The Canadians go to Ireland

The Canadians go to Ireland is a novel series written by J. R. Locke. The novels follow the story of a young Canadian boy who is shipped off to Ireland after causing trouble in Canada. There are currently 25 novels and Locke is continuing to produce more with potential spin-offs.

The Background

J.R. Locke was born in New York City in 1972, but soon moved to Quebec when his father was moved there. When he was 15 Locke's best friend Charles Mangy was shipped off to Ireland after causing a school prank that destroyed their high school. Unfortunately, a terrible plane accident on the way to Ireland took Mangy's life. Locke wrote the first novel, "Away We Go", about what Mangy would have done had he actually made it to Ireland. From there he continued to write the novels including new characters and adding more twisted story lines. The books have changed in style through various genres causing much strife from the fans.

The Novels

So far there are 25 Novels in the series with more on the way

# Away We Go

# Ireland's Best

# Finding a Place to Go

# The Return Home

# The Irish Eye

# Found Dead

# What's That in the Sky

# The Complex Vortex

# What if I went Instead?

# How Dare You

# The Death of Signor Cortez

# The Bleeding Soul

# Irish Magic

# The History of Putzy Academy

# The Foundations of Marriage

# I Will Shoot You

# Ireland Just Isn't the Same Without You

# If I Had Really Wanted to Kill I Would

# The Second Life of Henry Adams

# The Space Race

# Found Glittering in the Sky

# Contact with Another

# Ireland's Neighbors

# Another Disgruntled Immigrant

# The Life of Angela Grace

The Settings

Every place in The Canadians go to Ireland is fictional aside from the names of the countries. The main character, Karl Welsh is from Scarborough, Canada and moves to Putzy, Ireland. All of the books take place in Ireland except for two, The Return Home and The Life of Angela Grace. The Return Home is set in Canada when Karl returns there for the first time after going to Ireland. The Life of Angela Grace is mainly set in Africa with some parts in Ireland. However, most events take place at Putzy Academy.

Scarborough, Canada

Scarborough, Canada is where Karl Welsh lived before he went to Putzy, Ireland. It is a fictional town that is supposed to be very small and near Quebec. According to the novels Scarborough is very pretentious where only the rich live and quite unfavorable for children. There have been rumors since The Return Home that Locke is creating a spin-off series based on the spoiled rich children in Scarborough.

Putzy, Ireland

Putzy, Ireland is a fictional town where the main characters go to school. It is a small town that never has any crime and its only troubles are the ones brought from the students at Putzy Academy. Putzy is surrounded by a beautiful forest where the students sneak off to at night and drink. The hot places to visit in Putzy include; the tree, Jack's Irish Pub, and more recently The Cardinal Cafe.

The Tree

The Tree is the spot of Putzy where the local teenagers go to hook-up. The Tree is frequented very often in the beginning of the novels, but has since become less important and bedrooms have become more appropriate hook-up spots. Although The Tree has a special spot in every Putzy residents heart.

Jack's Irish Pub

Jack's Irish Pub is the local pub where the residents of Putzy go to drink. It is known as a safe zone where the kids can't get into trouble if they are there when their teachers are there. It also the main spot where all of the restricted parties are had since the students can't get into trouble there.

The Cardinal Cafe

The Cardinal Cafe is the new hot spot in Putzy. It provides coffee and snacks to the residents. It's a more relaxed atmosphere then Jack's and is known for having great reggae bands on Monday nights.

Putzy Academy

Putzy Academy is where the main characters go to school. It is a fictional academy that exists in fictional Putzy, Ireland. Putzy is said to be known for its world-renown educational program, which claims to turn problem children into respectable members of society. Putzy Academy was formed in 1873 and was burned down in 1899. It was rebuilt in 1902 and has been up since then. However, it is burned down yet again in 2003 in Another Disgruntled Immigrant, but was quickly fixed up by the student body.

Characters

Main Characters

Karl Welsh: Karl Welsh is a trouble-making young lad who was shipped off to Ireland after destroying his high school. While there he seems to gets in trouble for his pranks and causes trouble. Most of the novels deal with the relationships he has with other characters and the trouble that he gets into while in Ireland. He dates many of the women in the novels, but seems to have a soft spot for the beautiful Angela Grace. Karl is not in two of the novels; What if I went Instead where he is replaced by Henry Adams and Ireland Just Isn't the Same Without where he is dead. Karl's life is also very inconsistent as he disappears and dies in some of the novels.

