Mare's War

Mare's War
By Tanita S. Davis
Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. 341 pgs. Young Adult

Octavia and Tali, teenage sisters, are not excited about their plans for the summer: driving across the country from California to Alabama with their grandmother for a family reunion. Their sports-car-driving, high-heel-wearing grandmother, Mare, is unpredictable, and not at all like the average grandmother. However, as they travel across the country, making stops at random roadside attractions, Mare tells the girls about her life as a teenager, when she ran away from home and her job cleaning houses to try to make a better life for herself and her younger sister.

A 2009 Coretta Scott King Honor book, this book combines the best of historical fiction and combines it with spunky, contemporary characters. The look at life in the south during the 1940s, the struggle that Mare faced in the army during and afterward due to continued segregation are all portrayed with a deep respect for those who struggled to find their place in the world. A look at race relations and an exploration of family relationships, this book is as informative as it is entertaining.

AE