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Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal | 
 enlarge | Author: Mal Peet
Publisher: Candlewick
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
Buy New: $6.48
You Save: $11.51 (64%)
New (37) from $6.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 23838
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.5 x 1.8
ISBN: 0763634883
EAN: 9780763634889
ASIN: 0763634883
Publication Date: January 23, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: new book
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Product Description
Now available - the Carnegie Medal winner comes to the U.S.
When her grandfather dies, Tamar inherits a box containing a series of clues and coded messages. Out of the past, another Tamar emerges, a man involved in the terrifying world of resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Holland half a century before. His story is one of passionate love, jealousy, and tragedy set against the daily fear and casual horror of the Second World War -- and unraveling it is about to transform Tamar’s life forever.
From acclaimed British sensation Mal Peet comes a masterful story of adventure, love, secrets, and betrayal in time of war, both past and present.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Unforgetable! July 20, 2008
The plot grips you and is interwoven throughout the book-- I love it when bits and pieces of stray information all come together in the end. The characters are developed so well that you can understand their pain, even those you'd like to hate. An excellent novel for discussion, and for any age. I read it looking for books to use with high school students, I'm going to recommend it to my reading club (we're all over 50), and I think both groups will enjoy it. The best book I've read this year.
A great book in general but also a great YA book July 14, 2008
I find that the best way to tell if a work of historical fiction is effective is if, after reading the novel, I wind up doing a bit of research on the computer to try and corroborate facts from the book. If the story can weave history and fiction together that well, chances are that aside from being a good piece of historical fiction it is also a good book in general. Such is the case with Mal Peet's latest novel targeted at young adults (though, as usual, this distinction is really a moot point--more on that later).
I don't usually put much stock in subtitles to books. However, with this book, I have to admit that the subtitle really tells you everything you need to know. Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal really is just that. In other words, it's an exciting and suspenseful read with quite a few mysterious twists thrown in along the way (to be fair I should point out that I had guessed one of the major twists about thirty pages in, but that only made me want to read faster to see if I was right and, perhaps, made the ending slightly less shocking--you'll have to see for yourself though).
Tamar is actually two stories. What I am going to call the main story (because it takes up more of the novel) occurs between 1944 and 1945 first in England and later (and mostly) in Holland. World War II is well under way, but as time passes, it becomes clear that the Nazis will not win. The main question, then, becomes whether the Germans will have the chance to leave their occupied countries behind intact or in a state of burning rubble. In order to prevent the latter, England's Special Operations Executive (SOE)--a covert military group--have trained and dispatched operatives to go undercover in the Netherlands and undermine the German authority. These operatives, as far as the government are concerned, have no names being known only by an alias. The two SOE operatives at the center of Tamar are named for rivers in England: Tamar and Dart. Working from in Holland, Tamar's job is to consolidate the resistance movement into a more coherent group. Dart accompanies Tamar as his wireless operator. Many other memorable, and important, characters make appearances here. The last of the main characters are rounded out with Marijke, a young woman who lives with her grandmother on the farm Tamar will call his home while undercover.
The other, smaller, part of the story is set in England. The year is 1995 and the narrator is a fifteen-year-old girl named Tamar--the granddaughter of one of the resistance fighters. Tamar's life seems to be falling into chaos. Her father has disappeared, her grandmother Marijke is ill, and her grandfather William Hyde is dead. Inheriting a mysterious box from her grandfather inspires Tamar to follow his clues to understand his death and, although she doesn't know it yet, to uncover one of her family's oldest secrets as well.
I really liked this book. The story is a real page turner but at the same time Peet also offers a very clear examination of the human condition. World War II is a huge event for, basically, everyone. But as time passes, the immediacy of the War also seems to diminish. One of the great things about Peet's writing is how eloquently he conveys the fear these men and women felt during the War--even as they chose to put their lives at risk to fight for what they thought was right. Nothing is black and white in this novel, even as characters make mistakes and stumble down their roads paved with good intentions, Peets offers them a chance for redemption and, maybe more importantly, forgiveness. That is why, I think, the Carnegie Medal committee gave Tamar its award and, write that the book "ultimately offers a sense of optimism."
By comparison, the 1995 sections fall flat. These parts of the novel, serve as a nice counterpoint to the novel, but don't really feel vital until the end. Similarly, Tamar (the girl) seems rather less likable than her 1944 counterpart (or Dart or Marijke) until the very end of the novel where she proves herself to be a strong, smart young woman.
