The Irish Civil War 1922-23: Ava's Diary

by Patricia Murphy

Life sucks for twelve-year-old Irish-American Ava when she is dragged to Dublin by her mother during her parents’ bitter break-up. She is bullied at her new school and her only friend is moody teenage neighbour Mal, who has secrets of his own.

But when Ava finds an emerald and a bundle of old letters in the attic, she is plunged into a historical mystery linking the missing Crown Jewels of Tsarist Russia to the heart of Ireland’s bloody Civil War in 1922.

Who was the author of the letters – young medical student Molly O’Donovan? Why did her brother Jack the Cat smuggle the jewels from the United States? And did her football-mad cousin Dan make it through the seaborne invasion of the south to put down the rebels?

Through the eyes of Molly, Ava encounters the death of Michael Collins, deadly ambushes in Kerry and the tragic fate of former comrades.

As Ava learns about the tragedy of the Civil War, she is forced to confront the conflict in her own life. Can the journey into the past help her to learn the importance of reconciliation and new beginnings?

388 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Patricia Murphy is an award-winning children's author and a Producer/Director of documentaries for British television.
Her most recent publication is "The Easter Rising 1916 - Molly's Diary", the first book in a planned trilogy.

Her previous Celtic fantasy trilogy for children "The Chingles" won a Poolbeg/RTE award.

Patricia is also a multi award-winning Producer/Director of critically acclaimed and groundbreaking documentaries. These include RTS winner "Children of Helen House" for BBC 2, the highly rated series on the pioneering children's hospice in Oxford. She created and filmed the launch programmes for "Born to Be Different" the innovative prize-winning Channel 4 series following six babies born with disabilities in the 21st century.
Other films include the controversial "Behind the Crime" series for Channel 4 where criminals revealed how and why they committed their crimes, "Raised by The State" on growing up in care for BBC 2 and "Newbury Blues" on the Newbury By-pass protests. Her debut documentary "Caravan Kids" on New Age Travelers and the Criminal Justice Act was nominated for an RTS. Patricia has also worked on popular series such as "Worst Jobs in History" and "TV Dinners".

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see what the author was aiming for, but I wasn't as taken with the modern day aspect of this book. I enjoyed Molly and Jack's stories. I feel like it would have worked fine as a series of letters or found documents, without Ava.