Amy Efaw

Devon Sky Davenport was a straight-A student and soccer star with Olympic dreams until That Night. The next morning she is lying on the couch in the seedy apartment she shares with her single mother who works two jobs and is seldom around and even when she is, she neglects her daughter. Devon is staring at the TV with the sound off, feeling numb to the pain of the cramping in her belly in a kind of dissociative state even when the police come to the door. So begins the trauma of discovering what she has done. That Night she gave birth to IT but she does not seem to remember how it all happened, which seems hard to believe at first but Efaw traces events in flashbacks through the book until the reader can understand how this might have happened. The character development is strong and the book ends on a surprising twist.… (more)

Based on the author’s own experiences as a cadet at the exclusive United States Military Academy at West Point, Battle Dress is the brutally honest tale of 17-year-old Andi Davis, who views her acceptance at West Point as a chance to escape her dysfunctional family and prove to herself that she has what it takes to survive Basic Training. But nothing could have prepared Andi for the rigors that follow or for the inner strength that she will need to succeed as a woman in a nearly all-male society. Compelling and powerful, but never militaristic, this is a tale of triumph that won’t fail to move readers.… (more)

Fieldnotes:
West Point, Pre-Cell Phone Contemporary (p.2010)

6 Weeks Cadet Basic Training, the "Beast"
Many Confusing Shouted Orders
Many Confusing Acronyms

1 Narcissistic Parent
1 People-Pleasing Cadet
Casual Misogyny (some Internalized)
Squad Bonding

Athletic Triumphs
1 Ending That Came Too Soon

The Short Version:
I was very immersed in getting through Beast with our heroine Andi and cheered her triumphs and determination.

I would have loved this book to cover the full year (instead of just basic training) as I wanted to see her shine academically and watch her leadership skills emerge.… (more)