Title: Across the Barricades

Author: Joan Lingard
Published by: Hamish Hamilton, England
Publishing year: First published in 1972
Pages: 174 pages, parted in 20 chapters

About the Author

Joan Lingard was born in Edinburgh in 1932, but grew up in the capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast. She lived there until she was eighteen. She began writing when she was eleven. Her whole live she wanted to be a writer, and had never wanted to be anything else than that.

Other books written by Joan Lingard are:

Between to worlds, The guilty party, Tug of war, The file on Fräulein Berg, The freedom machine, Frying as usual, Glad rags, Hands off our school, Night fires and Rags and riches.

Sadie Jackson is one of the main character in Across the Barricades. She is 16 years old and live in Belfast in Northern Ireland. She is a Protestant girl who lives in the “protestant” part of Belfast.

Kevin McCoy is the second main character of this book. He is 18 years old and lives also in Belfast. He is a Catholic boy who lives in the “catholic” part of Belfast.

Sadie and Kevin became very close friends, which the parents didn’t like because they was seeing each other very often. Since they didn’t have same religion, meeting of catholic and protestant often ends with problems.

First time they met each other, was at the bus. After that they have only talked with each other every day.

The first date they have, was just a couple of minute, but after a week they fell in love with each other. Sadies mother didn’t like that they were meeting each other so often. She tried to hold Sadie home every time when she should meet Kevin. But that wasn’t so easy. People in the neighbourhood didn’t like it too, and they also tried as hard they could to prevent them from meeting each other again and to get better friends.

Sadie and Kevin went to many places when they were meeting, one of them was Cave Hill. Cave Hill is a big hill at the end of the city Belfast. There were a place where they could be together and nobody could speak about it.

One night when they should meet each other, happened a terrible disaster.

I don’t tell you what it is, you must read the book your self!!!!!!!!!!!

Perhaps the message run deep down into the conditions in Belfast, and how the situation is in there. The aspect in this book most bee “autoral” aspect. The author has many descriptions of social background in this text.

I enjoyed this novel very much, it wasn’t only about love, but also about war and the wish for peace. I think the author is very good to explain the persons and hold focus about the main characters. I think the message is very clear and the author is good to explain what she want. I mean the message is to understand how it is in Belfast and the rest of northern Ireland for the Catholics and Protestants. I mean the subject is very good and interesting, personal I think it is a clever and easy way to learn about the history of Northern Ireland. This book is for all ages (from 13 to 100 years).

I will recommend this book to everybody. I have only read 2 books in my whole live (just at the school) like this book. And that says something of this book and the author.