CHILDREN OF PARANOIA by Trevor Shane

Children of Paranoia
DUTTON
Publish by Penguin Group
Available Now!


All wars have rules!
1. No killing innocent bystanders.
2. No killing anyone under the age of eighteen.
3. Have a child before you are eighteen, the child must be turned over to the other side.
BREAK THE RULES YOU BECOME THE TARGET!

Children are indoctrinated at the age of 16 and begin their war training. On their eighteenth birthday they become the hunters and the hunted in the war of "us" vs. "them". 

The war has gone on for generations, fought all over the world, with two distinct sides "good" and "evil".  The terms vary based on which side you are on. Reasons for the war change depending on who you ask. Every killing is done in way to look random or like an accident right out in the field of innocents. Plus the "us" and the "them" are not even clearly identified by those fighting the war. There is one rule everyone knows, Paranoia will keep you alive.

My Thoughts 

When I finished this book, I said "Wow" and then sat back to contemplate the story I had just read.  The news is filled daily with crime, scandal, and war.  Wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, gang wars, drug wars, political wars, but to think a war like the one described in this book never entered my mind.   Many wars are entered into without exit strategies or based on unclear information but the fact that this war has divided two factions without even a clear inkling WHY? scares me more than any of the other wars.

This book takes us with Joe on his journey in this war.  It is definitely an intense suspense thriller that at times will have you on the edge of your seat, but it is so much more than that. Children of Paranoia is a book that will make you stop and think.


What really knocked me for a loop is that this is Trevor Shane's first novel.  He has created the character of Joe with so many layers, it is almost like peeling an onion and there is still more.  He also surrounds Joe with other wonderful characters that the reader becomes invested in with a few short sentences.  Joe's mother is just one of those characters, her actions were both shocking and understandable. 


This story is heart stopping one moment and tear jerking in another.  Shane has created a masterpiece you will pick up and not put down until the final word and then you will say "Wow" and sit back contemplate this story and then want to tell your friends all about it.  Just like I did!!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Dutton, a division of The Penguin Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”