This book has been difficult. I keep reading a little here and there, but nothing has really hooked me and I am 43% into it. Maybe it would appeal to another reader, but not me. I will push through and finish it. It is not BAD, just not interesting to me. Nothing (still) much is happening. ( )

"So you wanna run a Country" presents a show in a somewhat Dystopian near future. A backward country destroyed by a warlord get one more shot at a future to rebuild. I found the story to be unique, but ultimately a lot of it's uniqueness distracted from the story itself.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. ( )

This was not the book for me, but that does not mean it is not the book for you! I did not like it because there were too many story lines to follow, which did not allow for as much character development and insight as I would have liked. The storyline itself was an interesting premise. ( )

This novel was unlike anything I have read. It begins as a farce about a small, mostly unknown country agreeing to host the participants of an American reality show. However, it takes a dark Orwellian turn in the middle as it becomes clear that the country's leaders made this decision in order to re-establish the brutal dictatorship that previously ruled the country and terrorized its citizens. Furthermore, these leaders now have a plan to extend this dictatorship throughout the world. This bare-bones summary doesn't offer a hint of the weirdness contained in this book. I thought some of the more fantastical elements of the story could have been toned down but, overall, this was an entertaining, often hilarious read.

Thank you to the publisher, Akashic Books, for an early reviewer copy. ( )

Super fun read with enjoyable characters and an interesting futuristic, dystopian plot ( )