A disappointing storyline and a difficult book to follow. I struggled to finish it. I'm afraid I won't be rushing to read other stories from this author. Sadly this book wasn't for me.

I just finished this book today and was really sorry to turn the last page.

It is absorbing and has a great story line. The Fatherless Irish family who live on the mountain are independent, close knit and proud. They have secrets but they take care of each other , or at least the children do as their mother is largely absent and mostly neglectful. She the mother is the least well drawn character and it’s hard to understand her stubborn refusal to care for her children or to help them deal with t heir grief over their fathers absence and death.

There is an edge to the story with the mysterious Barbie Man who appears and reappears as a kind of nightmare monster who must be beaten in order to make life safe again.

I enjoyed the story, I didn't especially mark passages for remembering but the writing flowed and I was for the most part totally absorbed in the tale, hardly aware I was reading.

The main protagonist, Libby, is fierce and brave while clearly a child in her refusal to disclose what is happening and what she fears. She is a trauma bearer like all the children in the family and she suffers from guilt and rage. She is also lovable and I think this ability to create such a complex character is a sign of a good writer.

Recommended as a good read.

This is a strange read insofar as it feels in many places that nothing much is happening and yet you cannot put the book down and have to read compulsively to reach resolution, thus realizing that actually a lot is happening very quietly!
The descriptions of the landscape are particularly evocative and the interactions of the characters wholly believable, engendering real feelings of rage with the mother (who abandons their child half way up a mountain?) and empathy with the children.
The book has a real feeling of a place that hasn't quite caught up with modern living, a backwater existence out of kilter with the rest of the world and you are transported right there on every page.

I requested this book because it looked like the kind of genre I like to read and initially it did have me gripped but the longer I read the book I found the storyline to be less so and quite slow. I carried on regardless because I wanted to see the outcome which was what I was expecting really so no surprises.

Generally a good story but it was slow at times and I felt a little underwhelmed at the ending. There is still some unanswered bits for me.

I was intrigued by the description of this book but it didn’t grip me like I thought it would. I felt it was quite slow and rather boring at times and nearly stopped reading it but I persevered and the last third of the book was a lot more exciting and gripping. All in all a good read if you get through the earlier part of the book.

This is the story of Libby, 14 years old, who is narrating a summer with her mum and four siblings - Marie, Thomas, Ellen and Beatrice. Her father - who had left the home a few years prior - has died a few months ago. Their mum is seeing someone - a mysterious Bill they know little about. Something happens to Ellen at the very beginning of the book, which will have consequences for the whole family, unfolding during the summer break.

This is a gorgeous coming out of age story, beautifully written - Libby sees everything, in a detached way, recalls her childhood and the time she spent with her father - an Irish immigrant - working in other people's gardens, walking through the mountains, listening to stories from Ireland. Her mother is depressed, neglectful, a shadow rather than a parental figure. When the incident with Ellen happens, it is teenagers and very young adults who will try to fix it with tragic consequences.

The characters are so detailed and feel so personal, it was enjoyable reading their stories - and despite having many characters, it didn't bother me - they all felt different, they all worked. There is a deep melancholy to that story, which is hard to describe without spoiling the book. I really, really enjoyed it.

This is an excellent and gripping read. It is beautifully written, set in 1980s Pennsylvania, a wonderful page-turning coming-of-age novel. The narrator is 15 year old Libby, middle of five siblings. I knew I had to read this book when I heard it was about a mother driving her children home from school who gets pushed beyond her limit and leaves one of them, 12 year old Ellen, by the side of the road. This decision has terrible consequences for the whole family. It’s very easy to relate to the siblings who are all doing their best in difficult circumstances. I loved the raw atmosphere of the book, and the way the author writes about the landscape and Libby’s fascination with trees while weaving a thrilling plot and exploring ideas of friendship, grief, growing up and family dynamics. Brilliant! Five stars.

A decent coming-of-age story. The opening is arresting. There are lovely touches throughout that make the characters feel quite authentic- the brief mention of the IRA hunger strikes in among the hullaballoo of American press attention of Chares and Diana's wedding for instance. It's a quiet, understated tale. The mother doesn't come out well, really, but somehow, perhaps because of her name, I was willing to at least acknowledge a wispiness to her, as though she wasn't actually real. All in all, a wee bit different.

