This novel switches between the Netherlands in the 1940s, where two Dutch resistance fighters fall in love with the same women, and England in the 1990s, where a teenage girl named after one of those fighters puzzles out the meaning of a box of memorabilia left to her by her grandfather.

The bulk of the narration is devoted to the horrors of life under Nazi occupancy, with a fairly predictable plot twist. The themes are very adult matters of jealousy and betrayal, and the novel features mass executions, starvation, drug addiction, and mental illness. Tamar is a grim novel, and should be recommended only to very mature high school readers. ( )

Reviewed by LadyJay for TeensReadToo.com

In 1944, two spies are sent deep within Nazi-occupied Holland. Their mission - to help those involved with the Dutch resistance movement. Both men are trained to send, receive, and translate coded messages. These messages contain valuable information concerning the movements of the Nazi army. Even though these men face death at every turn, they are committed to stopping the evil that is associated with the Nazi regime.

In 1995, Tamar is dealing with the suicide of her grandfather. He has left Tamar a box full of clues that she cannot decipher. She decides that it is one of his elaborate puzzles; one that Tamar may not be able to solve. After enlisting the help of her cousin, Yoyo, Tamar sets off on a journey to discover why her grandfather left her these treasures, and what they mean to her family.

Mal Peet has created a novel that intertwines the story of a young girl's journey of self-discovery and a young soldier's fight to stay alive. It is a beautifully written novel that contains secrets within secrets. Peet leads the reader on an adventure that is both intriguing and frightening. Readers may be left speechless once the truth unfolds.

A definite must-read for those who love historical fiction. ( )

Starts off a little slow, but then builds into a genuinely suspenseful story with a very clever plot twist. An interesting look into the Dutch resistance during WWII. Peet creates a palpable climate of impending doom and threat throughout.

Story of the Dutch resistance to Nazi occupation in WW2 and how the climate of paranoia and suspicion had far-reaching consequences into the future. Told as two separate tales, the first is the story of Tamar and Dart ; two Dutch spies who parachute back into Holland as the war draws to an end. Their mission is to intercept communiques from Britain and reunite all the various guerilla organisations to aid in freeing allied soldiers and also getting food to the civilians ( as the Germans have imposed a blockade that is starving the Dutch people as a response to their efforts to help the Allies). The two spies' task is made harder by the fact that they both fall in love with the same woman - Marijke but only one can have her. The other story is that of Tamar, a 16 year old girl named after one of the spies who is coping with a host of family tragedies and secrets - her grandfather has committed suicide, her father disappeared 5 years ago and her grandmother has Alzheimers. Tamar opens a box left to her by her grandfather which contains documents from WW2 that show he was a spy and it also contains an intriguing map of the river Tamar in England. Together with her Dutch second cousin Yoyo (Johannes) they follow the map to unravel a mystery.
Unfortunately for me, I guessed who was what in about chapter 2 of this novel, which basically made what happened in Holland in WW2 fairly predictable. I also thought that the part about the father didn't quite ring true. That being said, I thought Peet captured the harrowing existence of the Dutch resistance fighters brilliantly and I found that part of the novel absolutely gripping.
p.333 -339. Dart (posing as a doctor) endures a raid on one of his radio posts by the Nazis.

I probably would have given this book 4 stars, for content, but the pace was just so slow. ( )