Torn Away

Anne Hutchings is a teacher-librarian in Ajax, Ontario.

When 13-year-old Declan Doyle is orphaned in a Belfast bomb incident, he
joins the Holy Terrors, a pre-IRA gang. Before long, though, he is
“torn away from his native soil” and forced to move to British
Columbia to live with his father’s brother. Declan runs away,
intending to return to Ireland to get even with those responsible for
the deaths of his parents and sister. Unsuccessful in his attempts to
escape, he makes a deal with his uncle to stay for three months. With
the help of his new family and a classmate, Declan begins to realize the
futility of the violence in Ireland and eventually admits how attached
he has become to his new home.

James Heneghan makes no judgments about the rights or wrongs of the
Irish conflict, focusing instead on its effects on the people involved.
His characters are real and his descriptions vivid, making this
fast-paced novel one that is sure to appeal to students in Grade 7 and
up. Highly recommended.