A fantastic debut from Una Mannion which blends page-turning thriller with thoughtful coming of age drama. On the last day of the school year, widowed single mum Faye Gallagher is driving her five bickering kids home when she snaps. Swerving on to the hard shoulder, she forces 12-year-old Ellen to get out of the car and walk the last five miles. Hours later, darkness has fallen and still Ellen hasn’t made it back. The book sets up a classic crime thriller narrative, but goes deeper, exploring family, nostalgia and the pain of growing up.

I just finished reading A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion and I loved it. It's a coming-of-age story set in the 1980s, about a family of five siblings who are left to fend for themselves after their mother kicks out one of them from the car. The book explores the themes of trauma, identity, and forgiveness, with a suspenseful plot and vivid characters. The writing is beautiful and lyrical, capturing the emotions and atmosphere of the story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys realistic fiction with a touch of mystery.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

This richly atmospheric debut novel manages to combine elements of a coming-of-age story with those of a suspense thriller, all driven by the repercussions of a fateful event on the final day of school ahead of the summer of 1981.  Recounted by fifteen-year-old worry wart, Libby Gallagher, the middle child of five siblings, and set in Valley Forge Mountain in rural Pennsylvania, the story is one of a dysfunctional family, unresolved grief and the loyalty that binds them together. The Irish patriarch of the Gallagher’s lived apart from the family prior to his death a year earlier and their distant American mother, Faye, cuts a harried figure on the periphery of family life.  When a squabble in the car on the way home sees Faye throw twelve-year-old Ellen out five miles from home and in pitch darkness, the events that ensue resound through all of their lives.

School uniform clad Ellen opts to hitchhike and despite fleeing from a man her older sister’s dub “Barbie Man”, she does not escape completely unscathed.  Troubled small-time local dope dealer, Wilson McVay, gets wind of events and is quick to assemble a posse to hunt down and teach the perpetrator a lesson. Libby’s overriding fear however is all about possible reprisals given that Ellen told Barbie Man she lived in the mountains. The continuing threat to Ellen and sightings of Barbie Man form the overarching story but on a more individual level Libby is struggling with adolescence.  Holding on her father’s vision of her as a hippy more at home amongst the natural world he loved, confused by her crush’s intentions, friction with her best friend and her older sister’s imminent departure from the family home all add to her concerns. There is a lot going on in Libby’s world and it is she who feels the burden of responsibility to try to prevent things spinning out of control as events threaten to tear the family apart.

Libby idolised her father and despite viewing her mother harshly, she, like her siblings are adamant about keeping the inciting event a secret from adults and authorities.  Faye is barely present in the book yet the adults who do feature are all seen through a much more forgiving lens by Libby. I struggled to envisage how the book would end and doubted whether Mannion could pull off a credible denouement and resolution to the Barbie Man episode but she nails it convincingly. For not being an out and out thriller I found the book an intensely suspenseful read. At times I felt the repercussions of Ellen’s hitchhike home were a little crowded out by Libby eulogising about her father, but overall the narrative felt like a pretty faithful portrayal of the ups and downs of adolescence combined with a family trauma. The writing is steeped in nature, replete with metaphors and there is a lyricism to the entire narrative that I found beautifully hypnotic and made for a memorable debut.

I really enjoyed A Crooked Tree. It was a great coming of age novel with a strong message about family and the impact of those off the cuff decisions that we all make. Would probably be better placed in the YA genre but I love YA so that was great for me.

A beautiful debut coming of age novel. How one rash act affects a family. A different read to my normal genre but I really enjoyed it.

Libby lives in rural Pennsylvania with her mum, brother, and sisters. One day, returning from school, Ellen is ordered from the car by their mum and told to walk home.

It appears that Ellen hitched a lift and then got scared so jumped from the car and went to where Libby was babysitting. Libby tells her elder sister Marie and they decide not to tell anyone, but Marie lets Wilson McVey - a neighbour she has become friendly with - know and he decides to do something about it. The consequences of this permeate the remainder of the novel.

Basically, this is a coming-of-age story as Libby comes to terms with growing up, having lost her father who she was very close to - her dysfunctional mother is having an affair and they find it hard to relate to each other. Marie is the most mature of all of them and is basically the glue that holds the family together, so when she moves out to take a job it hits Libby especially hard.

Libby's friendship with Sage is also spotlighted, the two of them alternating between closeness and falling out but they definitely have a bond. She initially dislikes Wilson but comes to rely on him as events progress.

Una Mannion skilfully navigates Libby's journey through emerging adolescence, as she deals with events that threaten to spiral out of control. Libby is a mixture of feistiness and immaturity, making errors of judgement and relying on her own misperceptions, but over time she learns to revise her opinion.

There is pathos as well, a sense of being on the edge of things, whether that is adolescence, friendship groups, or simply feeling you don't belong. A wrong step can have potentially fatal consequences and Libby learns the fear that comes from not always thinking through her actions and then realising she could have acted or spoken differently. All this is part of growing up.

This was a good story and I would be happy to read more by Una Mannion.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Faber & Faber Ltd, in return for an honest appraisal.

This definately is not a thriller which is my favourite genre. So I was kind of disappointed when I started reading it. Its set in my favourite era . I grew up in the 80's but hey I believe this could be a YA novel.

Unfortunately I just could not get into this book. It may be one for other readers, but I was unable to finish it.

