Embedded Files
Joan Lingard
The sequel to The Twelfth Day of July, this carries on the story of Kevin and Sadie and their friends. Where in the first book Kevin and Sadie's rebelious natures lead them to create trouble here their inability to keep their heads down and go with the flow leads them into a relationship despite the huge social barriers that faces. This is a fantastic evolution of their characters and I love the wider point that their fondness for getting into trouble which had been a cause of conflict could also act towards peace when the societal norm is for conflict.
In general I am very fond of a bit of romance, especially one like this with the odds stacked against it, but this is improved all the further by being read as a companion to The Twelfth Day of July. Characters' interactions are more meaningful as they are held in comparison to their actions in the first book. In the first book the sociatal norm is for a kind of uneasy negative peace whereas the norm in the second is much more towards conflict.
In part this is brought on by Kevin and Sadie's bridging of the divide although, uncharacteristically for them, they try to keep it low profile. Another interesting part of the story is the widdening of the canvas to include some other areas of Belfast including a middle class area where tensions are slightly less high and where Kevin and Sadie get some support.
Another change which I enjoyed was where the reader's instinct naturally lies. In the first book I often found myself hoping the more minor characters would persuade Kevin or Sadie out of some illjudged escalation whereas here when some of those same characters argued caution I found myself urging Kevin and Sadie to ignore them. This is a book which explores the limits of what should be possible and what we can do when, knowing we are in the right, we are faced with overbearing societal pressures. There is a lot to relate to, even outside the context of communities in conflict. How much can we be ourselves? How much do we have to conform? How important is your ability to follow your principles? How do we weigh what others mean to us? How do we cope with being in conflict with our own families and communities? Lots of these themes make me think it might be a good book for LGBT+ young people. Often when we think of representation we think of direct representation but sometimes there is great value in a representation that shares how some of the issues at play are shared and encourages solidarity between oppressed communities.
I have recently acquired the third of the series and look forward to reading it soon, the first two work so well as a duology that I am unsure quite what to expect from it.
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