Life has not been kind to Hailey but she is managing. She is surprised to hear from a high school friend, Serena Delgadillo. Serena’s family were migrant workers. She and Hailey both felt like misfits in a school where most kids were from urban upper class families. Their lack of belonging made them soul sisters. Now Serena is asking a favor. Serena still is unconventional. She is the leader of a gang of female Latinos in Los Angeles.

Her request of Hailey is also unconventional. She wants Hailey to deliver a young Latino woman to a remote village in Mexico in order that the woman can help to care for a dying grandmother. Serena cannot do the task herself because of passport issues, and Hailey is the only person she knows who can go freely between the two countries and has the necessary stamina to make such a rugged journey.

Hailey is reluctant to agree to attempt such a task. She worries that the woman, who is obviously an illegal immigrant, will have second thoughts and be unable to return to the United States. Perhaps she is not the one who has made the decision to cross the border and Hailey is abetting her enemy. Alternatively, there may be others who do not have the woman’s best interests at heart who wish to harm her once she is in Mexico. The woman, herself seems determined to make the trip, and Hailey does cherish her friendship with Serena so she agrees with the plan.

The border crossing is achieved with not much difficulty. Then things begin to go horribly wrong…

Several years ago Jodi Compton made quite a splash with her debut novel, The 37th Hour. She is back with a different protagonist in a much different setting but her basic skills in creating an atmospheric novel with unique characters are intact. One is immediately engaged by Hailey Cain a gutsy female with her own agenda who is not shy about taking a stance and defending her position. As Hailey is introduced one cannot help but wonder what made such a competent young woman leave West Point just as she was ready to reap the benefits of her four long years of study and training. Author Compton keeps her readers guessing about the answer to that question, but keeps her readers engaged by sending her protagonist on a dangerous journey taxing her both mentally and physically.

Hailey’s friendship with Serena allows the author to discuss the culture and mores of Latino gangs in Los Angeles. She does not shy away from the harsh realities of the lives of gang members, but she also does a bang up job of educating her readership of the benefits to each gang member. What is generally thought of as a life of violence is exposed as something else altogether. Ms. Compton also makes a case for the enterprising bike messenger.

It is entertaining to get to know Hailey Cain as her personality is gradually revealed by the author. Like peeling the layers of an onion, readers learn by bits and pieces who this woman is and why she is the way she is. She is by no means perfect, yet she is not such a psychological mess that one wonders how she manages to tie her shoes each day.

The plot and characters have been carefully constructed. Each person plays a role vital to the outcome. Their personalities support their behavior. The author never leaves her readers scratching their heads wondering why a certain character acted as they did. There is always ample evidence supporting the behavior as logical.

While the subject matter itself is serious, there is a certain amount of levity in the dialogue to elicit a chuckle or two. I especially enjoyed Hailey’s comment that she had had enemies in southern California so she had moved north, but she was gradually acquiring some in northern California as well. She couldn’t move any further north as Oregon or Washington as she couldn’t seem to learn to walk in Birkenstocks.

Jodi Compton has produced another great read in Hailey’s War. It is entertaining as well as educational. It is worthwhile to get a peek at the life of a gang member in Los Angeles.

--Andy Plonka