Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis
Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC -- School Library Journal, 7/20/2009
DAVIS, Tanita S. Mare’s War. unpaged. Knopf/Borzoi. 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85714-0; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95714-7. LC number unavailable.
Gr 7-10–On a parent-mandated cross-country road trip with Mare, their unpredictable grandmother, 15-year-old Octavia and 17-year-old Tali make the transformation from complaining, self-absorbed teens to observant, supportive family members. Mare promises not to smoke if the sisters promise not to use earphones on their way to a family reunion. And then she begins to tell her life story. As the miles pass from California across the southern states, the girls become intrigued with memories of Mare’s harsh childhood of domestic work and her struggle to protect herself and younger sister from their widowed mother’s lecherous boyfriend. Mare’s account of her war years is full of historical detail and lively personal anecdotes about the training, treatment, duties, and social life in her African-American regiment of the Women’s Army Corps both on assignment in the U.S. and in the European Theater during 1944 and 1945. Octavia and Tali write postcards home to family and friends revealing their adolescent reactions to what they see and hear. Their bickering subsides as they begin to understand the experiences, people, and decisions that shaped their grandmother and the family bond they all share. Told in alternating chapters of "Then" and "Now," this contemporary intergenerational story resounds with mutual exasperation, criticism, discovery, and humor. Octavia and Tali are believable and at times devious as they try to escape Mare’s scrutiny. A steady travelogue, realistic banter, memorable characters, and moments of tension, insight, and understanding make this an appealing selection.
