Camille T. (MillaTorchTamlyn) reviewed on 9/24/2005 + 11 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

Complex and heady, this novel focuses on three generations of Irish/Irish-American women. The fluid narrative shifts among years and the voices of its compelling characters. Cl!ona's story is both past and present, memory and chronicle. She is a strong woman who understands that life is made up of mistakes and compromises, and that no two people see things the same way. Grace, her daughter, is wild, willful, and promiscuous, unable to commit herself to anyone but her daughter, Grade inne. Grade inne is seeking her place in a world she doesn't quite trust. Although Grace dies at the beginning of the book, her presence is felt throughout; Grade inne must come to terms with the beloved mother who deceived her about her past, and Grace herself narrates the chapters about her rebellious youth. Cl!ona struggles to bond with her granddaughter as she failed to with her daughter. This involving intergenerational saga looks at challenges and misunderstandings, connections made and broken, family lost and found. Teens will empathize with Grade inne as she tries to come to terms with her mother's death and her own life.

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