Midwest Book Review
(Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer)

Anna & the American Puzzle purports to be set in a near-future America; but many elements of its political setting strike all too close to home, given the events of the last four years.

This America has been taken over by a party based on wealthy, religious, and social media-derived power structures, and is not chipping but hacking away at the foundations of American freedom. Under this rule, technology use is restricted to government purposes. It's here that Anna, who lives in poverty under these limitations, drafts her diary.

Much like the Diary of Anne Frank, the Anna in this futuristic society creates an observational piece that juxtaposes her worldview with personal experience. Unlike Frank, these aren't succinct entries, but full-length chronological observations that open with a surprising prologue seemingly set in an everyday girl's world before it moves into a probe of the forces that pointed her life down a different path than she'd anticipated. At this point, it's evident that Anna's America is becoming increasingly unfamiliar and challenging.

The following quiet reflection leads to the first chapter, 'The Education of a Girl', set in Spring 2024, neatly settings the stage for her evolving story by identifying the past and present realities of a much-changed America and her place in it: "If someone told me when I met Maridel that I would wind up living apart from my mother and siblings because of her, I would not have believed you. Poor families generally lived together forever, it became one common way the poor ensured survival in America. In fact, if someone told me when I was younger that my life would take any of the twists and turns it wound up taking, I would not have believed you. But I guess most things in life are unpredictable, right? Like the fact that although we could use the internet and cell phones when I was in my early days of elementary school, I would wind up living in an America where, during the end of elementary school, the internet and cell phones had been banned for use as a form of connection and social communication, social media becoming only a chapter in our new American history books for the purpose of reminding us of why there was such a ban."

By the time Anna is fourteen, she holds only memories of those freedoms which were once part of her everyday world. These memories eventually foster newfound convictions when Maridel and the Party offer her a key role to play in changing the face of America.

But Anna doesn't remain a child for long. Married and facing the possibility of a pregnancy that is not only forbidden but should have been impossible, Anna finds that her choices have narrowed in some ways, forcing her to expand her worldview and thoughts about those around her: “Are you seriously worried about what they will think about me being pregnant?” I asked heatedly, “We’re married. It happens. They don’t own us, James. I work for them, but this is our life. So what if they introduced us! So what if they have their hand in everything! At some point, it is not about them. This is about us. This should be a miracle, not a curse,” I was shouting by this point, hurt and disappointed at his reaction."

As she becomes important in an alarming new way that tests her abilities and boundaries, Anna finds herself an unexpected (and unwanted) pivot point for change.

Jennifer Kasman's literary examination embraces social issues, politics, and futuristic sci-fi examination as it follows Anna through this milieu. Her changes spark new insights and determination, bringing readers into not only the milieu of a much-changed nation and populace, but creating engrossing contrasts between the perspectives and objectives of rich and poor. This society has been deeply divided by socioeconomic disparities, social media, and civil rights issues alike. How can it heal?

Anna & the American Puzzle is an important, thought-provoking probe of a futuristic possibility. It is highly recommended for a wide range of readers, from sci-fi audiences who will find the near-future setting absorbing to readers of social and political fiction and works embracing feminist thought. All are pieces of the greater American puzzle that empowers Anna to step out of her comfort zone and contribute to an unexpected new possibility for America's future.

It's a story especially recommended for anyone who enjoys contemplating the direction this country is taking today.

Susan I. Weinstein, notanotherbookreview

ANNA & THE AMERICAN PUZZLE is a dystopia that has an uncanny urgency for the U,S. As the new Democratic president faces a congressional logjam of conservative Republicans, the future viability of our system has become a question.  Kasman's novel is set in an America ruled by an autocracy of the religious far right. How might this play out for most Americans?  Her novel, in the form of a young girl's diary, is a devastating look into this alternative world. 

It begins in 2024, when Anna is 14.  There is of course the propaganda and how it's used to manage the population. Here are neo-Puritan ideals of  "bootstrapping," that hard sustained work and faith in divine laws will be rewarded in this world and the next. If a person or family is not succeeding it is because they are lax. But the truth is that only a small elite, those whose families are part of the ruling class or traditionally serve them have money.  Government manages information technology, media, higher education, etc. Only people with  good paying jobs and access to higher education are part of the religious-political elite.

Everyone else is poor without even food security, like Anna's exhausted mother. Anna, the eldest of six, must do housework, care for siblings, manage school, as well as scavenge meals, shoes and clothing. She, like her mother, falls short of the official expectations, Then, like its her fault, her mother constantly  exhorts her not to flaunt her looks. Ann's natural charisma. beauty and intelligence attracts unwanted attention and eventually she's expelled from school. And, when her mother seeks help from a local political leader, Anna is sent to a reform facility for girls "like her." 

Yet, Anna's looks and on camera talent, make her an asset for the government.  Eventually, she enters the ranks of the privileged and becomes a media celebrity. She appreciates how rare it is for someone with her background to become a national icon. But becomes unhappy, when she is forced to cede her private life to government management, including her choice of husband and child-rearing.  When she learns of torturous ways her image is being used, Anna is finally radicalized. In the underground, she becomes the person hidden all along and enters the fight to for the real America.

ANNA AND THE AMERICAN PUZZLE imagines the results of a far right coup on our way of life. It is a not unfamiliar scenario in the wake of the recent occupation of the White House. Worth the read to consider the fall out for regular people. A cautionary tale for adults, this is also a great read for YA audiences.

I don't often review self published books but this dystopia caught my imagination. I do think this book deserves to be republished, perhaps as a New Edition put out by a real publisher. Such publishers hire professionals to edit, copyedit, proofread and traffic copies to make sure changes have been made-- before having a book printed. The changes to the paperback I read had not been updated before it was out. May be fixed now. Consider a hardcover.

S.W.

Amazon Reader

This is a very well written and thought provoking story and is an especially great read right now for many reasons. Through Anna's journey in a (not-so distant?) future America from the "working poor" to the "powerful elite" in Washington, the author touches on many important issues and debates that we see in America and across the globe that are causing social divides. From perspectives on feminism, social media abuse, and socioeconomic divide, we see how Anna gracefully navigates herself at every challenge as she grows through the story.

Although it touches on many topics, Anna and the American Puzzle is an engaging and quick fictional read. It allows you some insight into alternative perspectives on issues and is a great book to get you thinking about the role of government, responsible information and inequity. I highly recommend it!

Amazon Reader

This books grabs you from the beginning! If you are looking for a fantastic read that challenges your inner depth and gets you thinking all while enjoying the plot and storyline, this is the book to read! Highly recommend