Currently reading
The 5th Wave
14
The Light Between Oceans: A Novel
The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It
Clockwork Princess
The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
Love Medicine
Love Medicine: Newly Revised Edition
Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal
This was Michael's book report selection for a novel about World War II. The book switches back and forth between the present and 1945. The main character, a teenage girl, Tamar, is shaken by the apparent suicide of her grandfather. He was a member of the Dutch resistance during the war and had the code name, Tamar. The story is a bit of a mystery as Tamar tries to learn about why her grandfather killed himself. The WWII part of the story is loosely based on the Dutch resistance at the end of the war. Tamar is one of the organizers of the Dutch resistance and he and his partner Dart send regular coded messages to England to coordinate drop shipments of food and supplies, as well as alert the English about the German actions in the Netherlands. The book is based on a true story of how one cell in the Dutch resistance decided to create a road block to steal a truckload of pork. Instead, they end up stopping the staff car of General Hans Rauter, the highest ranking Nazi in the Netherlands. All of the Germans, except for Rauter are killed and Rauter is seriously injured. In retribution, Rauter orders the public execution of hundreds of Dutch men and boys. This story was very well written and a perfect selection of WWII fiction. It included espionage, a bit of a love story, a mystery, and very realistic descriptions of a country occupied by the enemy. I definitely would recommend this for late middle school or high school students (it was a little bit old for my 6th grader).
