The New Policeman (review)

Fifteen-year-old J.J. is not the only one who feels as though days pass by more swiftly than they should: his family, his neighbors, and indeed, all of Ireland is experiencing the same time crunch. Like everyone, J.J. is frustrated, but until his mother asks for more time as her birthday present, it never occurs to him that he may be able to change their situation. In the hopes of borrowing or buying extra time, J.J. passes through a portal into Tir na n'Óg, the land of eternal youth. Instead, he discovers that time is corrupted there as well, advancing when it should be stable. Suddenly, J.J. is thrown into a quest to find the catalyst of the temporal shifts before both worlds are irreversibly damaged by the ravages of unpredictable time. Tir na n'Óg is an intriguing and unsettling environment, where desperately injured dogs never heal and infants are shuttled off to earth so that they can grow (some find their way back and some never do). Music is central to this novel: J.J. comes from a musical family, the residents of Tir na n'Óg are much more concerned about playing amazing music than intervening to avoid their impending doom, and sheet music closes each chapter. While many readers may not read music or value it more than their lives, J.J.'s sense of passion is universal, and his fierce determination to set things right makes him a compelling protagonist even in Tir na n'Óg, where normalcy equals talking goats. A glossary, bibliography, and music notes will aid readers interested in further exploration of Irish culture and myth.