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Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis - Review


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Octavia and Tali are being forced to take a cross-country road trip with their grandmother called Mare to a family reunion. Mare doesn't look or act anything like what you would expect of a grandmother, not by a long shot. For one thing, she drives a red sports car and wears stilettos. The two teens learn that there's a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to their grandmother. They realize that she was once a willful teen who fled from her less-than-perfect home to join the African American battalion of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II.

I heard about this book a couple of weeks ago and decided I needed to read it. I've always been interested in women in WWII, but I hadn't had the chance to read much about African-American women doing their part. Mare's War is definitely a good place to start if you're looking for a YA fiction novel on the topic. The novel is told in alternating "then" and "now" chapters - then being Mare's story of growing up and joining the war effort, and now being the cross-country car trip with Mare, Octavia, and Tali.

As for the now segments, the characterizations of Mare, Tali, and Octavia are fantastic. I particularly enjoyed seeing the differences in mindset between Mare and Tali and seeing all three of them get closer through storytelling. As much as I liked the portion of the story set in the present day, I found myself most interested in Mare's story of WWII. Like I mentioned before, though, I've always been interested in the topic of women in WWII. After finishing this novel, I wouldn't say no to it even if it just featured Mare's past.

Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis is a must-read if you're interested in women's efforts during World War II, especially in learning more about women-of-color.


I read this novel on August 4, 2015 and my review is also on Goodreads.

Comments

  1. Didn't know about this aspect of history and the war. Sounds fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Didn't know about this aspect of history and the war. Sounds fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've always found myself interested in this time period.

      Delete

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