It unfolds a timeline of events that show the motivations, consequences and spirit of various characters. Layered with the brutal truth of how the country is turning against its own citizens and leading those to stand up and fight back.
” The scariest monsters are the ones who seem the most like you.”
For being so young, Layla proves to be so brave and have great strength. She is willing to risk her life for the others stuck in the internment camp and reveal to the country what is really happening. I feel like Ahmed did a great job with Layla’s character development and made her such a complex character. She had many battles to face and did so with such determination. She was not the only one who risked her life for the cause. There were even some unexpected people who were silently fighting back and trying to make things right again.
I wish there had been more world development and some aspects laid out of what was going on outside of camp to set the scene for the state of the country. But I also felt like to an extent the lack of this information put you more into Layla’s situation of being so isolated without connection to the outside.
At times this was so hard to read and even harder to imagine people and friends I know being put through a such a horrific situation. Ahmed highlighted the true strength of individuals and the lengths in which people will go to protect those they love, stand up for what is right and give themselves to start a rebellion! The characters in this book are pushed to the limits, risks their lives and show great bravery to provide hope in a desolate, horrifying situation. I appreciated the fact that Ahmed did not shy away from showing that some people are so awful, some just by nature. That they have no compassion for others and that worst than doing dreadful violent acts, is doing/saying absolutely nothing. I was not a huge fan of the romance aspect with Layla and David and felt like it fell flat. But the real driving element to the book for me was the aspect of an Internment camp for Muslim Americans.
Overall I thought this book was so eye opening and made me scared for our country. The “What If” ideas that made up this book seemed at times extreme, but also very terrifying as at times it doesn’t seem that unrealistic. With the current issues happening in regards to immigration this story is not far off from a possible future. I think it is books and stories like these that can help to educate our society and open their eyes to situations in which are possible. Especially for those who do not see these issues happening daily or come from different backgrounds that don’t experience such horrible treatment and threats to their lives.
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