Sarah Carlson

Wisconsin seventeen-year-old Fiona Kelly visits the father she never knew--and her half-brothers--in Belfast, Ireland, where she also connects with Danny, but their families' pasts may shatter what they have.

All the Walls of Belfast

Belle Ellrich

*I WAS PROVIDED A PHYSICAL COPY IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. THIS DOESN'T AFFECT MY OPINION*

When Sarah pitched me her book to review, I immediately agreed to take it on. I don't think you know how difficult it is to find books centered in countries other than the USA, UK, or some other made up place. Ireland is a part of my family's history, and getting to read a book centered there is like a dream come true.

Fiona is a character I think we'd all be able to relate to if we were forced into the same situation as her. A teenage girl, suddenly finding out that her Irish dad isn't as deadbeat as she thought? Oh, and to add to it, she's got two, older half-brothers with a nephew? I'd be pretty irritated to have had that hidden from me too.

We're thrown into her story as she arrives in Ireland, finally meeting the family she'd only dreamed of having with her. However, this picture perfect dream came to a halting stop after she unveiled some horrifying information about her father.

Danny is a character we can all sympathize for. He lives in an abusive household with people who turn a blind eye. He has big wishes to run off to the army and become a nurse, and that perspective doesn't shift when he meets Fiona.

Their stories merge quickly and smoothly, bringing about love, drama, and forgiveness. Other than one familial misunderstanding feeling a bit forced, the entire novel was great and I loved it. For that, I rate this book 4 stars. I do suggest it, and I can't wait to see what Carlson writes next.

Cailin Duffy

*3.75
 
*review first posted on rosepetalpages.com*

The first thing that stands out to me when I think of my experience reading All the Walls of Belfast is how much I learned about the history and culture of Northern Ireland. This novel is set fourteen years after the end of the Troubles, and we see through Fiona and Danny’s lives how the echoes of that time of violence are still being felt over a decade later.

Fiona comes to Belfast for the summer after discovering that her dad, does, in fact, want to be a part of her life. It’s her first time connecting with him and her half-brothers, and her first time in Ireland. Fiona is discovering the deep-rooted prejudices and anger that still exist on both sides of the peace wall that separates her father’s Catholic neighborhood from the Protestant one, as well as trying to figure out the complicated history of involvement her father had with the IRA. Having personally never been to Belfast, I thought that Sarah Carlson did a wonderful job of showing what Belfast was like, socially and culturally, since I got to process everything unfamiliar to me right alongside Fiona. 

Through Danny’s point of view, we get to see Belfast through the lens of someone who’s grown up with a literal wall separating him from an entire group of people. Everyone he knows is Protestant, and they all despise the Catholics on the other side of the wall. Danny wants nothing more than to escape his alcoholic and abusive father, who remains a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force, and create a better life for himself.

His world is kind of flipped upside down when he meets Fiona, and then flipped again when he learns she’s a Catholic. The opposing roles their families’ played during the Troubles is a huge barrier to their growing relationship. Not only does Danny have to move beyond the enmity for Catholics that has been ingrained in him since he was born, but they have to deal with the fact that their families would hardly tolerate a relationship across the wall. While I thought Danny and Fiona’s relationship developed pretty quickly, it was very grounded in the reality of the world that they live in. Their connection was authentic and genuine, and I loved seeing them come together despite the personal struggles they were both facing throughout the story. 

This story is a contemporary romance, but also so much more than that. It is a story about breaking free of historic prejudices and finding a way to live beyond them, together. I think this message is so important, especially in today’s world, where people are often content to stay close-minded, simply because it’s easier than the alternative.

Another aspect of the story I really loved was Fiona’s developing relationship with her dad. She knows that her father was in the IRA and that he’s done bad things in the past, but that image she has in her head doesn’t match up with the person she meets in Belfast. She meets a man who’s doing his best to support his family, and he’s doing it with love. One message Sarah Carlson makes very clear is that things are rarely black and white, especially when it comes to people. 

On top of breaking free of prejudice, this is also a story of reconciling your preconceptions of people with who you know them to be, especially when it comes to family. People are not perfect, but we are more than the mistakes we’ve made in the past. All we can do is be kind to each other and work toward a better future.

All the Walls of Belfast

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