Let's Go Swimming on Doomsday

Let's Go Swimming on Doomsday follows Abdi, a 16 year-old Somali boy coerced by the CIA to go undercover as an Al Shabaab soldier. Only by providing intel about imminent terrorist attacks can Abdi secure his family's safety. He reunites with his older brother Dahir, who was abducted by Al Shabaab three years ago. But this silver lining quickly fades as Abdi learns Dahir has since embraced the ideology.

This is a brutal book. It's about being given choices that aren't really choices, then having to live with the terrible consequences. Abdi is wedged between two vehemently opposed groups—the CIA and Al Shabaab—yet both are led by powerful, unspeakably cruel men. Both see him as a pawn. Both understand his pain only in terms of how it can benefit them.

Most of the book is fast-paced and stressful, sometimes even sickening. Almost every character shoulders profound trauma, and most of them are kids. But, there is contrast. Anderson gives her characters opportunities for redemption and forgiveness. Opportunities to finally exercise real agency, and then have their choices honored by others. Opportunities to begin to heal.