The People of Forever Are Not Afraid / Shani Boianjiu 338p.

Everyone knows about the Israeli military.  Everyone knows that women are also required to join for a certain amount of years after high school, and this book follows the lives of three young female friends as they go from high school to the army and back to civilian life.  You have Yael who is a weapons instructor and experiences training on a base.  Lea is a checkpoint officer and experiences some of the harsher realities of being in the military.  Avishag patrols the border between Israel and Egypt to keep any illegal materials or people from entering Israel and also witnesses some unspeakable things that affects her later on in life.  It can be a little difficult to follow because each chapter is about a different girl and her story at different times in her life, but the stories are very entertaining and definitely keep you intrigued as to what happens next.  This is not necessarily a “war” book filled with military jargon and exercises, but moreso the struggle of the female person trying to find herself within the military and life after.  What does one do after service?  Can they all still be friends even though they all served in different places and experienced different things or has their experiences made them different people?  Emotions vary throughout the book and with the reader.