That is when he puts his arms around me and gathers me into them as though I were his own.

My heart does not so much feel that it is in my chest as in my hands, and that I am carrying it along swiftly, as though I have become the messenger for what is going on inside of me.
― Claire Keegan, Foster

And so the days pass. I keep waiting for something to happen, for the ease I feel to end, but each day follows on much like the one before.
― Claire Keegan, Foster

In Foster, a young girl is sent to stay with some family friends while her mother prepares for the birth of her fourth child. The story is told from the perspective of this little girl, who is young enough to be considered a child, but old enough to know that adults only tell her what they want her to understand. Very little is explained to her. All she knows is that she will live with strangers for an unspecified amount of time.

Set in rural Ireland, the girl’s father drives her out to a small farm to stay with John and Edna Kinsella. Edna is related to her mother somehow, although it is never explained. The girl does what her parents tell her to do, even though she doesn’t understand why she is going and not her siblings.

To her surprise, the Kinsellas show her patience and a gentleness she’s never known. She doesn’t fear her mother or father, but no adult has ever taken the time to teach her things or do more than keep the family fed. After a few days of no reprimands and the couple’s full attention, the girl settles into a comfortable routine. She feels guilty because the fresh clothing and private bedroom and plentiful homemade food are more than what she got at home and more than her siblings have. She misses her mother, but she blossoms under the careful attention and guidance of her new guardians.

After reading Keegan’s novella Small Things Like These, I kept waiting for the horrible secret to be revealed. All I can say is that this story is lower stress, but it still offers a powerful emotional impact. Like the little girl, the reader is waiting for good things to end.

I didn’t love it as much as Small Things Like These, but this is a beautiful and moving story of family, neighbors, belonging, and secrets hidden just out of sight.