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A review by bybookandbone
All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This just might be my favourite book of the year. Many books set in Ireland just seem off to me but the Ireland I know is within All Our Hidden Gifts. The good sides and the bad.
The story itself is pretty good but it's the realism of the flawed main characters that get me. These could be girls I went to school with (Catholic girls school, nuns, the whole shabang).
The depiction of a young woman finding witchcraft and exploring tarot is also sensitively done. The characters are well rounded and Rue may very well my favourite love interest from a YA.
One thing I haven't seen done before and rarely mentioned even in Ireland, is the insidious relationship between certain conservative Christian Americans and the various lobbying anti-lgbt, anti-choice groups that have sprang up in recent years.
O'Donoghue handled this aspect of the story with the seriousness it deserves and manages to highlight the vulnerability of those caught in the altright, as well as those whose existence they fight against.
The story itself is pretty good but it's the realism of the flawed main characters that get me. These could be girls I went to school with (Catholic girls school, nuns, the whole shabang).
The depiction of a young woman finding witchcraft and exploring tarot is also sensitively done. The characters are well rounded and Rue may very well my favourite love interest from a YA.
One thing I haven't seen done before and rarely mentioned even in Ireland, is the insidious relationship between certain conservative Christian Americans and the various lobbying anti-lgbt, anti-choice groups that have sprang up in recent years.
O'Donoghue handled this aspect of the story with the seriousness it deserves and manages to highlight the vulnerability of those caught in the altright, as well as those whose existence they fight against.