|
Bog Child | 
| Author: Siobhan Dowd
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $8.99
You Save: $8.00 (47%)
New (36) Used (8) from $7.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 33946
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0385751699
EAN: 9780385751698
ASIN: 0385751699
Publication Date: September 9, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Book, ALL days Low Price !
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
DIGGING FOR PEAT in the mountain with his Uncle Tally, Fergus finds the body of a child, and it looks like she#8217;s been murdered. As Fergus tries to make sense of the mad world around him#8212;his brother on hunger-strike in prison, his growing feelings for Cora, his parents arguing over the Troubles, and him in it up to the neck, blackmailed into acting as courier to God knows what#8212;a little voice comes to him in his dreams, and the mystery of the bog child unfurls.brbriBog Child /iis an astonishing novel exploring the sacrifices made in the name of peace, and the unflinching strength of the human spirit.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd December 29, 2008
Talk about a rollercoaster of emotion while I was reading Siobhan Dowd's newest novel for teens! Bog Child had me both loving it at times and really not understanding it (both plot and dialect of characters) as well as being almost bored from it at times...all mixed into one novel. Yep, it was a doozy of a read for me.br /br /In the bogs of Northern Ireland, we meet Fergus, along with his Uncle Tally who happen to be in the bogs illegally and find the body of what appears to be a child. Fergus makes a mental connection to this child, probably a murdered child, and she comes to him in his dreams, almost haunting him. While trying to deal with this girl in his head, whom he's nicknamed "Mel," Fergus is also hurting over his brother in prison, who has decided to join the hunger strikers and starve himself, as well as the "Troubles" his parents are constantly fighting over, and his growing feelings for the daughter of the woman working on the bog child.br /br /In the midst of all the emotion, Fergus is blackmailed into becoming a courier for unknown packages, which deep down he feels are drugs, carrying them along the troubled border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the constant fear of being caught, but having no choice but to continue. Though very aware of right and wrong, Fergus knows that this is just another instance of complete "wrong" that has wormed its way into his life, with no sign of leaving anytime soon.br /br /The Irish dialect is, at times, incredibly difficult to understand and though there is a huge dose of history in Bog Child, it's so blatant....too obvious for my liking. Which led to boredom on some pages. And that stinks! I wanted to love it it....br /br /So how do I put a rating on Bog Child? How do I tell you all whether or not to go out and read it? Did I love it? No. Did I like it? Sometimes. Was it exciting? Sometimes. Do I think teens will read it? No. Do I think adults will enjoy it? Probably.br /br /Dowd writes heavy, intense, books and that's really all there is to it. So if you're willing to wade through the heaviness, not to mention the language and dialects of the Irish she has written about, then I really think you'll enjoy her books. I, unfortunately, don't think I'm that reader. Especially when I'm reading with the hopes that I've found a great book to recommend to my teens at the library...this is not that book. Adults will get the recommending of Bog Child to them, teens, probably not.br /br /It's very difficult for me to just not "get" a novel, when I've read plenty of other blogger's rave reviews, not to mention reviews in School Library Journal and Kirkus....all loving this one. So take my review as you will. I...me...Amanda...didn't enjoy it. That doesn't mean you won't!
 The work of an author at the peak of her powers November 19, 2008
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
One wouldn't think that an Iron Age maiden, an archaeological discovery and Northern Ireland's infamous "Troubles" could be combined into a successful, even riveting, work of fiction. But talented author Siobhan Dowd does just that in BOG CHILD, a captivating novel that intertwines two eras of history in the story of one young man's coming of age.br /br /Eighteen-year-old Fergus McCann is having a rough go of it. His older brother Joe, the "soldier" of the family, is incarcerated as a political prisoner because of his involvement with the Provisional Irish Republican Army. His parents are sick with worry, especially when Joe, inspired by the martyrdom of other high-profile prisoners, begins a hunger strike protest in jail. His younger sisters don't understand why everyone is so worried, or why Joe just can't get better and come home. As for Fergus, he has the dual worries of preparing for his driver's exam and his A levels. If he does well enough on his college prep exams, he'll be able to get into a pre-med program in Scotland --- and escape the violent Troubles in Northern Ireland once and for all.br /br /The year is 1981, and IRA activity is at a peak. Fergus and his family live right on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, so close that he can cross the border into Ireland when he goes for a long run or (as they do at the novel's opening) when he and his uncle go to poach peat to sell for use as heating fuel.br /br /That's when Fergus makes a discovery that will change everything. Peat moss has an uncanny ability to preserve whatever falls into it. So when Fergus finds a young girl's body, he is at first convinced that it's another IRA murder victim dumped in the bog. But when an Irish archaeologist (accompanied by her fetching daughter) confirms that the body instead belongs to a girl from the year AD 80, Fergus's dreams grow haunted by the girl, nicknamed Mel, whose story is so different from --- and yet startlingly similar to --- his own.br /br /Many young American readers will find not only Mel's story but also Fergus's an eye-opening account of history. Dowd does a commendable job of explaining the Troubles to her audience without ever dumbing down the narrative for them. In fact, the writing throughout is lyrical and complex enough to satisfy any reader, whatever their age.br /br /Fergus is a thoughtful, intelligent boy who takes issues of right and wrong seriously. His primary moral crisis --- which culminates in two surprising twists (one humorous, one tragic) --- is not an easy one; nor is the difficult decision that faces the McCann family near the end of the novel and threatens to tear them apart. BOG CHILD handles the big questions --- about personal responsibility, sacrifice, political action, love and borders --- with appropriate gravity, respect and thoughtfulness. And, as Fergus balances counting up the days of Joe's life-threatening hunger strike with his own eagerness to embrace his future, it also manages to sustain suspense from the very first page to the last.br /br /BOG CHILD, which has been short-listed for the Guardian Prize, is the work of an author at the peak of her powers. I read, and loved, Dowd's LONDON EYE MYSTERY last year; with her current book, Dowd shows the true extent of her talent. I was saddened to hear that this promising author died last summer after a long battle with breast cancer. Literature for young people has lost such a gifted writer; those who have been fortunate enough to discover her work can be grateful that, in BOG CHILD and one additional novel to be published next year, her voice lives on.br /br / --- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
|
|
|
| |
