SuitabookGuard Your Heart
Sue Divin
- Reading
- Read alongside the young person rather than presenting reconciliation as easy. Pause after the attack and when family loyalties emerge; invite their interpretation, acknowledge uncertainty, and let them decide which issues need further conversation.
- Themes
- Reconciliation across inherited divisions: Aidan and Iona’s relationship crosses Catholic/Irish/Republican and Protestant/British identities, while their families carry different connections to conflict. The book clearly presents listening, empathy and courageous engagement across difference as valuable possibilities, while describing reconciliation as fragile.
- The past in post-conflict life: Set in Derry in 2016, the novel follows characters whose parents’ histories and affiliations continue to affect their present choices. The story appears to explore how conflict continues to shape ordinary relationships after formal peace, rather than treating the past as finished.
- Secrecy and trust: Aidan and Iona are attracted to one another while keeping significant family histories from each other. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Worth knowing
- The book includes a brutal sectarian attack, bereavement, absent or politically connected parents, guns in family histories, secrecy and a romance shaped by religious and national division. Consider whether these subjects suit your reader now.