Recently, I finished reading a book called Nory Ryan’s Song by Patricia Reilly Giff. I don’t have many warnings about this book, except for the fact that it can be very descriptive in the gruesome scenes.
The main character, Nory Ryan, is a 12-year-old Irish girl whose family gets strung along into starvation by the infamous Great Potato Famine of 1845. In the potato famine, a respected being named Lord Cunningham takes the people’s money away. Later, after all of the Ryan’s money is taken, he cold-heartedly takes the Ryan’s beloved pigs and chickens to trade.
On top of the famine and the thieving Cunningham, the supplies of seafood they had kept for themselves were quickly being eaten by other starving villagers.
At the end of the book, we see that Nory is planning for a trip to America, where some of her relatives had successfully escaped the famine.
I would recommend this book for ages 10 and up. This book seems long, but it has short chapters. I think teenagers should read it to see how easy people have it now compared to then.
