Where the heart should be

Set in 1846 Ireland at the beginning of the potato famine, Ellen "Nell" Quinn is trying to hold her family together. The potato crop has failed again, and Nell has taken a job at the Big House to help supplement the loss of income. There, she witnesses firsthand the disparities between social classes--while her neighbors are starving, the landowners' dogs eat fresh cuts of meat. She then meets John Browning, recently arrived from England and set to inherit the land. As famine and illness spread, a spark starts to grow between Nell and John, and the two begin an illicit romance. Nell is conflicted over the class injustices she witnesses, the frustration her community feels towards England and those in power, and her own growing feelings for John. As she falls in love, Nell loses those around her, caught between two worlds. Told in verse, Crossan's story explores social and economic injustices that, while historical, still resonate today. Crossan never shies away from the harsh realities of the famine and the desperation of a community working to save anything they can, yet balances those with the beauty of a loving family and growing relationship. An emotionally taut story of strength and loss, exhibiting how darkness and hope can intertwine. Readers will be left breathless.

During the Irish potato famine, an Irish teen falls for the English heir of the estate where she works as a servant. It's 1846, and 16-year-old Ellen "Nell" Quinn is beginning her new job as a scullery maid in her wealthy landlord's kitchen in the village of Ballinkeel. Lord Wicken has brought John Browning, the nephew from London whom he's named as his heir, to his estate in County Mayo. Nell, an avid reader, had to leave school and begin working, but through her love of poetry, she and Johnny, though separated by differences in social class, nevertheless start to fall in love. Although their area escaped damage the previous year, Nell's dad is worried about the spreading potato blight, a creeping disaster that forms a menacing backdrop to the love story. The exceptionally well-drawn characters include Nell's adorable 10-year-old brother, Owen, and her best friend, Rose, whose impending marriage to local boy Eamon leaves Nell worried about the impact on their friendship. Acclaimed author Crossan atmospherically renders the rural Irish setting of this emotionally resonant and powerfully written, page-turning verse novel. The descriptions of trauma from trying to survive unconscionable suffering are intensely sad and moving. Many scenes are suspenseful: The stakes of the couple's relationship are high, and Johnny is desperate, given the financial constraints on women at the time, to provide for his five sisters back home. Hauntingly beautiful. (author's note)(Verse historical fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.