Angie and David have experience a horror no parents wants to occur - their teenage son is murdered in their home. What makes this even more torturous is that their daughter Nora is arrested for killing him. Desperate to help their daughter, David asks the local lawyer, Martine for help. Unfortunately the case is too complex and not her expertise so she enlists the help of her son, NYC lawyer Julian. Adding to the layers of complexity, Julian and Angie were in a serious relationship for much of their teens and young adulthood and experienced their own trauma when Angie's sister died in front of them. All of the interpersonal issues are present while Angie and David just want to learn the truth and protect their daughter.

This was a complicated slow burn book that I really enjoyed. I listened and read this one along and I thought that the narrator hit just the right tone for this novel. This story touches on grief, forgiveness, and the dynamics of familial relationships and digs deep into these themes with each character. I thought this was going to be a mystery (because the question of why Nora kills her brother runs throughout the book), but it was really a character driven story. While the ending led to a more real life resolution - I appreciated that the story doesn't get wrapped up neatly like many novels (after I read it and thought back on it, not necessarily while I was reading it).

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC to review

The Celadon read-along had me dying to read this book. I was so excited to be able to read it early and see what all the hype was about. I tandem read this book with the audiobook.

Penitence is a multilayered story about two families, a past tragedy, a present day tragedy, and the aftermath of both of these events. This story addresses guilt, betrayal, who we are after we do bad things, and forgiveness. It’s about the price we pay for being human.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews and people hated Angie. I do not share that opinion at all. Angie was a flawed human like everyone else.

You’ll read this wanting answers to “why” and “what happened next” and this was not a story that delivers answers. You have to be okay to be left wondering.

It’s important to go into this book knowing it’s not a thriller and more of a contemporary fiction novel.

The pacing was on the slower side which was hard for me so having the audio to listen to alongside reading it helped a lot. The narrator was Therese Plummer and I loved how she told the story.

Also, any time I put a book down after I’m finished and I feel like I’ve been given life advice or a lesson, it’s a good thing. The book made me think about who I am as a mother and I’m all about self-reflection so I loved this.

Thank you so much to celadon for my ARC and ALC!

I binged Penitence (mostly audio, and some reading my physical copy) over the Christmas break, but I held off of posting in anticipation of joining a zoom call with the author (tonight!), and discussing the book further with reading buddies joining me in this Celadon Read Together Initiative. I could not put the book down and I thought it was exceptional.

The content is heavy, as it’s about a horrific murder within a family, and to complicate things further, the lawyer who representing the case happens to have a complicated history himself with the family. Their paths are intertwined as we move from present day to the past and uncover secrets as human flaws are revealed.
I absolutely love it when books have big underlying themes and FORGIVENESS and it’s layers and complexities is the big overarching one, which gave me much to think about while reading, as well as I was finished. The author has pointed out that themes she wanted to explore also include mercy, judgement, truth and memory, and the balance between navigating these things in relationships, as well how the justice system works deals with it. This was such an emotional read, and I found myself tearing up at more than one spot. We don’t get answers to everything, which I think was purposeful and fit with the theme of the book.

Koval’s writing has been compared to Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng, and I really did feel the Ng comparison. I thought this debut novel was excellent, and I will definitely read more from her in the future. And Therese Plummer’s narration was perfect- it was fantastic on audio. Definitely recommend!

A moral whirlwind of a story. It’s a beautiful but sad book and really makes you ponder forgiveness, the mistakes people make and why they make them. I thought the writing was very good and I would definitely read more from this author.

I received a free DRC through Netgalley. I thought I had this book figured out in the first 5 minutes, but I was wrong. We get pulled back and forth into Angie and Julian's younger selves and into their own horrific life turning points while they are dealing with a new horrific reality. Angie's son has been murdered by his sister. A compelling and thought-provoking book that had me asking myself questions as a mother and sibling. Well-written and hard to put down.

A big Thank you to @celadonbooks & @macmillan.audio for this really great #CeladonReadsTogether choice of 𝑷𝑬𝑵𝑰𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝒃𝒚 𝑲𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏 𝑲𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒍!

This was a family drama centered around a traumatic event that connected 2 people for decades, leading to another traumatic event that unearths long held secrets.

Angie and David are stunned when their daughter Nora is arrested for her older brother, Nico's murder. Stunned, David calls Martine who gets her son Julian to represent Nora. Julian is hesitant since he and Angie have a long past including fist love, but he agrees, stirring up old memories.

