Sand Queen

By: Helen Benedict

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Nineteen-year-old Kate Brady joined the army to bring honor to her family and democracy to the Middle East. Instead, she finds herself in a forgotten corner of the Iraq desert in 2003, guarding a makeshift American prison. There, Kate meets Naema Jassim, an Iraqi medical student whose father and little brother have been detained in the camp.

Kate and Naema promise to help each other, but the war soon strains their intentions. Like any soldier, Kate must face the daily threats of combat duty, but as a woman, she is in equal danger from the predatory men in her unit. Naema suffers bombs, starvation, and the loss of her home and family. As the two women struggle to survive and hold on to the people they love, each comes to have a drastic and unforeseeable effect on the other’s life.

Culled from real-life stories of female soldiers and Iraqis, Sand Queen offers a story of hope, courage, and struggle from the rare perspective of women at war.

©2011 Helen Benedict (P)2013 AudioGO

Heartbreaking and honest

Not an easy read, but an important one. This is the first book I have found sharing these experiences. I hope to find more.

Upsetting read

Very good book but I didn't like it purely because it was so upsetting and graphic. I want to believe that the level of harassment doesn't happen in the military but it very well may be true.