Bog Child

Starred review from July 28, 2008
When Fergus McCann, 18, crosses the border from Northern Ireland into the Irish Republic to steal peat for his uncle to sell as fuel, what he digs up is a small body, an obvious victim of violence. Are the Troubles now claiming children? he wonders. But nothing is as it seems in the late Dowd's (The London Eye Mystery
) rich work, set in 1981 and exploring sacrifices made in the name of family and freedom. Archeologists suspect the body is ancient, and they overrun the hillside of Fergus's discovery. Haunted by his find, Fergus learns its story in vivid dreams. Daylight provides no respite. His brother, an imprisoned IRA member, has joined Bobby Sands's hunger strike. His father salutes; his mother grieves. Three exams away from earning entrance to medical school, Fergus doesn't understand the strikers' mission, but his brother is resolute: “A coffin's a mighty statement, Ferg.” Experiencing first love with the lead archeologist's daughter, Fergus is torn when he's blackmailed into being a courier by his brother's friend. Dowd raises questions about moral choices within a compelling plot that is full of surprises, powerfully bringing home the impact of political conflict on innocent bystanders. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from August 1, 2008
Gr 9 Up-It is 1981, and 18-year-old Fergus lives on the border between Northern Ireland and the south. His older brother, Joe, a member of the Provisional IRA, is jailed at Long Kesh and joins a hunger strike. The family is traumatized, and Fergus does his best to comfort his mother and to convince Joe that his "sacrifice" for the cause is not worth it. Fergus has been pressured (blackmailed) to smuggle packages for the IRA, but wants nothing more than to leave Ireland and study to become a doctor. His life becomes even more complicated when he and his uncle discover the body of a young girl while pilfering peat. It turns out to be 2000 years old. Thus begins a double narrative that involves a love story and a discussion of destiny and self-sacrifice. Fergus's story includes his struggle to understand his brother's actions and his growing love for the daughter of the archaeologist called in to investigate the Iron Age discovery. Interspersed is the story of Mel, the bog child, who makes the ultimate sacrifice to unite her people, and who finds love at the end of her life. The two narratives work beautifully together. The love story between Fergus and Cora is depicted with tenderness, and their adolescent sexuality is sensitively portrayed. Readers will come away with a strong sense of the time periods (especially of the "Troubles") through dialogue and action. This compelling read is lyrically written and contains authentic dialogue and challenging and involving moral issues. It's a first, and a must-have purchase."Jennifer Ralston, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 9, 2008
The year is 1981, and the Troubles are close to home for 18-year-old Fergus, whose brother, an IRA member, has chosen to participate in the Long Kesh prison hunger strike. While digging peat with his Uncle Tally, Fergus discovers the body of a girl who might have been there for a long, long time. This discovery is complicated by two things: the peat they were digging is on the wrong side of the Irish border, and the girl has a noose around her neck. Why It Is a Best: Fergus's tender relationship with his brother and friendship with a border soldier bring to life a complicated political situation. Interspersed scenes from the life of the girl in the bog parallel the sacrificial choices made by Fergus and his family in these difficult times. Why It Is for Us: This is the last book we get from Dowd, who died shortly after the publication of A Swift Pure Cry (2007). Here, as there, Dowd's lyricism never gets in the way of the story.-Angelina Benedetti, King Cty. Lib. Syst., WA

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2008
While cutting peat in the Irish hills, Fergus McCann and his uncle discover a body preserved by the bog. Archaeologists and politicians fight over the find, while Fergus starts to dream about the past of the bog child he names Mel. Dowd slowly reveals the story of Mels mysterious death, an apparent murder, amid the 1980s troubles of Northern Ireland and the hunger strike of the Long Kesh political prisoners. Fergus imprisoned older brother joins the strike as Fergus is blackmailed into delivering packages that may contain bomb-making supplies. The history, which will likely be as unfamiliar to American teen readers as the storys dialect, may need fleshing out with additional sources, but the intriguing characters and their motivations and sacrifices will translate directly to contemporary readers. The plotlines are braided together into a strong story that is rich in language, setting, and theme. Fans of David Almonds work will savor the similar religious influences and the elements of magical realism. A budding romance with the archaeologists daughter, exuberant Cora, will delight readers, who will wonder, as Fergus does after his first kisses, Why wasnt the whole world doing this all the time, why?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2009
In 1981, eighteen-year-old Fergus finds a body of a girl from the Iron Age in the bog between Northern Ireland and the Republic. He dreams about her while struggling to focus on exams as his brother, a political prisoner, begins a hunger strike. Parallel themes of sacrifice and resurrection dominate the book's imagery, and the suspense sustains momentum. An author's note gives background.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2008
When eighteen-year-old Fergus finds a body in the bog along the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic during the Troubles, his discovery heralds several crises leading to a traumatic rite of passage. He falls in love with the impetuous daughter of an archaeologist investigating the Iron Age burial; at the same time, he struggles to focus on the exams that will allow him to attend medical school. His older brother, arrested for anti-British activities, begins a hunger strike that has already killed several other IRA political prisoners; yet Fergus befriends a Welsh soldier who makes him realize the "enemy" is very like himself. Throughout all this turmoil, he dreams the fate of the girl in the bog. Because Fergus's dreams form an entire sequential fantasy narrative rather than occasional subconscious fragments, they nearly overload the plot, but the parallel themes of sacrifice and resurrection that dominate the book's imagery (including the crucifixion pose of the figure on the cover) tie the two stories together. The dialogue is spiked with Irish vernacular, and the suspense -- provided by a dangerous mission Fergus believes to be ordered by the IRA -- sustains momentum. Although references to the RUC, JCB, Provos, etc., may puzzle American readers, an author's note gives brief background on events and organizations that headlined the Northern Ireland conflict in 1981.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)