Tamar by Mal Peet

Tamar by Mal Peet

I just finished reading the historical fiction novel Tamar.  The author of Tamar is Mal Peet.   Peet is best known for writing young-adult fiction books such as Keeper, The Penalty, and Exposure.  Peet is somewhat suited to write a tumultuous story such as Tamar because his family was also not emotionally stable like the characters of Tamar.

In 1945, two men named Tamar and Dart are inside World War II Holland.  They are trying to free Holland from its Nazi oppressors. Tamar gives readers an inside look on the physical and emotional turmoil that millions of men and women had to bear during World War II.   Tamar also describes the journey of a young girl also named Tamar who tries to put together the pieces of her grandfather’s past.   Armed with only the clues her grandfather leaves behind, Tamar has to try to put the pieces of her grandfather’s elaborate puzzle together or risk never knowing her grandfather’s last message. 

The book was written at a pace where at first is was slow and you didn’t care if you finished it, but as the plot advanced, the pace quickened to the point where at the end you couldn’t put it down.  The beginning set the scene with the characters and gave a lot of elaborate explanations.   The scene setting made the book boring but once the scene was set, the action started to happen and the book became interesting.   

One great thing about the book is the historical background it integrates into the plot.  The characters fit the time period and actual events such as the Rauter shooting are blended in to give a backbone to the plot.  Another great thing about Tamar is that the people are relatable even though they are from a different time period.  Their circumstances obviously make them a lot different from people in times of peace, but their core emotions such as anger, fear, passions, and distrust make them seem real.  The characters are not just empty figures that perform actions.  The book actually takes us into the thoughts of the people so that we can better understand their actions. 

I would give Tamar two and a half stars out of five because there were several good parts of the book, but it was difficult to understand at times.  If the person I am recommending a book to has a good deal of patience and a pretty high level of reading comprehension, I might recommend this book to them. The reason I would recommend it is because it has a good historical base that makes it interesting and the mystery of Tamar’s grandfather is very interesting.  If I were trying to recommend a book to a person who was just looking for a book to casually read and not think very hard about, this wouldn’t be a book I would recommend.   The reason I wouldn’t recommend this book to a casual reader is because it has a lot of plot twists and details that a reader has to remember for the book to make sense and a casual reader may not be able to make much sense of the book. 

Genre:  Historical Fiction, WWII

Reviewed by:  Tanner Smith

Teacher:  Mara Pufko