A Crooked Tree: A Novel

A Crooked Tree, Una Mannion’s debut novel, is a beautifully written book about a family of Irish-American children who set out to find the man who kidnapped their sister. Ellen is acting up in the car one day when her mother decides to let her out at the side of the road. Siblings Marie, Thomas, Libby, and Beatrice are in shock when their mother does this but say nothing as they drive home, leaving Ellen behind. When they find Ellen, she is badly bruised and cut up, and she tells them that she hitchhiked and got into a man’s car. The man started touching her leg and even though she asked him to stop the car, he wouldn’t. She ended up jumping out of the car, getting herself bloodied in the process.

The story is seen through the eyes of Libby Gallagher as she and her siblings and a bad boy named Wilson set out to find the man they call the Barbie Man. The reader follows Libby through a first kiss, uncovering information about some of the parents she knows, and other coming-of-age happenings. At times, it seems like the book veers from the main storyline of finding Ellen’s abductor because there is so much going on with the family in their daily lives.

Overall, this is a wonderful read with engaging characters.