All the Walls of Belfast

 

Shirley J.      Young Adult Fiction          Belfast Northern Ireland, Past & Present Attitudes and Skirmishes

All the Walls of Belfast by Sarah Carlson    272 pages

Good story about an Irish-American girl named Fionna, who was born in Belfast but whose mother absconded with when she was 2 years old to move to the United States.  It is now 14 years later and after little or no communication her father writes to say he wants very much to be in Fionna's life (be careful what you wish for, Pop).   Fionna planned to work all summer to save up for a field study she would love to take that would make her a shoo in for her dream to go to M.I.T.   Long story short, Fionna ends up going to see her Da and her two step-brothers none of whom she remembers.  Her family life is sort of a mystery.   She is 16 now and it has always been her Ma and her without much chatter about what went before, till now that is.   Now all of a sudden she finds out she has step brothers and why is there so little conversation about her Da?   She decides to take a short visit, then come home, still work toward that field study then M.I.T. here she comes.   The best laid plans.   Northern Ireland still seems to be fighting the fight and holding grudges and that peace wall designed to separate the Irish Catholics from the Protestants who consider themselves British citizens only seems to spur more skirmishes with signs, slogans, posters, etc. for each sides point of view posted on their side of the wall.  There are things tossed over the wall, teenagers sneaking over and urinating and/or wreaking general destruction and desecration of the other sides' ideals.   Fionna finds this a bit of a culture shock but thinks it could be sorted out with tolerance.  She comes in to her father's house on the Catholic side of the wall,  with total attitude and disrespects him every chance she gets.   She is a hateful thing and needs to be put in her place but her father carries her like a princess and gives in to her all along the way.   He does his best to be kind, loving and fatherly to her but she comes and goes like anything he says doesn't matter and she is boss.   He never corrects her just keeps trying to win her affection while she treats him like dirt.  She meets a Protestant boy named Danny who is constantly abused by beatings from his Da.   Danny's dream is to join the British Army and become a nurse to help people.   His mother had been killed when he was small by the IRA so there is no love there for the Irish Catholics and he too picks on "taigs."   Fiona and Danny fall for each other, though, Fionna has just learned her father went to prison for murder for his part with the IRA which after learning that she considers her father a murderer and calls him so and wants to go home.   The story is a good one and tells a lot of what went down during the "troubles" and aftermath.   I recommend this story to middle schoolers on up.