12 Books to Read If You Already Tore Through The Handmaid's Tale

One of the most stunning novels of 2017, Omar El Akkad's American War explores the aftermath of a second Civil War, one in which the country becomes divided and every individual has been assigned a side. Through the lens of the various members of the Chestnut family, we see the evolution of war and survival, and the ways in which we rationalize the things we can't change. The novel's heroine — or anti-heroine — is Sarat Chestnut, whose evolution from adventurous child to militant maverick is breathtaking, brutal, and unbelievably real.