In an uneasy mix of burlesque and grief, Heneghan's (Wish Me Luck) ambitious but underdone novel opens in rainy Vancouver, Canada, as the Sheehogue, or Faeries, "practice sundry small mischiefs" at the mall. A few paragraphs later, they witness a terrible mudslide in which houses are destroyed and people killed. Among the dead are 11-year-old Andy Flynn's mother and stepfather; unknown to Andy, he has been saved by the Sheehogue, who then follow him when dour Aunt Mona brings him to her home in Halifax. Almost immediately Andy learns that his father did not die a war hero, as he has grown up believing, but is living in Halifax—according to Aunt Mona, Vincent Flynn is a "waster and a thief," a "gambler and a drunk." Andy runs away as soon as they reach Halifax and quickly locates Vinny in a squalid rooming house. Sparing no bit of familiar caricature, Vinny's speech is thick with blarney, and he thoroughly charms Andy. As the Sheehogue play tricks (and watch over Andy), the boy slowly discovers that Aunt Mona has been right: Vinny leads a sordid life of petty crime and empty promises, and Andy, like his mother before him, cannot look to him for a future. The pranks of the Sheehogue, the exaggerated brogue and the buffoonlike thugs and lawmen in the background create a strong comic atmosphere; unfortunately, the author fails to clearly link the comedy to the pain surrounding both Vinny and Andy. The effect is more quirky than memorable. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)
