Thirteen year old Anna is struggling to cope with the other girls on her GAA team, as well as the recent loss of her father, when she discovers a forgotten gift from him - a pair of bright orange football socks. With the help of these brightly coloured good-luck charms, Anna slowly begins to gain confidence both on and off the pitch.
What a sweet, sad, ultimately uplifting story. I loved this girl and her Dumbo's Feather socks. Watching her and her family put themselves back together was fascinating. (Although I'd have liked to see more of her brother; he had such a tiny part that I kept forgetting he was actually there.)
I'll be honest and admit that I skimmed over a few of the actual games, as I know very little about Gaelic so it didn't mean a lot to me. I did notice that in the last few games, the narration developed a strange habit of telling us that Anna had never played that team before. We know she hadn't; she moved to Ballymarra at the start of the novel and we saw every game she played. Maybe she was just reminding herself not to get complacent.
However, the games weren't really the point. Anna could have had any other hobby, because the hobby isn't the point; it's background to her learning to live without the father she adored, the father she shared that hobby with, and that storyline was so beautifully done. (I may have teared up a couple of times.) I really enjoyed reading it.
Donn has written a sweet, lovely, funny in a lot of places novel, and I hope he writes more, because I'm really looking forward to reading it.
What a sweet, sad, ultimately uplifting story. I loved this girl and her Dumbo's Feather socks. Watching her and her family put themselves back together was fascinating. (Although I'd have liked to see more of her brother; he had such a tiny part that I kept forgetting he was actually there.)
I'll be honest and admit that I skimmed over a few of the actual games, as I know very little about Gaelic so it didn't mean a lot to me. I did notice that in the last few games, the narration developed a strange habit of telling us that Anna had never played that team before. We know she hadn't; she moved to Ballymarra at the start of the novel and we saw every game she played. Maybe she was just reminding herself not to get complacent.
However, the games weren't really the point. Anna could have had any other hobby, because the hobby isn't the point; it's background to her learning to live without the father she adored, the father she shared that hobby with, and that storyline was so beautifully done. (I may have teared up a couple of times.) I really enjoyed reading it.
Donn has written a sweet, lovely, funny in a lot of places novel, and I hope he writes more, because I'm really looking forward to reading it.
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