Review: A Missing Peace


A Missing Peace
by Beth Fred
YA Contemporary Romance
September 1st 2013 by Escape Publishing

Goodreads summary:
A turbulent, emotionally charged YA novel that breaks down barriers and challenges the status quo...
Angry, seventeen-year-old Iraqi war refugee Mirriam Yohanna hates her new life in Killeen, Texas, where the main attraction is a military base, populated with spoiled army brats like Caleb Miller.

Caleb has much to be angry about too, including Mirriam who turns him down flat in front of everyone. Eager for retribution, Caleb agrees to a dare that will see him take Mirriam to the prom and regain his pride.

But their relationship soon moves beyond high school antics. Mirriam and Caleb are bound together by more than location, and as they are forced to work closely together on a school assignment, they start to uncover an explosive story that has the potential to ruin lives — and both of their futures. One single truth changes everything and strengthens their bond.

When Mirriam's family discovers their relationship, they decide it's time to arrange her marriage to a proper Iraqi man. Caleb must convince Mirriam that he is in it for forever — or risk losing her for good.


What I thought:
I haven't read that many books that have characters with different ethnic backgrounds. I was excited to read this for that reason alone. At the same time, I wasn't sure what exactly to expect and how much I would be able to relate to the characters. Caleb is a military kid who also happens to be one of the high school's football stars. Not really someone I would normally relate to per se. Then Mirriam is from Iraq and has only been living in the US for a couple of years, so I wasn't sure about her either. I found out that I shouldn't have been worried. Mirriam was awesome! I loved her spunk, sarcasm, and the way she stood up for herself. Here is an example of her personality from a conversation between her and Caleb:
What could I say? All-American Boy was right. "Fine."
"That's your favorite word."
I narrowed my eyes. "Only in English."
Caleb also turns out to be a great character. At the beginning he is a little arrogant and selfish, but then things change and he realizes that maybe he has been wrong about a few things. I thought that the two of them worked rather well together and I loved a lot of the dialogue between their two characters.

The plot is rather interesting too. Both Mirriam and and Caleb have lost their fathers in Iraq, but they have vastly different views on the situation there. That influences the history project that they are working on together and their banter back and forth. For being such a political topic, I thought the author did a great job in not over doing it. She lets her characters give their opinions, but she also allows them to change.

It is really a heartbreaking situation that caused both of their fathers' deaths. I did get a little frustrated with Caleb at a few spots where I felt he should have gone a different route initially. I am all about rights and going to authorities with information. There is also plenty of drama for both characters. Caleb got really angry in a few spots (justifiably so) and wasn't really thinking straight. Then at one point I wanted Mirrium to open her eyes to what she knew about Caleb instead of losing faith in him so easily.

I wasn't completely sure about the ending. I liked it, but I wished things could have worked out a little differently. Maybe that's just the optimist and mother in me. It still worked, regardless, and I really liked the epilogue, which tied things off nicely.

Overall this was an enjoyable read and one I definitely feel is worth picking up. I ended up really liking the characters and where the story took them. I hope that more stories like this are published in the future.

Content: Some language, but otherwise clean.
Source: Author/NetGalley
 
 

A Missing Peace is currently $.99 on Amazon. I think that price is definitely worth picking this up! What do you think? Is this something you would like to read?







Disclosure: This review is of a book I was given for free by an author, tour host, or publisher, or through NetGalley or Edelweiss. This in no way influences the opinions shared in my review. You may see my complete policy on my policies page. This post also contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase of any type using these links, I receive a small kickback.

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