I was so glad to be able to read and process this book with fellow readers. It was difficult to pause and discuss but it led to great discussions and some predictions!

I enjoyed the journey of this book, dealing with secrets, family trauma, first loves, and rare diseases. I had a bit of a harder time staying in it at the end, but only because I wanted more! I had hoped for a couple more issues to be drawn out and explained or developed a bit deeper, but overall, still a moving family drama.

What a fantastic debut!!!
Feels very similar to Celeste Ng or William Landay. It’s not a thriller. It’s a slow burn family drama about what would happen if something happened to one of your children, and how far you would go to protect your family.

Very good and kudos to Kristin Koval because this was incredibly written and I can’t wait to read next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for advanced copy!

This was sensational! I love a legal mystery/family drama or thriller and I flew through this in less than a day.
When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, they turn to small-town lawyer Martine for help. And a twisted situation unfolds, as Martine is also the mother of Angie's first love, Julian and she will need to involve Julian in the case for his expertise. As Julian returns to town to help, the cracks in relationships are exposed and tensions rise, along with a tragic accident from the past.

This was devastating and shocking, with such an intriguing backstory. The way the author intertwined the story from the past was masterful and kept me flying through the pages. The legal element, as always, had me completely immersed in the story and this was such a fabulous debut! I cannot wait to read more by this author.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

I had such FOMO from everyone who got to read this early, so I was excited that Celadon Books and NetGalley gave me an advance copy. This was a fantastic debut novel!

Angie and David Sheehan’s lives are completely upended when a tragic, shocking murder occurs in their home. They turn to Martine, a lawyer in their small town of Lodgepole, Colorado, to defend their family. But Martine is more than just another lawyer in town—she used to be best friends with Angie’s mother and is the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian.

Julian and Angie were part of a tragedy that occurred when they were teenagers, a tragedy which left them feeling sad and guilty nearly every day. It was the strain of this tragedy and the façade they had to keep up that ultimately doomed their relationship. It’s been nearly 15 years since they’ve seen one another.

Now, Julian is a criminal lawyer in NYC, and Martine asks him to come home and help her with the case. Julian’s return unearths emotions, secrets, and regrets long kept hidden, yet his expertise is truly needed.

This is a book about the weight of secrets and guilt, and the ripples these cause for many. It’s also a story about shared tragedy and how we can never truly move beyond it, no matter how hard we try.

Kristin Koval said in her author’s note, “Getting to forgiveness is often hard, but it can also be profound and even beautiful.” This is so skillfully illustrated in this book, which shifts from the late 1990s to the late 2010s. I’ll be thinking about this book for a while.

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
A beautifully written debut that will have us all eagerly awaiting Kristin Koval’s next book. I loved slipping into her DMs to share how much I appreciated the minor Persian character representation and the mention of Persian food recipes like Tahchin. Kristin told me she loves to enhance her character development by reflecting on the world around her, which is evident in every character in this book. This story is heavy but deeply important, shedding light on the flaws in our criminal justice system, especially for minors. At its core, it is a powerful exploration of forgiveness and the gift it offers us. If this one isn’t on your radar, it should be!

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
👩🏽‍⚖️Legal drama
🙏Forgiveness and redemption
📈Character driven
❎Flawed characters
😢Emotional
🤐Family secrets
⛷️Small town vibes
🗣️Multiple POV
🔁Dual timelines
📖Debut novel

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: Child death, terminal illness, alcoholism, dementia, fun violence.

⚖️𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾⚖️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E: "𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓉𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝒹𝒾𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔."

🙏 Thank you NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Kristin Koval for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💕

This book was riveting. A true telling of what would you do if one of your children hurt the other. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Angie's world is shattered when her son Nico is killed by her daughter Nora (age 13). In rural Colorado, things like this just don't happen. Angie's husband David hires her first love's mom and her criminal defense attorney son, Julian, to come in and defend Nora. They don't know why she did it, but they want to help her as they grieve the loss of their son, and now daughter to incarceration, as Angie reflects on her past with Julian and mistakes they also made.

