Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd

Bog Childis the second book I've read by Siobhan Dowd, and the first one that was published after her death at the young age of 47 of cancer. She published four books in all. Bog Child isn't as lighthearted as The London Eye Mystery but she is a very good writer. This one is set in Northern Ireland in 1981 when Fergus McCann is getting ready for the school exams that will help him get to med school. While he and his uncle are digging peat, Fergus finds the body of a girl buried in the bog. She is from the Iron Age, and Fergus becomes friends with the archaeologist who is examining her and her daughter Cora, who is Fergus' age.

A lot happens to Fergus over the summer. His brother is in prison, apparently because of his connection with the IRA. He joins several other prisoners in a hunger strike that is based on a real story. In the meantime, he is roped into delivering mystery packets across the manned border between northern and southern Ireland, an act that could land him in jail as well. Not only that, but he finds his feelings for Cora getting stronger.

Fergus is a strong character; he comes across as a typical Irish teenager during that time, but also demonstrates a depth of feeling for his dying brother, his worried mother, his Uncle Tally who seems to be drifting through life, for Owain, the young Welsh soldier at the checkpoint, and Cora, who has her own feelings to work out. While I didn't understand enough about the history of Ireland at the time, it does make me want to go and learn more about it.