Pawns: Ireland's War of Indepence

Gr 6–8—The year is 1919, and the place is Ireland. The Irish War of Independence from the British has just begun. Johnny is an orphan spying for the Irish Republican Army. Alice's mother owns the Balbriggan Mill Hotel and is trying to appease people on both sides of the conflict, and Stella is the Canadian daughter of a British officer. Despite the children's differences, their shared love of music has created a bond of friendship. But can it survive when bullets start flying and people must choose sides? Despite the outlined differences of these characters, there is very little nuance of personality to set them apart. And because the author spends very little time establishing the background of this story, readers unfamiliar with the struggle this book illustrates will have a hard time understanding the motivation of the characters and will not grasp the extent of the violence that occurred. The tragedies are mostly witnessed or discussed by the protagonist, and because all of this is peripheral, it dilutes the tension of the plot. When, at the end, the climax peaks, the resolution occurs off-screen—again, teens don't experience what happens but hear about it after the fact. This novel has promise, but it ultimately fails to execute.