Torn Away

by James Heneghan

Thirteen-year-old Declan lives only for revenge. His mother, father and sister were all killed on the streets of Belfast, and Declan will stop at nothing to settle the score. When he is torn away from his native soil and sent to live with relatives in Canada, he is disgusted by their efforts to welcome him into their lives, and determined to make them regret their hospitality. Can he devise a plan to return to Ireland and rejoin his cause? Or will the strange beauty of his new life and surroundings weaken his resolve?

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction

169 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

James Heneghan (born 1930) is a British Canadian author. Heneghan grew up Liverpool, England, and currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. He earned Canadian citizenship in 1963.

Series:
* The O'Brien Detective Agency

Awards:
* Arthur Ellis Award: Juvenile
o 1995 – Torn Away – Winner

* Sheila A. Egoff Children's Book Prize
o 1998 – Wish Me Luck – Winner
o 2001 – The Grave – Winner
o 2003 – Flood – Winner

Reviews

[brooklynn maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

i read the book “torn away” by james heneghan for my english class. not my favourite book. there were a lot of meaningless characters and i was really disappointed with the ending.

[xmekalux · Rating 3 out of 5]

Süß Buch für zwischendurch. Lässt sich super schnell weglesen und mir hat die Entwicklung von Declan sehr gut gefallen :)

[minaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

first of all : 3,9 ***
i liked the book, but it didn’t stick out to me if you know what i mean
had to read it for school, before we learned about the irish history and ireland’s troubles with great britain and we also watched a film. i still didn’t expect the levels of violence that this young boy described
i think this book was well written and well thought out, but nothing too special to be really excited about
i still liked the characters and the interesting stories about declan’s past and present experiences

[Maddy Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the book “Torn Away” by James Heneghan. The book was based on a boy named Declan who hated Brits and Prods. He was a part of the Holy Terrors; a group of young Catholics who performed different types of sabotage. His uncle comes and gets him and brings him back to Canada to live with him because his family is dead. He did not want to go with his uncle and cause a lot of trouble while traveling to get to him. While living with his uncle and his uncle’s family he wants to try and make an escape plan so he can get back to his home. Overall the book is not what I would want to read. I did not enjoy it, it was a short read and had a lot of characters but not a lot about them. Throughout the book it was also very boring. As it may be boring and the ending is not what I expected but it was definitely a lot easier to read and more interesting near the end. In the beginning the book was very hard to read and get into.


“There‌ ‌was‌ ‌a‌ ‌time‌ ‌when‌ ‌he‌ ‌had‌ ‌liked‌ ‌
school--he‌ ‌had‌ ‌enjoyed‌ ‌history,‌ ‌especially‌ ‌Irish‌ ‌
history‌ ‌with‌ ‌its‌ ‌brave‌ ‌stories‌ ‌of‌ ‌Ireland’s‌ ‌heroes‌ ‌
and‌ ‌patriots---‌ ‌but‌ ‌he‌ ‌had‌ ‌stopped‌ ‌going‌ ‌there‌ ‌
after.‌ ‌.‌ ‌.‌ ‌after‌ ‌the‌ ‌bomb.”‌ ‌(Hen.‌ ‌35)‌

This quote gives us the idea of who the main character is and how he does life.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy from Belfast is uprooted to the remote Sunshine Coast of British Columbia in Canada after he is left orphaned. His parents and sister are all victims of the troubles in N. Ireland in the 70s and 80s. Declan hates the Brits and the Prods, vowing vengeance on them. He joins the Holy Terrors, a group of Catholic juveniles who commit acts of sabotage. His uncle gets him away from the violence to live a peaceful life in Canada. Declan plans and negotiates his return to his home. This book is a good introduction to the period in the 20th century when Ireland was engaged in a civil war. It helps young people understand how ideology affects individuals. The book is fairly predictable but it is well written for juvenile readers.

