Breda’s Island, by Jessie Ann Foley, follows Breda Moriarty, who is sent to stay with her grandfather in Ireland for the summer after she’s repeatedly caught stealing. During her stay in Ireland, she grows closer to her grandfather, whom she had previously never met, and learns about the story of her family and how her mother came to become an undocumented immigrant to the US.

This book is lovely in so many ways.

My favorite aspect was the way in which it explores several generations of trauma, and how those affect Breda now, as well as how she and the rest of her family process them and work through them. The family relationships are complicated, but the way in which they interact and drive the characters are heartbreaking and compelling. Breda’s mother had her as a teenager, which played in turn on Breda’s grandfather’s own trauma associated with his childhood, and it is truly just so well-written in a way I wasn’t expecting from a fantasy book.

Breda’s mother is always busy with the hair salon she started, so Breda had started stealing small things as a way of getting any sort of attention. She’s a relative outcast at school, particularly after she’s caught stealing a classmate’s spare gym uniform after getting her period for the first time unexpectedly and ruining hers. She grows a lot as a character as she learns more about her family history, and as she moves from resenting the situation to appreciating the country and the ability to develop relationships with previously-estranged family members.

I loved almost all of the characters; Breda’s mother was not my favorite, but Breda, her grandfather, and the variety of other people that she meets in Ireland are all interesting and distinct, which definitely helps to draw the reader in and make the narrative feel alive despite a relatively slow-moving plot.

The setting is wonderful; I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland, and I really loved reading about Breda’s grandfather’s farm and the small towns surrounding it.. You can practically see the gorgeous scenery as you read the book; it’s done that well.

I also appreciated the book’s treatment of difficult topics. From the abuse at Irish mother-and-baby homes, to undocumented immigration, to single motherhood and having children out of wedlock, it handles a wide variety of issues and does them all well. They are tackled in a way that is suitable for its middle-grade audience, but still treated with nuance and complexity in a really skillful way.

The main thing that I wish is that this book had been longer. The ending felt a bit rushed, and I would have loved to see more character growth and more exploration into how the family changes and grows closer together after the events of the book. As it is, the conclusion of the story does not feel as if it was treated with the same love and care as the rest of it was.

Overall, Breda’s Island is a sweet, genuine, moving story that can appeal both to its target middle-grade audience and to older readers. The relationships between characters feel so natural and real, the issues covered are treated with the nuance and depth that they deserve, and it is an overall heart-warming story that I know I would have loved as a middle-grade reader. I’m giving Breda’s Island 4/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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