Adolescence is a time of tumultuous change, and books which highlight the importance of figuring out one’s identity can help teens navigate those difficult years. These four Irish books bravely tread that path.
In Sarah Moore Fitzgerald’s wonderful new rags-to-riches novel for younger teens, All the Money in the World (Hachette €9.99), the flawed but lovable Penny undertakes such a journey to arrive at a place of integrity and acceptance.
She lives with her mam in The Flats, once a mansion with a huge garden, now divided into dilapidated apartments “dark and full of sour corridors”, where no one is expected to become anyone or anything of significance. But Penny wants more. She wants to rise above the restraints of disadvantage, above the bullying from schoolmates and the indifference of teachers. Passionate about music, she befriends the old lady next door, Violet Fitzsimons, who gifts her enough money to attend a highly prestigious boarding school, where her musical and intellectual talents will be fostered.
What she must learn in this life-affirming tale is that you must find your own value and worth, while staying loyal to the people around you. The characters, friendships and family dynamics are sensitively portrayed, and the plot thoroughly engrosses from the first page to the last.
In the powerful verse novel Gut Feelings (UCLan Publishing €9.06), CG Moore draws on his own experience of childhood illness to create the main character Chris, who struggles with bullying, body image and sexual identity, all heavy-hitting topics, handled in a sensitive and honest manner. It’s important for young people to get true insights into the world of mental and physical disability, and to realise teenagers living with chronic illness are still just teens trying to figure out the usual stuff, such as friendships, love and identity.
Gut Feelings does this in spades, with beautiful, unobtrusive, free-flowing verse and a gripping and far-reaching story.
What Love Looks Like, by Jarlath Gregory
What Love Looks Like (O’Brien Press, €10) by Jarlath Gregory is a valuable addition to the LGBTQ canon; a tender, funny, uplifting romance, with a rich cast of diverse characters. It’s the summer of 2015 and the people of Ireland have voted to let gay people get married, but all 17-year-old Ben wants is a guy to “take you out for a pint in PantiBar, and maybe a snog in Burger King afterwards?”
Ben, a warm-hearted young man with supportive parents, worries about the same things as his peers. Which career should he choose, will he ever meet the right guy, and will his friend’s cousin’s fake ID get him past the bouncers? Being gay is not an issue for him but although the gay marriage referendum has passed with overwhelming support, it doesn’t mean the bullies have gone away. In fact, there is one living right down the street.
So how will he navigate the challenges? His disparate group of pals add much humour and warmth to this gritty story for the older teen – especially Soda, his drag queen friend, his best mate Chelsea and his wonderful stepdad. Entertaining and important, Gregory’s novel explores a broad view of what diversity and love in all its guises really looks like.
Guard Your Heart (Macmillan €8.99) by Sue Divin will appeal to adults and teens, especially anyone old enough to remember Joan Lingard’s Across the Barricades. A Romeo and Juliet tale set in Derry in 2016, it follows the romance between two protagonists, both born on the day the Good Friday Agreement is signed.
Aidan is Catholic, Irish and from a strong Republican family. Iona is Protestant and British; with a father and brother in the police service. Both have secrets; both have family that will stand in their way, and a past that keeps rearing its head. This is a superb tale about love and grief, overcoming obstacles and being true to yourself. The characters are so authentic, and the dangers they face so real, that you tear through the pages to find out how it all turns out in the end.
The shared theme of hope in these powerful novels is important for young people to hear.
Sunday Independent
