Reviewed for Booklist. Amazing novel in verse. I finished it one sitting, If you want a book to break your heart but also give you hope, this will be your new favorite read.

Nell Quinn has gotten a job as a scullery maid in her British landlord's house in the village of Ballinkeel in 1846. The potato blight had not impacted the village the year before, but now the villages crops have the blight and Nell ends up being the only employed member of the Quinn family. When she meets the landlord's nephew and heir, Johnny, and their friendship turns into a romance, Nell doesn't see how this could be a problem at first. When the famine becomes worse and the wealthy British landlords do not care about the suffering of the Irish villagers, Nell starts having to make decisions that will effect all of her relationships and the rest of her life. A beautiful novel-in-verse and a heart-wrenching story of the Irish potato famine.

Enjoyed this verse novel! Quick pace, easy to get into story. Enjoyed Nell’s story line and her development as she navigated family life during Ireland’s famine as well as her developing love story. Wish the ending had given a bit more.. but who knows, maybe there will be a part two to Nell’s story!

An emotional and eloquent read that highlights the hardship, horror, and injustice of the Irish potato famine. The love story could have used a little more time to grow (or perhaps insight into its growing/overcoming its inherent conflict), but the sparseness of detail and subtly of the verse also worked very well and was fitting for the overall tone of the story. A beautiful, though heartbreaking, book.

This was ABSOLUTELY stunning. Anyone who knows me is fully aware that I am a deep deep sucker for both historical fiction and a novel in verse and this one just checked all my boxes. Heartbreaking, powerful, beautiful, I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

In Where the Heart Should Be, Sarah Crossan tells a rich and powerful story in verse with a strong and resilient heroine and supporting characters who show kindness, generosity, and courage.
When the story opens, Nell has left school and the poems she loves in order to work at “the big house,” where the English landowner lives. Her wages are critical because the potato crop has begun to fail, and her family must pay their rent and find food enough to survive the winter. While her family and the other Irish residents struggle to find food, Nell meets Johnny, the nephew of the English landowner and they develop a friendship that turns into a deep love.
When Nell’s father joins a raiding party to steal back the oats they paid in rent, the landowner is injured, and Nell’s father is arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. Torn between her love for her father and her love for Johnny, Nell faces difficult choices that will chart her future.
In Nell and Johnny, Crossan has given readers heroes to emulate. They see people, rather than nationality or class, and they will risk their own safety and comfort for those they love. When hard times arrive, they become stronger in the face of opposition, and everyone benefits from their courage and resilience.
I will use this novel in verse in my classes as a companion to our study of the Potato Famine. It is beautifully paced and provides a human connection to a historical tragedy.

This historical-fiction novel in verse is an excellent pick for students in grades 7 - 10. While I'm familiar with Irish history, Crossan brings the potato blight and resulting famine into stark clarity, revealing the impossible choices, grief, and cruelty that the Irish farmers had to face. The stakes are high and all too real for the protagonist Nell and her family and friends throughout the novel as the tension between the farmers and their English landlord escalate. A deeply engaging and quick read, I would especially recommend it to students with a keen sense of justice, those interested in historical romance, and students in a reading slump.

This is the first time that I have read anything by this author. I was not disappointed. Crossan had the ability to move me to emotion through her use of words. The book was an excellent and emotional read that was during one of the worst times in Irish history. I was moved and cried with this one. So be sure and have some tissues handy. The main character, Nell, was so well written so well. Her as a character, and the way the time period caused strains on all those around and especially close to you. It sadly showed the way the British actually didn't care for the Irish as a whole. I would recommend this book to others. It is emotion and gripping from the beginning. Thank you Net Galley ARC!

This was excellent, and very powerful. I was learning about the famine recently, but this introduced an incredible humanistic aspect on the entire situation, vividly showing the strains on family, lovers, and entire communities. It artfully observed the negligence of the British, and the resilience of the Irish. This was fantastic.