Saturday, April 11, 2009

Tamar (Book Awards Challenge II #9 of 10)

The subtitle of Mal Peet's Carnegie Medal winning novel is: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal. And it sure does contain all three of these. Tamar switches between 1995 and 1944. The modern scenes centered on a fifteen year old girl named Tamr and the World War II scenes, Tamar is also a major figure...only this Tamar is a spy for the Allied Forces who is living in Holland. When Tamar's grandfather (this would be the female Tamar) dies, he gives her a box containing several items which make very little sense to her. As she deciphers the meaning of the puzzle left by her grandpa, his story is also told.

I did enjoy this book but I didn't tear through it like I do with most of my books. It seems as if the World War II books I've been reading lately are from so many different angles and I love that. It is certainly the first story I've read about an Allied spy in an occupied country. There is a lovely romance and both the courage and brutality of war are shown in equal measure.

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