Angela Grace: Angela Grace is the main love interest of Karl Welsh. She is extremely beautiful and smart. While she does love Karl she finds him very immature. Unfortunately Angela dies three times in the books, but each time is brought back to life to return. There is a constant running joke that she is a zombie because of her many deaths. In The Life of Angela Grace Angela leaves Ireland for the first time and the focus is mainly on her and life in Africa.

Charlie Manson: Charlie Manson is Karl's best friend at his prestigious Putzy Academy. Charlie's name comes from Locke's best friend who inspired the stories. Charlie is not mischievous like Karl, but is instead rather intelligent and charismatic. He is always a big hit with the ladies and people seem to enjoy his company. Unlike many of the characters Charlie has never died, but he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the bleeding soul. This has led Charlie to be missing from a few novels when he was deemed to be "in the hospital." Charlie is a fan favorite and it is often requested that he be included more often.

Henry Stromberger: Henry Stromberger is the main professor of the school. Stromberger is known for his crude attitude towards the students and his constant issues with Jack's Irish Pub. He gives ridiculously hard tests to the students knowing that they would be unable to complete them. He is known as "El Diablo" by the students and other professors as well.

Marcus Wershire: Marcus is the geeky lonely kid who is out casted by everyone else. However, when he comes back after summer break in The Irish Eye his personality and looks have changed and he became a hot commodity. That was until he got into a terrible car accident in The Second Life of Henry Adams, which left him horribly disfigured, but he still remains friends with Karl and Charlie. Marcus died upon impact in the car accident, but was brought back to life by Abigail Handy when she gave him mouth-to-mouth.

Abigail Handy: Abigail Handy is Angela's biggest nemesis. She runs the school according to what she can get. She is also the favorite student of Henry Stromberger. Her nickname is Handy the hand job until Space Race when it becomes Handy the blow job, which is known to be less catchy, but actually more factual. Abigail dies in one novel, but only in the form of Angela's dream and therefore has technically never actually died in the stories.

Previous Main Characters

Franklin Cash: Franklin was the first friend that Karl made at Putzy Academy, but he soon became an arch-nemesis after sleeping with both Angela and Abigail. Franklin was a senior in the first few novels, but graduated in Finding a Place to Go when Karl finished his sophomore year. Since then he has not been included in the novels aside from being mentioned. It was rumored that he was going to get his own spin-off series about his college life, but this was quickly denied by Locke who said he simply did not like the character and was ready to get rid of him.

Jessica Rain: Jessica is Karl's girlfriend from The Death of Signor Cortez through The Foundations of Marriage. When she tried to get too serious with Karl too quickly he broke up with her. Her character is involved in a school cheer contest in Foundations of Marriage when she falls off the top of the pyramid and breaks her neck and dies. Fortunately for Karl he didn't have to break up with her, but it was a rather sad ending for a girl who was never very mean. Jessica's death is one of the few times when someone dies and is not able to be revived or rejuvenated.

Mary Court: Mary was known to be the biggest slut of Putzy Academy. She got around with many men and was determined mentally unstable by the therapists at the school. She gets pregnant in How Dare You and causes a lot of controversy when she decides to have an abortion. She leaves the school after the abortion never to return. She did make a brief appearance in Ireland's Neighbors where she returns to see the commotion, but is subsequently abducted by the aliens.

Henry Adams: Henry Adams is a character introduced in The Return Home and was the focus in What if I Had Gone Instead where Locke replaced Karl with Henry who was supposed to be him. Henry is a very smart boy who doesn't cause trouble and is overall very shy and timid. He was found generally unfavorable in What if I Had Gone Instead, but was able to return in The Second Life of Henry Adams. Henry Adams has not been included since, but he did state in The Second Life of Henry Adams he was considering going to Putzy Academy.

Minor Characters

Gorlack Xynoid: Gorlack is an alien from Pluto who is introduced in Contact With Another when he starts communicating with Karl through emails. He visits Ireland in Ireland's Neighbors and is killed by the government. This starts a war between Pluto and Ireland when his immigrant sister is trapped in Ireland leading to a huge debacle.

Sheeesta Xynoid: Sheeesta is the sister of Gorlack who is stranded in Ireland when he dies. This starts a war when she tries to return home and Earth wants to keep her. Luckily she is able to get home in Another Disgruntled Immigrant when she escapes back to Pluto.

Brick Lake: Brick is introduced in The Life of Angela Grace as Angela's ex-boyfriend from back home who she goes to visit in Africa. He told Angela that he would be going to Putzy Academy for his senior year so he can be with her again.

Criticisms

There have been many criticisms of the novels mostly from the fans. Among their many complaints include the numerous deaths of many of the main characters, the lack of real places or story lines, the introduction of unwanted characters, and the declining quality of the stories. Some of the novels have also been hated by fans for the inclusion of activities that have nothing to do with the overall story. Those novels are listed here.

