by Anne Donovan
First published 2008
Fiona O'Connell feels invisible in her crowded tenement flat. Her quiet brother keeps to himself while her twin sisters practice their line dancing routines. She dreams of living like Emily Brontë's heroines, somewhere more dramatic than Glasgow's gray streets. Fiona believes her biggest problem is boredom. She compares her predictable days to the passionate worlds she reads about in Victorian novels. Her parents work hard to keep their family fed and housed. The twins fill every room with noise and laughter. Everything feels routine until one ordinary day turns catastrophic. A single event destroys the family structure Fiona took for granted. The tragedy forces each O'Connell to face a new reality. Fiona discovers that real loss cuts deeper than any fictional heartbreak. Her family must rebuild from fragments of their former life. Through grief and confusion, they learn that love can create unexpected bonds. Fiona finds strength she never knew she possessed.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, grief
Setting: Glasgow
Period: 20th-century
320 pages · Paperback · Canongate Books Ltd.