by Ana Crespo Bordes, Donal Ryan
First published 2016
Melody Shee is thirty-three and pregnant—not by her husband, but by Martin Toppy, a seventeen-year-old Traveller boy she was teaching to read. Abandoned by her husband and drowning in her own choices, Melody faces a pregnancy that threatens to unravel everything. Her past crime against Breedie Flynn haunts her, a wound she can't escape. Then she meets Mary Crothery, a young Traveller woman who seems to know more about Melody's life than she should. As her pregnancy progresses, Melody must confront the consequences of her actions and find a way to survive. This is a story of redemption, unexpected connection, and the complicated paths of forgiveness.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: redemption, unexpected-connection
Setting: Ireland
Period: 21st-century
192 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday
Content warnings: sexual-content