Book Club - JUNE - Tamar by Mal Peet

Ø Is all fair in love and war? How do you feel about William Hyde at the end of the book?
Ø Discuss how war affects people - in Tamar, it says that people would have killed each other for a chicken because they were starving - but also the main characters are brought together through love during the war. How does war affect the behavior of the older characters in the story?
Ø Can war ever be justified?
Ø At some point Tamar realizes that as well as being an individual, she is part of a human continuum. What does this mean to you?
Ø The author very clearly and directly connects that past to the present. Why do you think he does this? Do you think he’s trying to share a message with the reader?
Ø How do you think you would have felt having to live through the war? Either in Nazi occupied Holland or in Liverpool during the Blitz?
Ø What did you like best about this story? The adventure? The mystery? The romance?
Ø How do you think the story would have been different if it had been told from a single perspective? How do you think it would have impacted how you read it?
Ø Why did Tamar’s grandfather commit suicide? How do you think the book would have been different if he hadn’t? Why didn’t he choose to tell Tamar the story himself?
Ø Why did Tamar’s dad leave? Do you think he would have reached out to Tamar if she hadn’t gotten to him first? Why was he the first to approach her once she was on her journey?
Ø “I still call him ‘Grandad’.” How do you think you would have reacted in Tamar’s place?

Food? They had Christmas pudding at one point in the story during the war, but I've eaten Christmas pudding; trust me, you don't want it. Other suggestions?