What this book is: a slow paced, literary fiction novel about two families and a crime. It is quiet and sad but well written and well plotted. What this isn't: a crime thriller or courtroom drama (don't let the blurb fool you.) This is a good book, but it is not a popcorn thriller or centered around a trial at all. It is slow and atmospheric and tender. I have mixed feelings about the ending, but it did seem to fit with the overall tone of the book. This is a good one to read on a cold winter weekend.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

When I first started Penitence by Kristin Koval, never did I think that it would become my new favourite novel, but here we are.

Similar to how Backman set the scene in Beartown, Koval purposefully uses the prologue to hint at the characters and the unfolding drama within this sleepy Colorado town. As the plot and characters began to develop, my heart broke for those careless split-second decisions that forever changed the course of history for these individuals.

The truth is that I love reading books like this; books that separate the here and now from the before. Where one irreversible action or decision will forever change the future. Those moments you live with regret for, wishing you could take back and change the course of history. Let me tell you, this book had these moments in spades

There was a constant yearning in my soul to keep reading this book, and although I read it fast (thanks to the audiobook), I could not devour this story fast enough. I needed there to be solace for these characters that had just faced utter devastation; I needed to know they would somehow be okay.

Chapter seventeen broke me, and I could not stop crying.

Thérèse Plummer's audiobook narration is a work of art. Her voice went from light, bouncy, airy, and genuinely happy to full of condensation, confusion, and remorse; the tone of the story perfectly mirrored in her narration. It is clear that this book affected Plummer as there is an audible sniff during the most heartbreaking part. Macmillan Audio, all I can do is ask for it to remain in the final audiobook production. This show of emotion added something beautiful, special, and peaceful to my experience as I sat bawling my eyes out; it allowed me to know I wasn't alone with my feelings for these characters.

In short, put this on your TBR immediately, devour it, and thank me later. I'm still baffled that this is a debut novel. Koval wrote the best, most layered, and intricate of stories. And I loved it.

Thank you NetGalley, Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

*4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"She doesn't look like a girl who just shot her brother."

“God doesn’t attach conditions to forgiveness...and neither should you.”

At the end of the emotionally draining Penitence, by phenomenal debut author Kristin Koval, I was left a blubbering mess. From the first shocking chapter where 13 year old Nora kills her 14 year old brother Nico, to the last page between a conflicted mother and a mentally distraught daughter, I was held captive by this family drama that held nothing back about the consequences for our self preservation decisions and the road to forgiveness.

There are a lot of entwining relationships that get entangled, and sometimes break a part in this made for book club selection novel. Angie is Nora and Nico's mother, and "she feels strangled in the absurd paradox of how she can keep loving Nora without betraying Nico." However, as the past comes back to haunt Angie, it's obvious she has her own sins that need atonement.

I was stunned by the intricate acting choices from voice actress Therese Plummer. Her ability to give distinguishing tones to the many characters from Julian, Angie's former lover whom she shares a deadly secret and is now Nora's lawyer, to David, Angie's husband, who has his own life altering secret, made for an award-worthy narration.

No one comes out of this story unscathed, and many would argue that they deserve it; except maybe Nico.
The selfish lies, the justification for all of it, is truly startling, as are some of the revealing twisty secrets. Ultimately it's about penitence, the act of forgiveness, if there are times it shouldn't be given, and what it often costs to give it.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers for a fair & honest review. All opinions are my own.

5 Stars for a radiant debut about the power of a mother's love and the complexities of forgiveness. What happens when one of your children is murdered and the other is accused?
I read this book in just a few short days and really enjoyed it. Heartbreaking at times, Penitence explores what it means to forgive the unthinkable move forward in the wake of tragedy. It also explores how broken the juvenile justice system is. How the rules and laws surrounding juvenile rehabilitation stand in the way of any actual rehabilitating. I learned so much about what's broken in the system, and what these children face in the aftermath of a committed crime, from the mundane misdemeanor to the gravity of murder. I loved the characters, the dual timelines, the history of their relationships and even the big twist! For a debut, this book was very well done. I would absolutely read another book by this author and can't wait to see what she gives us next!

Happy Pub Day to PENITENCE by Kristin Koval! This was a buddy read with my #CeladonReadsTogether group, and we all liked it.

Tragedy has struck the Sheehan family when their eldest teenage son is killed. As if losing their son isn’t enough, Angie and David’s daughter is accused of killing him. They hire an old family friend, Martine, to defend their daughter. Martine is also the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian, who is now an attorney in NY. Julian’s arrival to the case looks like it will benefit their daughter, but this also trudges up the past and secrets from Angie’s past.

