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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
carolynf's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes YA historical fiction books can feel artificial. This book does a great job of integrating the history into the story rather than having characters suddenly start spewing paragraphs of one fact after another. Mare (like a female horse) is Octavia's grandmother's first name. She and her sister have been tasked with spending their summer vacation riding with Mare from California to Alabama, for a family reunion. They are less than pleased about this, and a bit too much of the book consists of the girls being spoiled and bitchy, especially Octavia's older sister. Mare has apparently never told them a thing about her past, and neither has their father, and so the roadtrip becomes an opportunity to hear all about it. The chapters alternate between the present day and the early 1940s, with the 40s part told in first person and in the present tense.
Mare grew up in Alabama, better off than a lot of black folks but still dealing with an outdoor privy and having to share her bed with her sister and her coat with her mom. Segregation is described as a fact of life, and there is an early incident on a bus that is given as a sign of the times. A separate incident causes Mare to feel like she has to leave home and she joins up with the Women's Army Corp. She gets a bus ticket to Iowa and with a lot of other girls gets trained up to be support staff - clerking, typing, filing. But since it is the army, she still has to get up at 5:30, peel potatoes, march with a heavy pack, make her bed properly, learn about tear gas and enemy planes, etc. She and her fellow WACs form close friendships, mostly, and make it over to Europe around 1944.
While the WACs are taught in high school curriculum it is just as an aside ("women did war stuff too") and doesn't go into detail about their responsibilities. High school curriculum certainly doesn't mention that women of color were WACs as well. When they are in Europe, they run in to some African American soldiers and so their experience gets told indirectly too, particularly the welcome they receive from Europe accompanied by the harassment from white American soldiers. It is a great introduction to an ignored part of American history.
Mare grew up in Alabama, better off than a lot of black folks but still dealing with an outdoor privy and having to share her bed with her sister and her coat with her mom. Segregation is described as a fact of life, and there is an early incident on a bus that is given as a sign of the times. A separate incident causes Mare to feel like she has to leave home and she joins up with the Women's Army Corp. She gets a bus ticket to Iowa and with a lot of other girls gets trained up to be support staff - clerking, typing, filing. But since it is the army, she still has to get up at 5:30, peel potatoes, march with a heavy pack, make her bed properly, learn about tear gas and enemy planes, etc. She and her fellow WACs form close friendships, mostly, and make it over to Europe around 1944.
While the WACs are taught in high school curriculum it is just as an aside ("women did war stuff too") and doesn't go into detail about their responsibilities. High school curriculum certainly doesn't mention that women of color were WACs as well. When they are in Europe, they run in to some African American soldiers and so their experience gets told indirectly too, particularly the welcome they receive from Europe accompanied by the harassment from white American soldiers. It is a great introduction to an ignored part of American history.
gheron's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
jessalynn_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Like [b:Flygirl|4419501|Flygirl|Sherri L. Smith|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HWW85PU6L._SL75_.jpg|4467667], this is a WWII story that hasn't already been told a million times, covering a piece of history that I didn't know existed. Stories of female soldiers are few enough without the added aspect of race. A modern-day story line introduces us to Mare through her grand-daughters, adding an appealing and often funny perspective to the history, which is never dry. This would make a great addition to a WWII reading list, but it's also appealing in its own right, with compelling characters and a brisk pace.
quietjenn's review against another edition
3.0
There's lots I really enjoyed about this novel of two girls taking a road trip from California to Alabama with their grandmother, the titular Mare. And most of it centers on Mare herself - as the trip proceeds, she begins to tell the girls bits of her life story, leading up to when she ran away from home at seventeen to join the W.A.C. The book alternates between the contemporary/road trip action and historical scenes from Mare's life during World War II.
Without question, the historical story is the best bits of the book. Mare's story is vivid and well-done and just really super interesting. If the book were just this part fleshed out, I'm pretty sure it would've risen a lot higher in my estimation, because frankly I just wanted lots more of her - not just the wartime experiences, but some post-war life too.
In contrast, the contemporary bits, narrated by granddaughter Octavia, just fall flat. It's hard to get a real sense of their characters - they're pretty generic and there's really very little that distinguishes them or feels real and/or noteworthy. They're basically a vehicle for Mare's story and even the contemporary Mare runs awfully close to kooky-grandma-character territory. It's not bad, per se, just really ho-hum and, unfortunately, it brings down the book as a whole and prevents me from being unequivocally enthusiastic.
That being said, I really liked it overall and historical Mare I loved. Davis has definitely caught my attention and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
Without question, the historical story is the best bits of the book. Mare's story is vivid and well-done and just really super interesting. If the book were just this part fleshed out, I'm pretty sure it would've risen a lot higher in my estimation, because frankly I just wanted lots more of her - not just the wartime experiences, but some post-war life too.
In contrast, the contemporary bits, narrated by granddaughter Octavia, just fall flat. It's hard to get a real sense of their characters - they're pretty generic and there's really very little that distinguishes them or feels real and/or noteworthy. They're basically a vehicle for Mare's story and even the contemporary Mare runs awfully close to kooky-grandma-character territory. It's not bad, per se, just really ho-hum and, unfortunately, it brings down the book as a whole and prevents me from being unequivocally enthusiastic.
That being said, I really liked it overall and historical Mare I loved. Davis has definitely caught my attention and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
3.0
So, more like 2.75. I couldn't get engaged with it as I wished but if I were a teen, I'd have loved it. I felt with this one like I did with Laurie Halse Anderson's "Chains" -- not enough patience as an adult but one in which I'd be utterly captivated when I was younger.
That said, I felt Mare's narrative was SO much more interesting than the kids. I also found a few weird editing issues while reading - I'd see missing articles here and there (pressed to find one now, I can't!). Nothing big but enough to notice. An interesting look at how black females played a role in World War II and the era between the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights movement. Also a nice shout out to Claudette Colvin, which was very cool to read after reading Hoose's "Twice Toward Justice."
That said, I felt Mare's narrative was SO much more interesting than the kids. I also found a few weird editing issues while reading - I'd see missing articles here and there (pressed to find one now, I can't!). Nothing big but enough to notice. An interesting look at how black females played a role in World War II and the era between the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights movement. Also a nice shout out to Claudette Colvin, which was very cool to read after reading Hoose's "Twice Toward Justice."
nichollinlove's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the dual timeline that shows how Mare came to be. I really haven't read anything about the WAC and really didn't know they existed (I mean of course they did but when have you ever heard about them?). They were a part of that "Greatest Generation" that is often represented by men.
bethanymiller415's review against another edition
4.0
Tali and Octavia are not excited to spend their summer on a cross country road trip with their slow driving, cigarette smoking grandmother Mare. To ease the boredom of hour after hour in the car, Mare tells the girls about being a part of the Women's Army during World War II. As the novel progresses, the girls are more and more drawn into Mare's story, and they begin to realize that there is more to Mare than they ever could have imagined. I liked that the characters in this book are very round and believable having both good and bad personality traits. Great characters, good story, and I actually learned a few things. Very good historical fiction.