When the Boys Came Out to Play

TITLE: When the Boys Came Out to Play AUTHOR: John Mackel PUBLISHER: John Mackel Books PAGES: 354 TEASER: In a violent time, in a divided place, only a dream can save a boy's life. LOGLINE: Geordie McDonald is evacuated from the Troubles in 1970s Belfast and searches for a different dream of Ireland while he comes of age, still bearing the scars of home. Returning to Belfast, he must choose between his new-found dream of becoming a musician or falling prey to influences that would lead him deeper into the ongoing conflict. ONE-PARAGRAPH SUMMARY: When the Boys Came Out to Play by John Mackel is an auto fiction literary coming of age novel inspired by events during the worst summer of the Troubles in Belfast, 1972. The story follows twelve-year-old Geordie McDonald as he's evacuated from Belfast and sent to live in the safer South. Navigating the tensions and chaos of displacement and his own turmoils, inside and out, he finds solace in music, myth, and dreams of a different type of home in Ireland. Along the way, Geordie encounters new examples of manhood, based on compassion and inner strength, and discovers a hidden talent for music. When he returns to Belfast the conflict is still raging and the lines between boyhood and manhood begin to blur for Geordie. He must withstand the forces of identity, family, rebellion, and violence that shape his world – and choose his own path. PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS: Belfast, 1972. Twelve-year-old Geordie McDonald is forced to grow up fast in a city under siege. As the Troubles tightens its grip, he and his family cling to one another as danger seeps into every corner of their lives – from whispered threats and armed neighbours, to the ever-present sound of gunfire in the night. When Geordie and his siblings are evacuated to Dublin, along with trainloads of other children from the North, they must learn to navigate a new world in the South. Geordie and his younger brother are sent to live with a middle-class family in Rathmines, but the shadow of the Troubles reaches even here. In the aftermath of the Bloody Friday bombings, tensions rise between neighbours, and Geordie must move again. In rural idyll of County Kerry, Geordie meets a fiddler, carrying tunes from the Blasket Islands, rumoured to be written by the Fairies themselves. As his willing protégé, Geordie becomes absorbed in music, legends, and the Irish language. Among the hills and carefree country people, he discovers a new sense of belonging; his recurring nightmares fade, as do the nervous 'fits' which have plagued him since his early years. The return to Belfast is bittersweet, reunited with his scattered family, but in a city tearing itself apart. As the headlines announce more violence, Geordie searches for meaning in a conflict he can't fully understand. When a nun suggests he develop his newfound musical talents, and study for a challenging music exam, Geordie dares to hope for a future beyond Belfast. But his father has different ideas, convinced he knows best how to keep his family, and his community, safe. As Geordie grows, the line between boyhood and manhood begins to blur, and he is faced with choices that will shape not just his identity, but his entire future.