When I bought this book in Ireland last year, it was on the bestseller shelves in the bookstores, so Eilis seems popular in her home country. I wanted vacation reading that was literary and reflected the culture of the people in whose country I was a visitor. The book is pretty short, but I feel that is appropriate for the subject matter; it is essentially a string of childhood reminisces loosely gathered into a simple plot, which centers on a group of young pre-teen and teenage Irish and Northern Irish schoolgirls who leave their cities to attend a Gaelic-language school/camp in County Donegal (northwest, Irish-speaking, traditional region).

The short, sweet, lyrical tale is light without being fluffy, and touches on issues of sexual discovery, class and political stratification, and parent-child relationships.

The author beautifully evokes traditional rural Ireland in the 1960's as it is seen through the eyes of saucy urban schoolgirls on the brink of self-discovery.

This is an extraordinary collection of stories around thems of love and loss. Rich in emotional and social detail, the stories are rooted in contemporary Irish life but have a power that transcends the specifics of locale. Ni Dhuibhne's great compassion lights the stories, but never drifts toward sentimentality or blunts her dark, incisive wit. The characters range from unschooled country girls to men and women of great sophistication, all beautifully an dopen-heartedly observed. There's an additional treat : Ni Dhuibhne's interpretation of an ancient Irish folktale unfolds in short tantalizing episodes which punctuate the other stories. Hers is a truly unique voice. The stories are riveting.