Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Join the Yay for YA Discussion About YA Books Now  
book cover with girl under red duvet, lying on a pile of catholic funeral prayer cards

“On her First Holy Communion, Majella could remember sitting in the chapel for a long time, with Jesus stuck to the roof of her mouth, and her trying to peel him off with her tongue. Somehow she knew picking him off with her finger was all wrong.”

Big Girl, Small Town by Michelle Gallen

January 16, 2021 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

Majella is the queen of coping; she has developed a system of avoiding eye contact, she gladly relies on years-long joke exchanges orchestrated by her customers and coworkers, and she is clear about people explaining idioms and small-town customs to her as a needed relief. She is also coping with the world around her; her uncle “died for the cause”, her IRA-adjacent father disappeared years ago, her mother is lost in a haze of whiskey, and her beloved grandmother has recently been beaten to death. […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: autistic voices, chip shop, ennui, irish literature, Michelle Gallen, neurodiverse narrator, Northern Ireland, slice of life, small town life, The Troubles, trauma

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR13 Review No:12 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: autistic voices, chip shop, ennui, irish literature, Michelle Gallen, neurodiverse narrator, Northern Ireland, slice of life, small town life, The Troubles, trauma ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

What the flying monkeys did I just read?

Big Girl, Small Town by Michelle Gallen

November 17, 2020 by BlackRaven 5 Comments

There no traditional action in Big Girl, Small Town. Yet, you are drawn into the book from page one. Michelle Gallen made me fall in love with a fictional character. She made me see myself in her. She made me want to root for this character who (on the surface) is not an overly likable person. Or at least, not at first. You watch as Majella (our heroine) live her life. Or what passes for living in a Northern Ireland town after “The Troubles” have […]

Filed Under: Comedy/Humor, Fiction, History Tagged With: coming-of-age, family, fathers & daughters, grandmohters, Michelle Gallen, Mothers & Daughters, Northern Ireland, Protestants and Catholics, Small Town & Rural, The Troubles

BlackRaven's CBR12 Review No:362 · Genres: Comedy/Humor, Fiction, History · Tags: coming-of-age, family, fathers & daughters, grandmohters, Michelle Gallen, Mothers & Daughters, Northern Ireland, Protestants and Catholics, Small Town & Rural, The Troubles ·
Rating:
· 5 Comments


Recent Comments

  • Sarah
    on Another Man’s Poison (George & Molly Palmer-Jones #5) by Ann Cleeves
    im so pleased to hear you say this- i'm 1/2 through and can't keep up with numerous characters and side-trails...
  • MsWas
    on CBR Diversion – YAY for YA – Genre Discussion
    One of my all-time favorite books that just happens to be considered YA is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak....
  • narfna
    on “Feral, for all the wildness it implies, just means that an animal was abandoned by the system that created it.”
    I see her pretty frequently in town and I always have to be like, don't be a creep. She doesn't...
  • jomidi
    on CBR Diversion – YAY for YA – Genre Discussion
    Really enjoying this comment discussion. So many suggestions. Since I love fairy tale retellings and YA fantasy, lots of good...
  • Malin
    on CBR Diversion – YAY for YA – Genre Discussion
    In my book club, when we have pretty much come to the agreement that if the protagonists are still teenagers...
See More Recent Comments »

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