Blood of the Donnellys.

Deborah Dowson is a Canaadian children’s librarian in North Wales,
Pennsylvania.

Jason is furious with his family for moving from Toronto to the tiny town of Lucan, where his grandparent’s live. He also feels guilty for becoming involved with vandals and being sentenced to 30 hours of community service at the Lucan Museum, helping his grandfather. Yet Jason’s negative attitude and troubling behaviour follow him to Lucan, where a criminal gang blackmails him into helping them sell drugs. Jason’s fear and confusion are heightened by the appearance of a ghost and knowing that this gang parallels the gang that murdered the Donnelly family in 1880. Jason redeems himself by co-operating with the police, which satisfies the ghost and releases some of his own guilt and anger.

Young adults who are fascinated by the Donnelly’s may be drawn to this title, but this is not a work of historical fiction. The Donnelly’s history forms the backdrop to the story of a 15-year-old who encounters a gang and a ghost in present day Lucan. Unfortunately, as a realistic character, Jason falls short. His vocabulary is very formal and doesn’t reflect the language of a contemporary troubled teen. He uses expressions such as “neatly coiffured,” “to my dismay,” and “jangled nerves.” The source of his troubled behaviour is also doubtful, especially since he has the most loving and supportive family imaginable. As a book of realistic fiction this story doesn’t ring true, though it may pique the reader’s interest in finding out more about the Donnellys.

Not a first choice purchase.