So, the book is fantastic and you should read it. But now we come to a cataloging issues. This book was first recommended to me by "Amy" a young adult librarian with excellent taste who said the cover didn't do justice to the exciting writing found within (the cover has actually grown on me). Anyway, the book was given to me by a YA librarian, I saw it shelved as a YA book. Then my other friend "Lea" (a children's librarian) read it and told me she was having doubts about it being a bonafide YA novel. Having read the book, Lea's review, and having talked briefly with Amy. I've concluded that it is a YA book although I'm uncomfortable making that distinction because so often people think that means it isn't also an adult book (this one is).
There are a lot of things that make a book fit into the broad YA genre. In a general way it can mean having a teen character, which Tamar does, although as Lea points out in her review--not a teen with a very large role in the narrative. There are two other reasons to classify a book as a YA: it's a book teens will enjoy reading and it's a book that teens should read in that it speaks to their own experiences. As to being a good read, I hope I already made a case for that but I will add the caveat that this is a thick book and will take some time to get through with its smaller print and 400 some odd pages.
Now the only question is does Tamar speak to the teen experience. In one sense it doesn't. Although the WWII characters are very young, I don't think any of them are actually teens. And honestly age never becomes relevant in that part of the book anyway. But on the other hand it does because there is a lot to be learned (about forgiveness among other things) from the story and the characters and who better to learn than teens?
 War, Love, Lies, and Spies! June 29, 2008
::ABOUT::
1/2 the novel takes place during WW2 in Holland, the other have takes place in present time London. The basis is a 15yr old girl trying to reconstruct her grandfathers life. He left her behind a box filled with clues/relics of the war. She goes on a road trip down the Tamar river, which she is named after, searching for the meaning of it all. Meanwhile the book is moving through the grandfathers station in the war and the trials and tribulations of the Holland resistance.
::REVIEW::
This book can be slow and confusing but it does all come together. I think a quickening of pace and more excitement would have much improved the novel. I do like the WW2 Europe time-frame, it's such a great emotion filled era and has been the backdrop to many great movies & novels. Perhaps as a movie, it would be even better. I liked that you did feel like you learned things in the novel, and came away from the book with yet another view of the war and the difficulties of that time. Recommended ages 16 and up.
Wonderful suspense June 25, 2008
Don't worry that the narrator is a young girl. She's deep and interesting and mature. This story unfolds beautifully: romantically terrifyingly set mostly behind the German lines in WWII. The past, the present. Secrets, hints, breathtaking escapades, courage, fear...it's all there.
This is also a coming of age story and it is deftly woven into the fabric of the story from the past and has enough momentum to take your breath away.
Twists and turns enough to satisfy and artfully done rather than used as a way to simply move the plot.
A really, really good read...left me delighted!
 Tamar April 17, 2008
It is not often that one stumbles across a remarkable novel in the young adult section. In today's world of youth fiction, the mind is smattered with false images of relationships and popularity. This is why it is such a miracle to find a book of substance. Tamar is the second young adult novel by Mal Peet. This work of historical fiction takes place during World War II, in Nazi occupied Holland. As two interlocking stories unfold, any reader can discover the horrors and triumphs of the war with the impact of emotional insight. From the beginning of the tale, it is clear that Mal Peet wishes to inspire strength and optimism in his readers. The detailed descriptions and care that Peet gives to each character also indicates the amount of effort the author put in to make each character believable and pure. Mal Peet is both an author and an illustrator of children's books. He did not begin writing children's novels, however, until he had children of his own. This fact has greatly impacted his writing style. The care put into each character is similar to the love a parent gives to a child. Every descriptive word provides the reader the tools to love the character as deeply as the author does himself. By the end of the novel, it is heartbreaking to leave the world so brilliantly spun by Peet. Tension runs high in the final chapters, when a reader travels a rollercoaster of emotions. When the last word has been read and the book closed, the remaining effect is a sense of hope. Tamar has received high praise and many top literary honors such as the Carnegie Medal. Critics all agree that the character and story development make the story highly enjoyable. The only major complaint to be made is that the book could not be any longer! Tamar, the story of love, espionage and betrayal should become a welcome occupant of bookshelves everywhere.
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