Irish Chain

Author: Barbara Hawoth-Attard CAN

Publication: Toronto: Harper Trophy Canada

Publication Date: 2002

ISBN: 0-00-639215-6

Pages: 204 pages of story, 8 pages of appendices

Summary: Thirteen-year-old Rose Dunlea hates school. The only thing she seems to be good at is telling stories about patches in the Irish chain quilt that was passed down from her great-grandmother. She has been held back a grade twice because she can't read or write and this has made her an outcast. One day she prays that she will never have to go back to school again. The next day her school is detroyed by an explosion in Halifax Harbour and Rose if forced to look inside herself to find the strength to deal with the tragedy and the guilt she feels about having caused it.

Major Characters: Rose Dunlea, Alice (Mam) Dunlea (mother), Patrick Murphy (Rose's cousin)

Comments: This would be a very good book to recommend to a student who has dyslexia, as it presents the learning challenge in a positive light. What I liked most about this book was that it did not try to end with a happy ending. The Halifax Explosion of 1917 was a horrible tragedy and Haworth-Attard does a good job of acccurately portraying that. The pictures at the back help to illustrate the destruction, and the author even inlcudes instructions on how to make your own Irish chain quilt.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age Level: 12+