ALA Booklist (Fri Sep 16 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Twelve-year-old Breda lives in Chicago with her mom, Maura, and knows nothing about her dad. Maura, as a single parent and undocumented immigrant trying to run her own business, has been working around the clock, leaving Breda feeling invisible both at home and at school. Aching for attention and feeling alone, Breda gets caught stealing one too many times and is sent to Ireland to spend the summer with Granda, her grumpy old grandfather whom she's never met and from whom her mom has been long estranged. As Breda unravels the mysteries surrounding her mom and Granda's estrangement as well as the identity of her father, she must navigate the complexities of familial bonds and challenges. Foley folds in Gaelic storytelling traditions, Irish language, and poetic descriptions, creating a rich atmosphere that transports and immerses readers. Well-drawn characters and emotionally charged scenes keep audiences invested. As it explores issues that include undocumented immigration, generational trauma, and emotional and physical abuse, Breda's touching journey through her family's secrets evokes empathy and the need for healing.

Horn Book (Fri Jan 13 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Breda didn't believe her single mother would really send her from Chicago to Ireland's Dingle Peninsula for the summer if she got caught stealing again, but her theft of a classmate's gym shorts earns Breda a visit to the grandfather she's never met. Granda is the epitome of the elderly taciturn farmer, and although he at first seems as unenthused as Breda is about the arrangement, he slowly warms up to her. Breda settles in, exploring the village and finding friends on a Gaelic football team, and she wonders if she might also meet the father who's never been part of her life. When a health crisis waylays Granda, Breda is able to both take charge and rely on the community she's developed, putting her newfound confidence to work and expanding her definition of family. She also develops a new appreciation for her mother, an undocumented immigrant who has spent years working for others and is finally able to start her own business. Foley does an excellent job of building the Irish setting -- with the help of Granda's role as a traditional storyteller. Foley's forthright approach to puberty and periods, which are among Breda's experiences, is refreshing. This is a quiet book, with an emotionally charged conflict that often simmers beneath the surface of the page, made possible by the authentic and fully realized characters. Sarah Rettger

Kirkus Reviews

Answers to long-held mysteries in Breda Moriarity's family dramatically change her life.Her mother has never revealed any information about her father, not even his name. Why does Mom remain undocumented after leaving Ireland when she was pregnant, and why has Breda never met Granda? Lonely and angry-her colorfully glamorous mother is absorbed with her new beauty salon-"awkward and mousy," blue-eyed Breda acts out in unacceptable ways. Mom decides to send her to stay with Granda on his farm near the village of Ballyglass for the summer before eighth grade. Breda is immediately enamored by the beauty of the land, but she is resentful toward and confused by Granda, who can be cold and bitter but surprises her with acts of generosity. He tells stories of banshees from Irish lore and has screaming night terrors. Amid a defiant, forbidden friendship with local girl Nellie Fahey, unexpected confessions, discovered information about Granda's horrifying childhood, and a terrible accident that threatens his life, Breda finds answers to some pressing mysteries but not without resulting regrets and pain on all sides that leave future relationships uncertain. Foley describes settings and events in beautiful, descriptive language and employs evocative Irish expressions. The third-person narrative is devoted to Breda's point of view, with italicized asides indicating her own thoughts and opinions, which are wholly in keeping with her age and experiences. Readers will empathize with Breda and wish her well.Sad, tender, and immensely touching. (map) (Fiction. 10-14)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Foley’s (You Know I’m No Good) atmospheric story follows 12-year-old Breda Moriarity during a transformative summer in her mother Maura’s native Ireland. Pregnant with Breda at 17, Maura left her stern widowed father for Chicago, building a life for them there as an undocumented immigrant and opening a successful beauty salon while avoiding any mention of Breda’s father. When Breda, lonely for her mother’s attention, turns to petty thievery, Maura sends her for the summer to taciturn, aging Granda, a vigorous farmer and respected storyteller of Irish legends who has secrets of his own. In County Kerry, on the westernmost edge of Ireland, Breda and Granda’s relationship proceeds from rocky to grudgingly respectful to loving. As Breda explores the countryside on her mother’s refurbished bike, she makes real friends for the first time, discovers her skill for playing Gaelic football, and tries to learn her father’s identity, all while falling in love with her family’s farmland. The narrative arc builds steadily in a book that stands out for its distinctly Irish language and poetic landscape descriptions: “gray crashing water, silent green cliffs, and jackdaws and gannets wheeling against the cloud-streaked sky.” Characters cue as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (July)