WHERE THE HEART SHOULD BE

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.