| Under The Hawthorn Tree
(2004)
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| Front Cover |
Book Details |
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| Author |
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| Genre |
Child/Teen; New Additions |
| Year |
2004 |
| Form |
Softcover |
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| Plot |
| Grade 4-6-- The horrors of the potato famine in Ireland vividly leap from the pages of this first novel. The O'Driscolls are a poor family whose lives depend on the potato crop. When it fails, they are doomed. The father has left to find work elsewhere, and when he does not return, Mrs. O'Driscoll goes to find him, leaving feisty Eily, the oldest, in charge of her two younger siblings. She also does not return, forcing the children to set out to find two great-aunts about whom they've heard stories; their alternative is going to the workhouse. At this point, the story becomes one of resourceful and determined children seeking to stay together in the hope of being reunited with the rest of their family. The tale is episodic, but should sustain the interest of its target audience. The characters are largely two-dimensional and are sometimes mere vehicles to help tell the history of the period. The book succeeds on this level, and readers are left with a glimmer of hope as the children reach their elderly aunts, but with their future still a mystery |
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