'The Yellow Birds'

What was your Book of 2012? Fill in our survey here - we'll be blogging responses leading up to Christmas.

@gutterbookshop chose The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers, winner of the Guardian First Book Award recently (hear him discuss the novel on a podcast here):

I read this over the Summer and was blown away by the raw honesty of Powers' writing. An unflinching portrayal of what young soldiers go through in modern warfare and the psychological effects it has on them when they return to 'normality', this is a stunning piece of writing that stays with you long after you've finished reading it.