Tamar

Book: Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal
Author: Mal Peet
Audience: Teen and Adult
In a Nutshell: subtitle pretty much sums it up

If you liked The Book Thief, here's another really excellent WWII story that covers all sorts of time periods, several characters, and could really be either a teen or an adult book. And hey, it won the Carnegie Medal in England, so it must not suck. ;)

Tamar is reeling from the mysterious death of her grandfather, the man who named her. When she opens a box he left for her, she discovers even more mystery about his and her grandmother's life, both in the present and when they were part of the Dutch resistance during World War II. Unraveling the mystery takes her on a journey up the Tamar River to a surprising revelation at the end- or the beginning.

Interspersed with Tamar's story is the tale of two Dutch men, code-named Tamar and Dart, who were trained in England for covert operations against the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands. It was the winter of 1944, known as the "Hunger Winter," when the weather was harsh and the Nazis were starving the will to fight out of the resistant occupied people. Tamar was charged with the task of uniting the fractious Dutch resistance, and Dart was his WO, or wireless operator. Like many great stories of war and betrayal, it all comes down to a woman: the beautiful country girl Marijke, with whom Tamar had a semi-secret relationship on his last mission.

Both the 1995 and 1944 stories are compelling and interesting, and the language is evocative without drawing undue attention to itself. Since the Printz Award isn't limited to American authors (Peet is British), I put this on my Printz short list. Really excellent stuff.