This book sat on my currently reading shelf for half a year without me picking it back up - I am now officially calling it quits. This is not a bad book by any means but I found it unfocussed and for me at least the mix between coming-of-age and thriller did not work. I thought the coming-of-age elements, even if they followed expected story beats (the skinny dipping scene, the awkward first kiss, the falling out with friends, the fights with sisters), worked beautifully due to how expertly the main character is drawn. The thriller-y elements on the other hand did neither work for me nor kept me interested enough to keep reading. I skipped to the end to know how it all works out and am now happy to just put the book down.

Definitely a must read for anyone with adolescent children, This is a beautifully written story and is a real page turner. Really connected with the characters, think this book will stay with me for a long time,

This is so well written and beautifully descriptive. The characters are really believable and well rounded. Absolutely recommended.

A mother living alone with her 4 kids, one night driving home she kicks her daughter out of the car, as she was irritating her. This single episode will spiral a series of events which will shape this family and those around them.

This is a slow burner, I found it too slow for me, The only part that couldn't keep me away from reading was nearly at the end.

Set in the early 80s in a rural part of Pennsylvania, 15-year-old Libby Gallagher is on a car journey home from school with her mother, brothers and sisters, when an argument erupts. Fed up with the fighting, Ellen, Libby's little sister is told to leave the car and walk the rest of the way. A Crooked Tree tells the story of what happens next.

Libby narrates this fabulous story in the summertime with her mum, Faye and four siblings - Marie, Thomas, Ellen and Beatrice. Her father, who split from her mum and left the home a few years before, died a few months ago.

I'm truly amazed that A Crooked Tree is a début. Una Mannion’s writing is so beautiful and atmospheric, and in this coming of age story, Libby sees everything, in her curious, detached way, recalling her childhood and the time she spent with her dad - an Irish immigrant. Her mother is depressed, neglectful, a shadow rather than a parental figure.

On the basis of the synopsis, the reader might think this tale is a thriller but instead, it is a rewarding, slowly developing, contemplative and emotional character-driven story that contains impactful moments and has rich threads of suspense and unease.

Una Mannion admirably demonstrated an ability to tell this story in vivid reality. There are some very dark events and huge topics covered but ultimately, this is a story of relationships, forgiveness, and learning to trust. This is a powerful début, well deserving of its 5-star rating.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Faber & Faber via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Loved this one! So easy to read and lots of twists and turns along the way. Definitely a quick read and one I recommend.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but the writing style wasn't for me unfortunately. I was expecting a thriller but this was more a coming of age book that was really too slow a burner for me.

I’d call this more a coming of age book than thriller or mystery so not quite what I expected, thought it was brilliant all the same though, a very good insight into what it’s like to see it through a teenagers eyes (we forget once we’re old 😂) I enjoyed the backstory and all the mementoes and characters too, felt sorry for her mum in the end and her Dad wasn’t all he was made out to be, really enjoyed it 4 stars ⭐️

Thank you Net Galley and Faber and Faber Ltd for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

*⭐⭐⭐.5 /5. Rounded down to a 3.

A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, so I was very excited to pick it up. The premise of a twelve-year-old being kicked out of the car by her mother and being force to walk home in the dusk, told from the perspective of her sister sounded like it would be right down my alley. Unfortunately it didn’t really live up to my expectations.

Similar to Leave the World Behind this one had a really interesting premise that ended up falling a bit flat. It has so much potential, and endless of possibilities for where the story could go, but I felt like nothing was done with it. I kept waiting for something to happen. It did pick up around the 70% mark, but I was just expecting something more. It might have been that my expectations going into it ruined it for me. First of all, I had very high expectations since I was so excited for it, but I also thought the story would be more focused on Ellen (the twelve-year-old being kicked out of the car) and her being gone and the family anxiously search for her. I do however appreciate the story for what it is, I myself was just expecting something else.

Seeing as this is a debut novel it was pretty solid. I did enjoy the writing style and atmosphere, and I am looking forward to reading other books Una Mannion might release in the future!

I loved this book. For some reason I was put off from beginning it at first, maybe as I was unsure about exactly what the story was going to be. Was it going to be the beginning of some dismal story about an unhinged mother neglecting her kids - or worse?

In fact it's in lots of ways an uplifting story about growing up.

Told from the perspective of Libby, the book very quickly transports you into how the world looks when viewed from the eyes of a teenager. There are obviously many problems in her family. The book begins with a row escalating in the car, with Libby's mother ending up leaving her sister Ellen by the side of the road because she is so furious with her.

This episode leads to a chain of events that sets the plot for the whole book. But alongside the story is the tale of how Libby is making sense of the world and her relationship to other people in it.

Libby and her siblings have lost their father, who died a year or so earlier. There are many passages where she remembers episodes from their life with him and it's clear that she is feeling a huge sense of loss. I found her memories of him and her and her siblings' regrets about things they wished they had said to him very moving.

Libby also has a strained relationship with her mother Faye. At first glance - and from reading the blurb - you could be forgiven for thinking her mother is the 'bad' character here.

But while it's clear she has problems communicating her love for her children, as the book develops it seems Faye is a more complicated character. And there are hints that Libby's dad didn't always treat her as well as he could have done, highlighting the difficulties young people face in coming to terms with the real characters of people they love.

It can feel quite nostalgic at times, but that isn't a bad thing. And it's written in a way that is straightforward and uncluttered. Things don't need to be exaggerated because they are striking enough as they are.

This is a book that I think will have something for everyone. It's about how important friendships are. And the sense of time passing that you will never get back, of people moving on and of missing them, will resonate with many people.