From Publishers Weekly
After his mother and younger sister are killed in a terrorist bombing in their native Belfast, Declan joins the Holy Terrors, a youth gang modeled after the IRA. When the authorities catch up with him, Declan is sent--very much against his will--to a small town in British Columbia, to live with his father's brother Matthew and his family. Angry, embittered and determined to return to Ireland as soon as possible, Declan has little affection for his gentle uncle, whom he considers a "meddling, do-good fixer" and a cowardly runaway. He himself undertakes several daring escapes. Gradually, however, the tranquility of his new home leads Declan to reexamine his notions of courage and heroism. Flashbacks give a bitter taste of the violence that forms a part of everyday life in Belfast and of Declan's impassioned fury. As the narrative moves to its easily anticipated happy ending, however, the plot starts seeming forced. Burdened by the novel's overaccentuated messages of pacifism, characterization suffers: Matthew and his wife, for instance, are so sweet-natured that they don't seem entirely real. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-After his mother and sister were killed in a bombing incident, 13-year-old Declan Doyle took to the streets of Belfast with a gang called the Holy Terrors. His pre-IRA training is now cut short when he is "torn away from his native soil" and sent to live with his deceased father's brother in western Canada. Driven by dreams of revenge, the boy runs away, planning to return home to Ireland. Unable to escape, he makes a deal to stay with his relatives in their idyllic Vancouver fishing village for three months. Adjusting to a new country and a new family, yet still nursing his hatred of everything British, Declan is befriended by his cousins and a classmate. Finally, he is comes to understand the futility of the violence in his homeland and realizes how attached to his new life he has become. Fast-paced action opens the novel and immediately engages readers. Contemporary language and vivid description add to the sense of reality and enhance the easily readable style. Heneghan avoids arguments on the rights or wrongs of the Irish conflict, focusing instead on the human issues: families destroyed and lives torn apart by terrorist warfare. A great title to booktalk.
Gail Richmond, San Diego Unified Schools, CACopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.
