Blog Tour/Review: The Tulip Resistance by Lynne Allen

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The Tulip Resistance, by Lynne Allen
2015, 256p, Clean Historical Fiction
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the publisher for an honest review



Pulled into a war she doesn’t understand, Marieka Cordoven is just a Dutch girl who wouldn’t dare resist the Germans. But helping a wounded German soldier—a defector—changes her mind about everything. This tense historical drama delves into the intricacies of the Dutch resistance, its grit to defy orders, and its plan to do what’s right.

Holland, 1940. Marieka Cordoven, age 14, delivers milk to some neighbors, and butter and eggs to Mr. Buskirk, the baker. Baastian Cordoven's best friend, Abram, is Jewish. There were stories that Germany was invading Poland but the Dutch government declared their neutrality so surely they were safe, right?

A few months later, German soldiers arrive in town. At first, they seem harmless, but Lieutenant Schmidt starts causing trouble for many people. When the Jews start disappearing, the Cordoven's decide to hide Abram until the resistance can help him get out of the country.

The resistance is led by Anton, a man in his early twenties. We first meet him when he's saving his brother Dedriek from German headquarters. They learn that there is a traitor among them and need to figure out who it is. There are quite a few of them and sometimes I got them a little mixed up, but it all made sense in the end.

Marieka starts helping the resistance in small ways and then becomes heavily involved. There were times that I held my breath because I knew she'd be caught and in big trouble with the Germans. The troublemaker, Lieutenant Schmidt, was taken with her and watched her carefully, which was creepy at times.

There were lots of characters, stories and connections. I enjoyed reading about them and seeing them come together in the end. I liked most of the characters. The Cordoven's hid quite a few people and as they got to know each other, they realized that they weren't enemies after all. This book also showed that not all of the Germans were bad. There were some that didn't agree with what was happening while others were looking for opportunities to get higher promotions and privileges. They also wanted to exert their authority over the Dutch people and take whatever they felt entitled to.

Once the characters were introduced, the action picked up and it was hard to put down. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger but I read on the author's Facebook page that she is working on a sequel, which I am definitely interested in reading! I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys historical WWII fiction.

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Lynne Allen grew up in Othello, Washington. She met her husband at Ricks College and they were married in the Idaho Falls Temple. She now lives in Cache Valley, Utah, and has six children. After 25 years of designing cakes professionally, she is now retired and works in the temple. Lynne loves art, drawing, tole painting, oil painting, pastels, sewing quilts, clothes, gardening, and learning anything and everything she can.

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