A Dutch resistance fighter trained by a branch of the British Secret Services, after surviving the starving winter of 1944-45 in Holland, moves to England and marries. They raise their son, and watch their granddaughter, Tamar, grow. At 15, Tamar uses her grandfather’s maps for a road trip.

Both this story and the author’s way of writing it were haunting. Perfectly paced, characterizations well nuanced, setting written with a strong sense of place, showing the awfulness of war, yet without too much graphic horror, this is a very well written YA book that mature audiences can sink their teeth into, as well.

Highly recommended. ( )

Tamar by Mal Peet is a vividly told story that jumps back and forth from WW II to the present. In 1944 two soldiers are dropped into Holland to help organize the Resistance while in 1995 a young woman launches her search to reveal family secrets from the strange clues in a shoebox left for her by her grandfather.

This is a story of love, jealousy and betrayal. I found the love triangle a bit of a stretch, but the details about Holland during this last year of World War II was fascinating. I am not usually a fan of books that follow two timelines but I thought this plot device worked well here and I found myself totally drawn into both stories. The “twist” at the end of the book was certainly no surprise but overall I found this book highly readable.

Tamar is classified as a YA book but I would say it’s definitely for 14+ as the author does not steer away from the brutality of the war. Tamar is a well constructed, multi-layered story that I enjoyed. ( )

This book ties two time periods together in a thrilling story of generations. With an excess of dramatic irony, I was on the edge of my seat for the whole story. The beginning is a bit jerky because the author throws you into the middle of WWII. As the story unfolds, we are transported forward in time to a teenage girl with her own mystery to solve. As the title says: espionage, passion, and betrayal en-capture the audience until the very end. ( )

This book grabbed me from the start and turned out to be an intense read. "Tamar" started strongly, slowed in the middle and gathered pace near the end, although the ending was rather clumsy. It is listed as a YA novel, but I can't imagine it appealing to many young people. The plot is too dark and heavy, and two of the main characters are adult men, English soldiers helping the Dutch resistance. The only teenage character is Tamar, and her narrative is the weakest part of the book.

Throughout the book, Peet gives a bleak insight into life in Holland during the Nazi occupation. It is full of historical detail showing the daily struggles to survive, the risks many individuals took and the physical, mental and emotional turmoil that it had on ordinary people - bringing out the best and worst of human nature, and it is left to the reader to decide who deserves forgiveness. I can see this book being made into a movie one day.
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I read this book back in '07/08, because I (luckily) lived next door to Mal Peet and he gave me a copy a couple of days after publishing and I absolutely loved it.

It is a beautiful story of love, betrayal and life of two soldiers during WWII.

I'd give it a shot if I were you. ( )