I liked the atmosphere of this book and he interesting, yet dysfunctional, family at the heart of it. There was tension throughout with the Barbie Man, and it was definitely a page turner.

The book did feel a little slow at times, and I wanted a bit more of what motivated the mother of the five children, but overall a good, tense read.

For much of this book I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. It’s not the usual style of story that I enjoy. A world where people go about their every day lives and things happen but it’s sort of...mundane. At times it felt a little boring for me. But I did enjoy that it eventually found its rhythm and the story built until we reached the final section which was full of drama and excitement. Looking back I see I enjoyed much of the story, including the parts that at times felt boring. There is something interesting about seeing peoples lives and interactions and the way their average lives unfold. But sometimes you can’t see that you enjoy it until it’s over and you realise you won’t be able to learn more. I found the characters relatable, the family situation both heartbreaking and in some ways beautiful (the siblings relationships). It was well written and the language used really made me picture the world I was reading about, to feel closer to it, like it was there in my mind waiting for me to explore.

A single parent family struggling to deal with the death of a parent, each child in their own way learning to live in a household where the surviving mother is unable to function or care for them properly. A split second decision puts one of the children in an incredibly dangerous situation and lack of parental or adult guidance results in an escalation of an already precarious situation. When the oldest and responsible sibling leaves home, Libby, the protagonist narrating the story , struggles to deal with her role as substitute guardian for the siblings, ricocheting between irresponsible teenager, terrified child and pubescent young woman. A dark situation gains momentum when immaturity and poor decisions escalate an already dangerous position to which the siblings now find themselves exposed. The main storyline is enhanced by scenery and landscape descriptions adding a richness and understanding to the background and lifestyle of the characters. Many thanks to publisher and NetGalley for ARC.

A mother is in the car driving home with her four bickering children, she stops the car and demands that 12 year old Ellen gets out of the car. She drives away leaving her on a dark road 5 miles from home.

What happens next when Ellen hitches a lift, sets of a disastrous chain of events that will change this family forever.

A great story about family and friendship. I loved how the characters came to life, seeing the connection between the siblings and how they look after each other.

An author I will be looking out for. I can’t wait to read her next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Ellen's mum has had enough. she has picked the kids up from school for the holidays and already they are arguing ad Ellen is pushing to go on an art class and won't give up moaning .
Then the unthinkable happens - her mother pulls over and orders her out of the car. She is left at the side of the highway in her school uniform.
The other children watch her fading into the distance but what can they do? Will she get home and what will happen to her on the way?.
This is the summer that will change everything for Ellen and her brothers and sisters

Good lord, the first 50 pages of this novel are among the most gripping I have ever read. The scene is so familiar: carload of kids with mum in the front. One of them gets bit big for their boots and mum brings out the old "get out and walk" bit. Only in this often shocking book, mum follows through and 12 year old Ellen is booted from the car and left to make her own way home. What happens next is tragic but not all that surprising. The ramifications, however, are shattering. I was glued to this much of the way through. The author is deeply skilled at creating believable (if deeply flawed) characters, and recreating just what to was like to grow up in the 1980s. The landscape, the music, the cars, the recklessness, the invincibility, the secrets and the fear -- it's all here in hyper-colour. I'll admit I expected a very different finale, but what happens here keeps the reader turning pages. Our protagonist, Libby, is a steely narrator, and the reader cheers for her frankness while squirming at the adult lessons she's forced to learn before her time, and at her struggle to offer protections to her little sister. All the characters here are complex, and their story is a good one. Looking forward to the author's next book.

A Crooked Tree - Una Mannion


A wonderful book! I couldn’t stop reading it. The characters were so well thought out and the story was a dream. The story is told from the perspective of Libby, the middle child of a family of five children, and the book revolves around her and her siblings growing up on a mountain in Pennsylvania. An incident in the car returning home from school on the last day of term before the summer break starts a series of events that Libby has to deal with. Brilliant storyline, and the writing is superb. In the author’s own words “I could see the world described”. More like this please! Would definitely recommend.
Thank you NetGalley and Faber and Faber.

