Una Mannion’s insightful debut ‘A Crooked Tree.’ TNS

Gulf Today Report

Una Mannion’s insightful debut “A Crooked Tree” slowly starts building up to the point where 15-year-old narrator Libby Gallagher’s family reaches a point of no return.

It starts when her father, an Irish immigrant, leaves his family to find work in New York and then dies.

But the defining moment begins at night on a rural road near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in the early 1980s.

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Libby and her four siblings quarrel during the long drive home on the last day of school, infuriating their overworked mother, Faye, as they talk about their father, Faye’s secret beau and their summer plans.

When 12-year-old Ellen demands to go to art camp, Faye instructs her to get off the car, leaving her on a deserted road to walk five miles home.

Libby and the others are powerless to stop their overbearing mother.

Ellen finally comes home, dirty and smeared with blood, claiming she was almost molested by a “creepy” man who had picked her up hitchhiking.

The five Gallagher children are afraid to tell the police, for fear the authorities will separate them.

And they can’t tell their mother what happened because they know she will only get mad but do nothing.

The Gallaghers are plunged into a world of violence and revenge when a shady friend tries to organise other teenagers to find the man and beat him.

“A Crooked Tree” is a coming-of-age tale for each of the children, observes The Tribune News Service.

There are sweet family moments that pepper the novel too, such as a birthday celebration at an Amish restaurant.

These give the family some respite from the sense of terror pervading the plot as the siblings navigate feelings and fears they don’t yet understand.

The nearby woods offer the kids, especially Libby, refuge and comfort away from feeble adults.