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. ( )

A Crooked Tree is not a book in my general reading genres and I forget where I even heard of it. While it is a sad book, I really did enjoy it.

Narrated by 15 year old Libby Gallagher, it basically describes her summer school break in rural Pennsylvania. Libby has four siblings:

Marie, 18 years old who typically keeps the household together but who is moving to Philadelphia to work and attend college.

Thomas, the next oldest is a loner for the most part and a nerd.

Then comes Libby.

Ellen is 12 and is the upstart of the family. She is artistic and tempermental and when she oversteps, her mom lets her out of the car miles from home. She hitchihikes homes but the driver wants more than a mere passenger. She jumps out of the moving car and is traumatized.

Beatrice is the youngest and has a different father. She and their mother go off for weekends at a time, leaving the other children alone and providing no contact information.

The other main protagont is Wilson McVey, a neer do well who seems to be the guardian angel of the Gallagher family.

It is hard to explain the book other than saying it is Libby's recollection of that summer with flashbacks to her, her friend Sage, Wilson and the family. It is tender and sad and truly reflects the thoughts of that odd age, 15. The book takes place in the 1970s. ( )