Anthem for What's Come (The Blind Girl's War #0-1) by Kimberly Coleman

Contains the first two volumes of 'The Blind Girl's War': 'The Blind Girl's Sword' and 'Before The Sun Goes Down'.

Tazakul is a dystopic, polluted country where dreams are pursued out of habit since no one can even remember how the war began between their two main provinces. Draka and Dikallah citizens remain trapped for the 13th year, their lives reduced to trying to survive car bombs, censorship, refugee camps, sex slavery, chemical weapons, vengeful Witches, and a race of cannibals who travels when it rains... Even though each day is filled with fear, every dawn begins with hope that this one will be the beginning of peace.

'The Blind Girl's War' tells the stories of those caught in the War: shop keepers, mechanics, trash pickers, shepherds, and ordinary people like Qais, an abused, overweight teen who dreams of becoming a soldier; Baradei, a widowed book seller who lives to protect his young daughter from the Minister of Electricity's disturbed son; Zaid, a bitter, unemployed accountant encumbered with his elderly blind father; Kiyala, a brilliant engineering student whose family is targeted by suicide bombers... All will be changed by The Blind Girl's War.

'Anthem For What's Come' contains the first two volumes of the series narrated by the doomed Witch, Nadarra Sen. 'Before The Sun Goes Down' tells the story of a young girl poisoned in a terrorist chemical lab and Nadarra's valiant struggle to save her. 'The Blind Girl's Sword,' the second novel, is meant to be read after 'Sun' even though it occurs four years earlier. It is the story of Haqqi Ibais' ill-fated relationship with a young seamstress and how his path is set to become a malefic chemical terrorist.

Minus the fantasy...the tales could be from today's headlines.