I really enjoyed this book. It uncovers the truths bit by bit working between past and present time. The style and themes gave off Jodi Picoult vibes to me at first. It’s a moving story of loss, grief, family, and forgiveness. Definitely will be a winner for readers of Picoult and Celeste Ng. Great debut! Looking forward to more from Kristin Koval.

I highly recommend the audiobook as Therese Plummer’s narration is perfection. I’ve always been a fan of her voice and tone but this performance was fantastic and spot on for the emotion this novel holds.

Many thanks to @celadonbooks and @macmillan.audio for my copies!

This story jumps right in with teenage Nora killing her brother, Nico. Blam, here we are! After this initial excitement, the book slows down quite a bit as the author took me for a walk with each character, meandering and weaving quite the twisted, dramatic tale. She made me hate some of the characters, love some of them, empathize with some, and even root for them at times. The last third of this book was so intense. This snowball of a story turns into a full blown avalanche in the last third of the book as all the pieces, story lines, and truths come to light.

I am not a huge fan of a slow burn, but the author did such a great job with character development and then tied all the story lines together at the end that I really enjoyed this book. It's so hard to believe this was a debut novel!

Shocking storyline from the start! Nora, 13 years old shoots and kills her older brother of 14, who has been diagnosed with Huntingtons Disease.

What makes this novel different: I would say the topic for sure and how a family mitigates through the most extreme trauma of losing a child but needing and wanting to defend the other, “Forgiveness “ truly at the brink of this plot.

I think this novel allows us a vision down the path of something that’s tragic and unforgiving to seeing what can happen in the legal system and how it could be different depending where you live.

An amazing debut novel by Kristin Koval. It was detailed and had an extensive character development in all aspects of the book filling in any gabs you may have had. I highly recommend this novel if you enjoy family drama, crime investigation and dual timelines.
Favorite quote: “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve done”

Thank you @celadonbooks @netgalley for this eARC and hardcopy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and comments are my own. #celadonreads #readpentinence

After Angie and David lose their son in a shocking murder, they scramble to keep their family together and help their daughter. Two families are brought back together to confront the present, and the unresolved tragedies of the past.

Oof. This was an emotional ride. The pace was slower but there was a lot going on.
Told in multiple timelines and POVs by complex, imperfect, and relatable characters who have all made mistakes that plague them.

I appreciated the themes of guilt and forgiveness, family loyalties, and the fragility of life's trajectory. This one has kept me thinking about it well after turning the last page.

I did feel that the characters could have been developed more; some of who I thought to be main characters weren't given the attention I wanted them to, where others’ POVs I wasn't sure added all that much to the story.

In the end, I was left with questions, although it does make sense as is. So just know that going in if you like everything wrapped up in a pretty bow. This isn’t that.

A great debut that will keep you guessing, and would be a perfect choice for book clubs. Can't wait to see what this author does next.

🎧 Thérèse Plummer's narration was exceptional. She delivered the weight of the characters’ circumstances beautifully, adding emotional depth to the story.

⚠️ Death of a child, terminal illness, alcoholism, infidelity

[arc review]
Thank you to Celadon Books for providing an arc, and to Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Penitence releases January 28, 2025

This story opens up with the shocking development of a thirteen-year-old girl who has just shot and killed her fourteen-year-old brother with juvenile Huntington’s.
What lead to the shooting? And how does a family recover from such a fraught turn of events?

I don’t know what it was about this book, whether it was the writing style or the narration itself, but no matter what time of day I picked it up to read or listen to, it put me to sleep! This was not suspenseful like it claimed to be.

I was able to guess early on where things were headed because there’s only one reason why there’d be so much time dedicated to focusing on the past relationship between Angie and Julian, rather than the immediate household who were grieving the loss of one child while criminally defending the other.

The themes of forgiveness felt half-assed, to put it bluntly, and it didn’t feel as though the characters were given enough time to sit and reflect upon their emotions between the initial moment of blindside up to the act of forgiveness itself.

If you’re a reader who needs to know the “why” — especially to something as vital as the driving force of the entire plot, then you’ll likely be sorely disappointed.

I think I could’ve loved this had it been centered more around Nora and Nico and written in first person.

cw: animal death, 9/11, cheating