I read [b:A Crooked Tree|54236137|A Crooked Tree|Una Mannion|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593377490l/54236137._SY75_.jpg|84633106] last night. The writing is good, and even better is her characterizations of teens. Told by a fifteen-year-old, one of five siblings growing up outside of Philadelphia in the Seventies, the tale is authentic and each of the kids is distinct. The widowed mother is not responsible as a parent, engaged in an affair, working too much, and letting her anger get the best of her so Libby is forced to make her own decisions. An evil character has them all cowed in fear, but they are reluctant to share info with parental or civic authorities. The suspense accelerates and the last quarter of the book is an unputdownable mystery after some slowness in the middle. ( )

In her evocative and suspenseful debut novel, A Crooked Tree, Una Mannion draws the reader into the fractured family life of 15-year-old Libby Gallagher, a girl on the threshold of adulthood who is quickly discovering that grown-ups are not always reliable and cannot always be trusted. The setting is Pennsylvania in the early 1980s—a community called Valley Forge located in the rural outskirts of Philadelphia. School is done, summer vacation is just around the corner, and Faye Gallagher is driving her five children home. When 12-year-old Ellen gets mouthy, Faye, reaching the end of her endurance, pulls the car over and orders Ellen out. Libby and her other siblings are horrified, but Ellen does what she’s told, and her mother drives off, leaving her daughter by the side of the road five miles from home. The incident is a catalyst that sets Mannion’s taut narrative into motion. Later that night Ellen makes it back, but not without scratches and bruises and a harrowing tale. Ellen’s brush with peril unleashes something lurid and menacing into the community that, by the story’s end, has left many people scarred. Mannion’s novel is intricate with emotional threads and connections. Faye’s husband, Libby’s father, has recently died, and the trauma of this loss factors into Libby’s fierce loyalty to her family and Faye’s erratic behaviour. Libby, trying to shield Ellen from invasive questioning and her family from outside interference, refuses to seek help. She won’t let anyone report Ellen’s experience to the police. She tries to limit knowledge of the incident to a small circle because she understands that her mother’s irresponsible act could have dire consequences should the authorities get wind of it. But secrets have a way of leaking out, and later that summer Libby finds that another reckless act has brought the danger straight into Valley Forge, almost to her doorstep. This is a novel that radiates nostalgia for simpler times. Libby longs for the innocence of childhood, for carefree afternoons spent with her best friend Sage, for the security of the family unit as it was before her parents separated. She misses her father with a visceral urgency that sometimes chokes her up. She knows her mother has let her down, but she can understand that Faye is struggling with demons of her own. A Crooked Tree is gripping and poignant, written with enormous empathy and a powerful sense of place. With her polished and satisfying debut novel, Una Mannion announces herself as a writer to watch. ( )

Finding it hard to mentally categorize this book... its technically historical fiction, kinda coming of age, with thriller/mystery vibes.

Basically people are complicated, grieving is complicated, growing up is painful.

Content warning for CSA and sexual assault. Its kind of a heavy read tbh but its good and very atmospheric. ( )

Not exactly a fun read, but a fairly well-done novel that reminds me all too well how vulnerable we are as children, especially when the adults in our lives can't keep it together. I think one could call it atmospheric...it has a very solid sense of place. ( )

Libby's big, messy Irish-American family is falling apart. Her Dad is dead, her mother spends her time, when she is home, in her room with the door closed. With her older siblings busy with their own lives, Libby feels the pressure to keep everything safe. One evening, during an argument, her mother kicks Libby's twelve-year-old sister out of the car a few miles from home. This event becomes a catalyst for larger changes to this family and especially to Libby, whose constant fear and vigilance are not necessarily good for her or anyone around her.

This novel is set in suburban Valley Forge, Pennsylvania during the summer of 1980, when parental supervision was negligible and the adults were far too busy destroying their own lives to worry about the children. Libby is an interesting character to follow as she gets so much wrong along the way. This is a coming-of-age story structured chronologically, with a lot of details of suburban America during that time. It doesn't cover any new ground or do anything differently than any of the many similar novels out there, but it's well-written and is an enjoyable book to read. ( )