What would you do if you were in the car with your family and your angry mother demands your little sister to get out, and then drives off, leaving her stranded on the side of the road, five or six miles from home, left in the dark?

This is the beginning of Una Mannion’s blisteringly atmospheric, tense family drama, A CROOKED TREE. The story unfolds in the events that follow the misfortune of Libby’s younger sister, Ellen. Libby is fourteen years old. She narrates the panic-stricken summer of 1981 in Valley Forge on the edge of route 252, Pennsylvania. Her elder sister is leaving home, her mother is taking her younger half-sister to camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains, her brother is becoming anti-social at home, escaping into his own world of astronomy, and Ellen is quiet, harmed in ways that might not yet be apparent. Libby is increasingly isolated, and all the while, she has to save her sister, keep her safe from the Barbie Man, from letting anybody know what happened to her. But there’s only so much power a fourteen year old can wield… especially when your friends can no longer be trusted and your family is gone…

In this vivid novel, Mannion manages to bridge an exquisitely heartfelt study of familial love and despair, alongside a traumatic coming-of-age tale full of angst, grief, and loneliness. Indeed, few pains and agonies are left out, such that the intensity of narration can be a lot to stomach. But equally, there is a strong taste for freedom, of actual hope for the future, and forgiveness, understanding, the happiness of enduring friendships. There is loss and despair, but conflict is knowing how to deal with it. And Libby is a fighter. She endures. Her struggle is an inspiration to any family individual – which includes most, if not all of us.

Highly recommended for readers of literary and commercial fiction. The book has a knife-edge plot as well as rich atmospheric prose, both elements to keep the reader hooked. Young adults may also enjoy this book because it speaks directly to teenagers, but be fully aware of the disturbing subject matter (abuse content).

The story follows, Libby a 15 year old in the late 70's who has a deprived and chaotic homelife in semi rural Pennsylvania.. She has four siblings, her father is dead and her mother is totally disengaged from family life and has a secret boyfriend who is the father of the youngest child. One evening driving the family back from school Ellen, the twelve year old who looks much younger annoys their mother and she orders her out of the car on a busy highway miles from home and drives on. The events that stem from this act affect the rest of the narrative. It is a coming of age type story, in which Libby reflects on her past whilst dealing with the dramatic events unfolding from Ellen's abandonment. Not every storyline is tied up neatly and sometimes I questioned where the narrative was heading or whether the introduction of a new character and their backstory was really needed. However, I did really enjoy the book and how it evoked a time before mobile phones and the internet and the feelings of being a teenager.

A Crooked Tree is a very accomplished debut from Una Mannion. The setting is suburban Pennsylvania in the early 1980's , and the book tells the story of one family through the eyes of fifteen year old Libby. Libby and her siblings are dealing with the loss of their father, who passed away not long ago, but who had separated from their mother several years ago. Libby who was particularly close to her Dad is finding the transition difficult, and the anger she feels towards her mother causes tension, especially since her mother has been seeing a new man and has shifted her attention away from the family.
The book opens with the event that underpins the rest of the story, a frustrated and harried mother , fed up with the squabbling in the car, forces twelve year old Ellen to get out and drives off, leaving her on the side of the road to make her own way home, despite the protestations of Libby and the rest of the family. When a bruised and bloody Ellen makes her way to the house where Libby is babysitting later that night, it is clear that something bad has happened. Libby and her friends decide to take matters into their own hands , and from this one bad decision things spiral to a dramatic conclusion.
This book is a wonderful coming of age story , and I absolutely loved the portrayal of the bonds between the various siblings, I have rarely found such a real depiction of the way siblings fight and squabble but will unite to defend one of their own. The writing is very descriptive, and the author does a wonderful job of firmly rooting the book in time and place. There is also some interesting social commentary woven into the storytelling, the "stigma" of divorce and its impact on social and financial status for example. This is not a book I would recommend for someone looking for a fast paced thriller but rather for readers who like descriptive and evocative writing and interesting and well developed characters.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. The storyline was great. Had everything you want in a gripping book. Would definitely be making a recommendation to other readers that this book is good