Where the Heart Should Be is another masterclass in YA verse novels by Sarah Crossan. Creatively crossing romance and historical fiction, this is a highly engaging, page-turning story with interesting characters.

Sixteen-year-old Nell is our first person narrator, through whom we get an inside look at the struggles faced by the agrarian working class during the period leading up to, and the start of, Ireland’s potato famine.

Opening in July 1846, we learn that she is a smart, poetry-loving girl who has had to leave school in order to earn money for her family, by working as a scullery maid at ‘The Big House.’ Its owner, and landlord of the surrounding terrains, is the ruthless Lord Wicken, who doesn’t care that the ruined potato crops will lead to starvation. He just wants his rent. When John Browning, his English nephew arrives, Nell overhears that he’s the heir, and needs to learn to manage the estate. He is kind, utterly disinterested in business, and inclined to help rather than dictate. Themes of family, friendship, first love, class, loyalty, pride, death and grief are all seamlessly interwoven, as are references to customs and superstitions. Every word is perfectly chosen, giving readers a clear understanding of their contextual importance.

Their placement too, on the page, enhances and modulates the pace and visceral reading experience. As the farmers find ways to rise against the injustices, Nell and Johnny are secretly, slowly falling in love. Their love is tested and in the final 30 pages I held my breath as the action unfurled. Crossan fans, and new readers alike, will not be disappointed.

Reviewed by Alida Galati

Age Guide 12+

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah Crossan is the author of One, which won the Carnegie Medal and the Bookseller‘s prize for young adult fiction and was named the Irish Children’s Book of the Year. It was also named to the White Ravens list, was an Indie Next selection, and earned four starred reviews in the US. In 2018, Sarah Crossan was named Irish Children’s Laureate. Two other novels, The Weight of Water and Apple and Rain, were also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Sarah Crossan has lived in Dublin, London, and New York, and now lives in Sussex.

She graduated with a degree in philosophy and literature before training as an English and drama teacher at Cambridge University. Since completing a master’s in creative writing, she has been working to promote creative writing in schools.

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