Customer Reviews
Disappointing - By: Karen Gregory, 18 May 2008 
Having read the other books by her, I was keen to read this one, plus my friend thought it was amazing. I got through it quickly, partly because I wanted it to end or get better. It ended. But it didn't get better.
I feel the key problem to the story was that none of the characters were particularly likable. Shell annoyed me with her ignorance & stupidity- why didn't she get a job? run away with her siblings? And what was the appeal in that Declan Ronan?!! So the fatal issues were no likeable characters, never being able to agree with the main characters decisions & some parts were just weird... Like when she delivered the baby-What was that about?!!!
A lovely book - By: J. Vandome, 03 May 2008 
I read this book last year as part of the Carnegie Award with two of my friends. We each had to choose a book randomly out of a carrier bag & I ended up with this one. I'm so glad that I did! The cover is beautiful & the story itself is lovely. After the award finished I went to my local library to find the book so that I could read it again I loved it that much! I would recommend the book to anyone, young or old.
Best book I've read this year so far! - By: Mgb Finan, 25 Apr 2008 This book is amazing. From the opening page, the author is able to transfix & captivate the reader. The tale is told by a heart moving heroine, shell, who has a troubled life. The way Dowd is able to draw sympathy from the reader for the heroine adn her brother & sister is magnificent.
The tale is a beautiful one, with a moving portrait captured of life in a smalll Irish catholic village, & the problems associated by the insular life this entails.
This book actuallly moved me to tears.
Marvellous.
A fantastic read for bright children - By: James Haynes, 28 Mar 2008 I reallly enjoyed reading this book & found Dowd's lyrical style to be addictive. It is set in Ireland & the imagery magicallly paints a picture of the scenery, clothes & fashions of the day (1980s). There are so many acute socio-political issues taken on board here & the author must have spent a lot of time in Ireland.
The writing is direct & the sheer efficiency of the language used to describe so many events: humourous, sad, happy, heart-warming, heart-breaking, tear jerking, & joyous. Dowd's sense of what joy it is to be alive is strongly displayed in this fantastic read. I would say that it is reallly aimed at bright teenagers. I think adults would find it appealing too. My mum has read it twice!
Well written with a good twist - By: H.P., 20 Mar 2008 
Although this storyline has been endlessly covered before - Irish Catholic family living in poverty, father a Bible-bashing alcoholic, priests, a main character who is a naive young thing who gets into 'trouble' etc Dowd's lightness of touch engaged me sufficiently to finish it. The twist towards the end raised it from a three to a four star but I was still a little unsure of when the book was actuallly meant to be set & I read the first half with such a sense of foreboding it prevented me from fully enjoying it. Definitely worth a read, though.
