Torn Away: A Novel

"torn away" is a grat book which gives the reader a realistic insight in the Irish Question and its consequences which they certainly have on young kids like Declan. Though the story seemed to be a bit predictable from up to the middle (it was clear that he stays in Canada, otherwise Heneghan would have failed his moral),the autor achieves maintaining the tension until the happy end. Declan is torn between two worlds:on the one hand violence,death,revenge and cruelty in Northern Ireland and on the other hand the peaceful Canadian countryside symbolizing the love of his family.The development that he has to go through impressed me very much: at the beginning he felt so contemptuous, full of hate and revenge and after a while he began to identify with his relatives and their way of living. It`s precious to read it!!!

To be torn is to be ripped, severed, shredded, or the surface of an object can be torn, like jeans for instance. Declan was torn away physically when he was taken away from Ireland. His wrists were torn from the cruelties of the metallic handcuffs, just as his mind was torn from the separation, the loss, and the sudden gain of a new family. They say that if a starving man eats a meal after not eating in days, he will die. I believe that almost the same thing happened to Declan when he came to Otter Harbor. He was overcome with the love they granted him. But he was not going to except their " Snotty English Charity" and perhaps because of this he would die of loneliness. After moving to Otter Harbor, Declan slowly but surely began to meliorate. Yet buried deep inside of himself he was torn. In a way no one could explain. He was lost inside of himself trying to find his family and friends, the way things were before their deaths. Alas, they were torn so far apart. There would be no chance of finding them. Heaven and earth are too very different places. To move on would be hard, to stay in place would be to difficult. To go behind, into the past, impossible. Declan was torn in many ways, however, to be torn can be to be mended.

Torn away is a wonderful book full of suprise, excitement, and suspence. I couldnot put the book down. Although it was quite obvious what would happen at the end I was still thrilled to find out what this exciting character would do.

For any of you who've read Shades of Gray, it's similar to that book. Declan is someone that is easy for kids to relate to. He's so full of hatred, and he doesn't know what to do with it. Naturally, he turned it toward the source. Unexpected twists hold your attention. The end is predictable, but over all it's a good story line. It's easy to read, but I recommend it for 13 and up.

I've read the English book with German 14 -15-year-olds, whose majority liked it because, I think, they could very much sympathize with Declan who has had to suffer so much from the results of the Northern Irish troubles, but slowly comes to terms with his new life in Canada. The idea of being "healed" by some elements of nature in the Pacific Northwest is pleasing and very believable, esp. for someone who knows this part of the world. One problem that I see is that in young readers the idea of an Ireland is created that only consists of bombing and killing.