[bksvol-discuss] A New Book Being Added

I just finished proofreading Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis that was scanned
by Jamie Yates and I absolutely loved the book! Sometimes you proof a book
just to get it done and in the collection, but most of the times I like to
pick one out that I know I'm going to enjoy reading.  I can understand why
Jamie enjoyed it as much as she did. So did I!

The story is told from two different points of view in two different time
periods. It starts out with a very unconventional grandmother who dresses
and acts like a thirtysomething-year-old who is going across country from
California to a small town in Alabama for a family reunion. She is taking
her two teenage granddaughters who absolutely do not want to go, but are
forced by their parents. This is going to absolutely destroy their summer!

The chapters basically alternate between telling the story from the present
as the three of them travel across country, and also from the point of view
of the grandmother, Mare, who grew up in a very small town in rural Alabama
who left home under aged to join the WACs in WWII. Oh, did I forget to
mention that the characters are African-Americans?

Coming from a small town in Mississippi, I can relate very easily to Mare's
life in Alabama, even though that was much longer ago than when I was
around. Even at that, some of the very small towns change very slowly down
here. I am glad to say that it is better, but it is still very far from what
it should be. Unfortunately, I know that during our lifetime we will not see
race relations come anywhere near to what they should be.

The best lesson from the book is the two granddaughters learning to
appreciate what they have today by looking at how difficult it was for their
grandmother. I think we can all learn that lesson if we have the time to
spend with our grandparents. Unfortunately, mine have long passed away, but
I think about them often and I remember the stories they told me about how
things were back to the beginning of the 20th century. I don't ever want to
forget how difficult those days were, but also how much more happy and
content the people that lived back then were as a family. Our values have
gotten way out of line.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

-- Doug

(Awaiting confirmation that it has been approved and placed in the
collection.)

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