Chris, Luke, Gary and Clayton are four Marines returned from war. Each man must struggle to find his own way in this familiar land gone strange. Home has become an alien landscape that has to be conquered and Marines are ones to never give up. War can tear men apart and war can unite them. Each man will have to find if he can survive the vast changes that have taken place inside them or if they will give up and let the atrocities they have witnessed destroy them.

Border Roads has to be my favorite book by author Sarah Black. I’ve enjoyed her previous offerings but Border Roads has been the crème de la crème of the entire lot. As a montage of stories following a group of friends who have all returned from the war in Iraq, Border Roads skips back and forth between each character’s story. In the beginning I found it a little off putting because I wanted to know what was happening NOW! But, after I got used to the style I found that it served to keep me on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the entire book. There were several spots where I found myself tearing up at the trials the character had gone through and Sarah Black put her skill with words to good use in providing a vivid background that accurately mirrored the events taking place in each character’s life at that moment. While I loved all the characters, I found myself more invested in Clayton and Luke and their journey, and Juan, Maggie, and Clint and the family that they are trying to make out of the rubble of their previous lives. I’m not sure why this book is labeled as a LGBT offering when there is only one small portion devoted to a gay relationship. This is a book that I think all readers would enjoy and everyone can walk away with having learned a little compassion for the men and women returning from the horrors of war.

Reviewed by: Hayley