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Headbanger: 'Kerr is a mighty fine writer' PATRICK McCABE
UNREQUITED LOVE IS... THE COMING OF RAGE!
It's July 1985, and 20 teenagers from Ireland are sent to the home of Happy Days, Milwaukee, USA, on a cultural exchange program, called 'Project Ulster'.
Lil' Wil Carson is not the 14-year-old Heavy Metal fan he appears to be. This Headbanger leads a secret life as a Loyalist terrorist and peace is the last thing on his mind...
That is, until he meet Teresa, a bewitching Catholic girl, who makes him believe that the American Dream, where everyone can live together in an open society, might be possible.
But when heartbreak shatters Wil's illusions about peace, love and understanding, and teenage angst morphs into a Nightmare on Elm Street, will he resort to his old ways?
If only Wil's American host, Derry, was not a gun-nut with the diplomatic skills of The Incredible Hulk, and could convince his vengeful guest that violence is never the answer...
'Young Wil Carson is full of mischief and fun and an absolute delight to go on holiday with – if you are not a lazy feckless Fenian rat from Belfast, that is – in which case he will happily blow away your duplicitous Taig soul, and without so much as a murmur, go back to polishing his .44 Magnum as he cranks Eddie Van Halen all the way up to 11. The struggle for peace in Northern Ireland – via Milwaukee – has never been presented like this before. It is like The Katzenjammer Kids meets Wee Hughie – warm, tender, and full of yearning for the world to be right, where The Beast has been banished and the rainbow’s colours bathe the garden place. This is the song Wil Carson sings, and if its music is sad, it is also uplifting. Headbanger is a cracking debut and Kerr is a mighty fine writer. Buy it.’ PATRICK McCABE
‘Kerr has a distinct talent for bombastic fun’ The Irish Times'Kerr's gritty first novel fuses the failure of the Northern Ireland peace process with the slackness of American gun laws to dramatic effect’ The Mirror
'Kerr's writerly gifts are impressive' JOYCE CAROL OATES
LONG-LISTED FOR THE IMPACT DUBLIN AWARD.
A DARK YOUNG ADULT LOVE STORY. BUT IT NOW!
It's July 1985, and 20 teenagers from Ireland are sent to the home of Happy Days, Milwaukee, USA, on a cultural exchange program, called 'Project Ulster'.
Lil' Wil Carson is not the 14-year-old Heavy Metal fan he appears to be. This Headbanger leads a secret life as a Loyalist terrorist and peace is the last thing on his mind...
That is, until he meet Teresa, a bewitching Catholic girl, who makes him believe that the American Dream, where everyone can live together in an open society, might be possible.
But when heartbreak shatters Wil's illusions about peace, love and understanding, and teenage angst morphs into a Nightmare on Elm Street, will he resort to his old ways?
If only Wil's American host, Derry, was not a gun-nut with the diplomatic skills of The Incredible Hulk, and could convince his vengeful guest that violence is never the answer...
'Young Wil Carson is full of mischief and fun and an absolute delight to go on holiday with – if you are not a lazy feckless Fenian rat from Belfast, that is – in which case he will happily blow away your duplicitous Taig soul, and without so much as a murmur, go back to polishing his .44 Magnum as he cranks Eddie Van Halen all the way up to 11. The struggle for peace in Northern Ireland – via Milwaukee – has never been presented like this before. It is like The Katzenjammer Kids meets Wee Hughie – warm, tender, and full of yearning for the world to be right, where The Beast has been banished and the rainbow’s colours bathe the garden place. This is the song Wil Carson sings, and if its music is sad, it is also uplifting. Headbanger is a cracking debut and Kerr is a mighty fine writer. Buy it.’ PATRICK McCABE
‘Kerr has a distinct talent for bombastic fun’ The Irish Times'Kerr's gritty first novel fuses the failure of the Northern Ireland peace process with the slackness of American gun laws to dramatic effect’ The Mirror
'Kerr's writerly gifts are impressive' JOYCE CAROL OATES
LONG-LISTED FOR THE IMPACT DUBLIN AWARD.
A DARK YOUNG ADULT LOVE STORY. BUT IT NOW!
223 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 23, 2025
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