The Return Home

The Return Home is the first novel in the series to not be centered in Ireland. It followed Karl as he went home for summer after Sophomore year. This was a problem for the readers because while the novel was considered interesting there was no connection to the friends Karl had made in Ireland. Locke said he chose not to include the Putzy Academy characters because this was a novel about Karl. It is now believed that this novel was simply made to introduce Henry Adams the much hated character Locke wrote about himself. Since What if I had Gone Instead, The Return Home is no longer thought of as a novel that was missing a little heart, but instead the beginning of Locke's personal agenda to receive a spin-off starring himself.

What if I Had Gone Instead

What if I Had Gone Instead is considered the first real dud of the series, which would later spawn quite a few of them. It follows Henry Adams, who is supposed to be a representation of Locke, as if he were going to Putzy Academy and not his best friend Karl Welsh. It was essentially the same story as the original novel, but it was Locke's way of introducing himself as a character. It was universally hated because Henry was a very boring character with a shy and timid personality. Much of the novel involves him writing in his journal. It was said to be the start of a "What if..." spin-off series, but due to the criticism the spin-off was canceled.

Irish Magic

Irish Magic is the most oft debated novel of the series. Irish Magic plays off a magic book found in the school that allows normal mortals to use magical powers. This is considered a terrible idea by many fans, but it was also considered a very enjoyable read. In the end everyone forgot about the magic book since Stromberger put a spell on everyone to forget about it. He then threw it into the river to never be seen again. It is said that Irish Magic may have been the most fun novel of the series, but also the most ridiculous up until Contact With Another.

Contact with Another, Ireland's Neighbors, Another Disgruntled Immigrant

The three novels Contact with Another, Ireland's Neighbors, and Another Disgruntled Immigrant were all considered the worst of the series. They featured a ridiculous plot story focusing on aliens from Pluto that come to visit Karl. The story is extremely absurd and was considered the last straw for many of the fans. However, some feel that the story with the Plutonians is actually very interesting and has created quite the future drama for Putzy Academy, but most believe the alien trio are the worst novels in the series.

Redemption

While the novels have dipped in quality many fans believe redemption is on the way. The most recent novel, The Life of Angela Grace is said to be perhaps the best novel yet. It has set up much of the drama for the final year of the academy and many of the fans are excited about what might happen. This is the beginning of a new phase for The Canadians go to Ireland series, which may revamp the series and bring it back to its original teen angst format.

Spin-offs

There have been many different rumors of various spin-offs from the series. Some have been wanted by the fans and have not been received while others have been loathed and were contemplated. However, as of now there are no official plans for any spin-offs for any of the characters past or present. But here are the list of ideas and rumors that could be formed.

Scarborough

Scarborough is considered the most likely spin-off of the series. It was rumored to be started after Karl returned home. This is also one of the most excited spin-off ideas as it would be focused around a new group of students uninvolved and with little connection to the characters of The Canadians go to Ireland. As of recently the possibility of making this spin-off has become a bigger possibility with Locke stating he has started working on possible stories for the characters of Scarborough, Canada.

The Franklin Cash Spin-off

When the character Franklin Cash was written out of the novels there were rumors that it was because Locke wanted to give him his own spin-off series of his life in college. However, after various reports claiming the opposite Locke finally made a statement saying there would be no spin-off and that the character was written out of the books because he simply didn't like the character. Since then many fans have continued to call for a spin-off featuring Franklin, but this seems like it will be very unlikely.

"What if..." Spin-off

The character of Henry Adams was originally introduced for a "What if..." spin-off series, but after a universal hatred for the character Locke decided to cancel the spin-off. However after a couple of books Locke brought the character Henry Adams into the series as a potential future main character. This has caused a lot of issues with some fans who feel that Locke wants Henry Adams to be the main character when they believe it should remain Karl. Locke has since stated that he will not be replacing Karl with Henry, but would only include Henry as a friend of Karl.

The Magic Series

After the controversial book Irish Magic rumors floated around that Locke would be starting a spin-off series that has to do with the origins of the magic book and its connection to Putzy Academy. This was an idea that many fans were excited about and thought would be a great idea since Irish Magic is considered one of the most fun, yet completely irrelevant, books. However, as of yet there have been no confirmations or denials of the spin-off so fans keep on hoping.

The Alien Spin-off

After the "Alien Trio" Locke stated he might create a spin-off of the characters in an alien world where they are at an alien high school. So far the response to this has been extremely negative with fans stating an Alien Spin-off could cause the death of the series.