Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain

Billy Lynn takes place over the course of one football game, featuring a halftime show to honor Bravo Squad, whose bravery in Iraq was captured on tape by an embedded Fox News team. But while the members of Bravo are constantly being hailed as heroes, it’s clear that they are merely puppets. President Bush has sent the squadron on a two-week “Victory Tour” as a morale and PR booster for the war, and the quiet secret that no one outside of the unit seems to realize is that they’re going back to Iraq immediately afterward. People want to shake their hands, pat them on the back, but no one is really interested in the soldiers themselves.