Torn Away

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

After his father is shot and his mother and sister are killed in a bomb
blast, 13-year-old Declan Doyle joins Belfast’s Holy Terrors, a
youthful Catholic gang determined to wreak the utmost damage on the
hated English and their Irish Protestant allies. The British finally
capture Declan and send him to live with his uncle’s family in Otter
Harbour north of Vancouver. Infuriated at being “torn away” from his
“native land,” Declan vows, “I’ll come back.”

Declan initially rejects his new family’s welcome, but eventually he
and his uncle come to an agreement: he will attend school and settle
into life with the family for three months until after Christmas when,
if he still insists on returning to Ireland, Uncle Matthew will buy him
the ticket. Determined not to emulate his aunt and uncle (“meddling
do-good fixers”), Declan fights his growing sense of comfort and
peace. His memories of firebombs and guns contrast sharply with the
beauty and tranquillity of Otter Harbour and the warmth and acceptance
of his new community. In spite of surprising revelations about his
father’s death and the pleading of the family, Declan insists he must
return to Ireland. Not until he is on the aircraft does clarity
“trickle through, the way water does before the dam breaks.”

The fast-paced, action-intense prose of the first chapters will hook
young readers, especially boys. Once Declan embarks on his new life, the
pace slows and the outcome becomes predictable. Heneghan has Matthew
ponderously repeat the anti-violence theme: “killing solves
nothing,” “blood begets more blood,” “violence isn’t the
answer.” Nevertheless, Declan is an appealing and sympathetic
character. His struggle to reconcile his vow of vengeance with the
serenity of his new environment, his developing relationships, and the
unconditional love extended by his new family make for a readable and
engaging story. Recommended.