[Mike Hawk · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is peepee poopoo in a bad way i do not not not lik e it for eleventeen resons
1 it boring
2 not funny no big chungeus memes within
3 the fitness gram pacer test is a multistage arobic combastater test that proggresivey gets harder and hardr
4 declan mor like deSUCKS at having living parrents
6 sixnine the rapper dababy logan (sussy)balls
7 spamton (g) spamton is not a big shot for this book
5 birger king foot fungus among us ඞඞඞඞ
8 is ifi-tittirys sideways
9 never gonna igv you up not gonna let down AHHAHAHahAHHAHAHAHHAHHHHH
10 is the ben womspt is the ten of ben ten
11 2921u483850495849395894joncena93482487403286969669

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for my english class. I didn't like it, there wasnt alot of character development and the characters were kinda bland. And even when I was at the beginning of the book, I could predict the ending. I mean half the book is Declan ranting about how he has to go back to Ireland to get revenge. So it was pretty obvious that he was gonna stay in canada. Also the ending didn't even have that much build up, It just kind of happened.

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not a book I would normally pick up and read, but I have been substituting in a school where I've been teaching this book to Grade 7. I don't normally pick up historical fiction and read it for entertainment but I did enjoy this book. It's a feel good story with a good theme, but there's not much more to say about it than that.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much of a school book

[tay 🦭 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked it!! This is the type of books i like :)

[Lana]

it was a qucik read and informative from a direct pov

[Antonia Schnatz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in English class and it does give a good insight on the Ireland troubles especially from a younger boys perspective. There were many characters tho that didn’t serve any purpose

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the type of book a I normally read so at first I was a bit worried about reading it. So having to read a book for class I started this book. At first I didn't like the book, but once I got the second chapter read I was hooked. I read this book when ever I had the chance to, even working harder on my studies to read it. By the time I finished this book I was smiling the whole day away. I loved the ending so much, no hints, but it was a great way to end it.

I give it a four since it was a bit hard to get into at first.

Love,
Emily~

[Kat Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rebellious Irish boy who becomes an orphan after an english army bombs the fine cafe his mom and little sister are eating at for the little girls birthday. He is sent to live with his uncle in Canada, and while the entire time he's angry and infuriated by the english, when the time comes for his deal with his uncle, that he agreed to the conditions, he's free to leave. But tired from the hate and honestly just longing for a loving family again, he stays

[LisasBücherchaos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meine Erwartungen bei Schullektüren sind immer recht niedrig."Torn Away" hat mich aber positiv überrascht und mir gut gefallen. Bei Schullektüren gelht mir einfach oft die Spannung und hier war diese definitiv vorhanden und sank nur für kurze Passagen. Die Charaktere waren bildlich, verständlich und der Schribstil sehr angenehm und leicht zu lesen. Das Englisch konnte ich ebenfalls flüssig ohne größere Probleme verstehen.

[Steffi · Rating 2 out of 5]

With only 138 pages it was a quick read. The students liked it, mostly because of the language which was easy to understand and because they had "read worse books" before. It combines both of our topics for the Abitur and there's an annotated edition which was enough of a reason for me to choose this for our class. However, I wouldn't recommend it.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing really extraordinary, but endurable as a mandatory read. The main character had me going crazy most of the time and the writing was quite unimpressive, but the last couple of pages managed to entertain me a little. I don't really have much to say, so I'm rating this three stars because it was okay.

[Tyrus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, i found that it was a compeling read. Though, i found that it was lacking within character develotment, of people who wern't the main character, and it took awhile to get into the book.

[Chantal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly raw and real view of the IRA era, through the eyes of a boy who has seen it all and lost everything. The cycle of violence and whether or not it can be broken is a wonderful core component, throughout.

[carinaaa12345 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read this book for school and I clearly remember how Declan had driven me crazy. I really couldn't understand anything that boy did, but all in all, it was okay for a school lecture and a good base for discussions about the Troubles and the "good life" in Canada.

[Alexander Patton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. Plot is well written and it is exciting.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book! I've read this one at least 4 times already.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book i really liked the end ;)

[Amy Mathers · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://amysmarathonofbooks.ca/torn-away/

[Tay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so interesting and I loved that there was lots of action and the writing kept you wanting more. My class and I read this and I can say on there behalf it’s a great book