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A review by quietjenn
Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis
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.