Second book from author is even better than the first one
Author Tracey Lange has written a family drama that invites the reader into one family's life in The Connellys of County Down. There is drama, and humor in the form of grade school jokes (very funny ones), romance, mental health issues, and of course, family dynamics with the three siblings that makeup The Connellys. Abandoned by their low-grade criminal father, early death of their mother, the two girls and one boy bond over shared grief but as adults the scars are evident.
When youngest sibling, Tara, is released from prison, nothing is quite the same as when she left. Geraldine, the oldest is even more controlling and Eddie, the brother, seems hapless, yet still wanting to do what's right. All the Connellys are focused on Connor, Eddie's son who is being brought up pretty much by all the sibs.
I started out loving Eddie and Connor right off. Geraldine was a bit hard to take but as with all people, there is more to be discovered when you take the time to look. Tara, on the other hand, has become the fixer of the family at the cost of her own chance of success. As the story unfolds with the prison days and threats of going back, the siblings try to work things out on their own but ultimately, it's a united family that works best.
I may not have had exact life circumstances as the Connellys but it was easy to recognize sibling behaviors and traits and genuinely be able to engage with each of the characters and rooting them on to a better life.
I thoroughly recommend The Connellys of County Down.
Thank you to Celadon Books for including me in the #readingtogether initiative. All opinions are mine.
When youngest sibling, Tara, is released from prison, nothing is quite the same as when she left. Geraldine, the oldest is even more controlling and Eddie, the brother, seems hapless, yet still wanting to do what's right. All the Connellys are focused on Connor, Eddie's son who is being brought up pretty much by all the sibs.
I started out loving Eddie and Connor right off. Geraldine was a bit hard to take but as with all people, there is more to be discovered when you take the time to look. Tara, on the other hand, has become the fixer of the family at the cost of her own chance of success. As the story unfolds with the prison days and threats of going back, the siblings try to work things out on their own but ultimately, it's a united family that works best.
I may not have had exact life circumstances as the Connellys but it was easy to recognize sibling behaviors and traits and genuinely be able to engage with each of the characters and rooting them on to a better life.
I thoroughly recommend The Connellys of County Down.
Thank you to Celadon Books for including me in the #readingtogether initiative. All opinions are mine.