This book was good, but maybe a little too odd for me to absolutely love it. I think I am still processing what I read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a strange little story. Full of trauma and a girl who wants love no matter what. This is also a good amount of disgusting and disturbing without being too much.

I’m not sure how to review this because there’s so much going on. I’m not sure if I see Aoileann as a villain. She is so trapped and unhappy and the way she is treated by her family and her community would have me over the edge as well. Of course she’d latch onto the first person who would be nice to her and treat her like she wasn’t a monster.

The “curse” part of this was so bizarre. Nobody could interact with Aoileann and they wouldn’t let her get near them because she was cursed. I didn’t really understand that. The ending was trying to explain it but I still didn’t understand all the way. Not even Aoileann knew why everyone hated her. Nobody would talk to her.

Aoileann just craved loved. From her mother & another person. The way she hated her mother and couldn’t even call her that and referred to her as “it” and “the bed thing” that ruined her life and tormented her is very reflective of individuals who have to be cared for by their families. Aoileann has had to since she was a child and has never known her mother to be normal, so the resentment building up is understandable. She just wants to be free and can’t.

The ending was both heartbreaking and weirdly relieving. Rachel is Aoileann‘s savior and I don’t know whether that’s good or bad for them. It could end horribly.

I wanted to read this book because of the Shirley Jackson award win and it was very unique and kept my attention. I learned a lot about the Irish language as well as different Irish superstitions. You get a sense of being trapped while reading the story. Trapped on a tiny island in a tiny house where a girl is slowly going insane taking care of her mother and not being able to interact with the outside world. Her father only comes to the island once a month to check on them and her grandmother lives in the house with her but is distance and unaffectionate with her. She is nearly 20 and grows to hate the village and hate her family. She is unwelcome in her own home as well as everywhere else. A newcomer to the island is the only one who is kind to her. A woman with a baby. Aoileann has so much love to give them that she can’t give anyone else.