The Kidds of Summerhill

by Ann Murtagh

In the spring of 1945 a mother dies, leaving four children to fend for themselves in a Dublin tenement.
Nancy, the oldest, lives in dread of the family being split up. The power to send them all to industrial schools such as Artane and Goldenbridge lies with the ‘Cruelty Men’. Their spy, the Pig Farmer, lives next door and holds a long term grudge against the family.
Thankfully Nancy has loyal friends in Summerhill and the Diamond, among them Lilly, her brother Charlie Weaver, a Dublin newsboy, and their ma, Maggie. Through work, Nancy becomes friendly with Karla, a Jewish refugee from Prague.
When Nancy accidentally betrays Charlie to the police, Charlie ends up in Artane industrial school. Desperate to keep her guilty secret and still help her friend, Nancy and Lilly come up with a plan to help Charlie escape on the boat to England.
Just as her life begins to unravel, Karla steps in with a possible solution to Nancy's problems. Will Nancy succeed in keeping the family together? And at what cost?

288 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2021

Reviews

[Mary Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incisive descriptive writing evokes a genuine sense of time and place, the squalor and beauty, the details of life. And it is with great depth of feeling and understanding that Murtagh presents us with all the characters and how they relate to each other,their joys and sorrows overlapping in their day-to-day world. The ever-present threat of the ‘Cruelty Men’ has great impact on them all, but this does not overruns the wonder, cleverness and warmth of friendship and family that flows throughout the story, page after page. Nancy is a wonderful character; curious, loyal and determined. But this does not mean she remains undaunted. Faced with seemingly insurmountable situations for one so young, she buckles, she grieves and then…she rises. Together with her young friends, she will not give up. Filled with accurate historical detail, full of life, hope, steadfastness and with moments of humour and delight, a simply marvelous story!

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in inner city Dublin in the 1940s this book tells of the kidds family living in poverty. We see the hardships they lived in but also that of their neighbours and friends. We see the community  both in good and bad ways, but mainly good as no one had much. Nancy the eldest is a strong willed and capable girl for her age. A survivor like so many during that time. I really enjoyed this story I learned so much about that time in ireland. The characters were all very real and their story was well told.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! A great story and very realistic characters. Attention to detail and historical accuracy are both excellent. Would be enjoyed equally by older children and adults.

[Eithne Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really well written book. Gives a great flavour of the times. Very lively characters.