THINGS I KNOW

A young woman struggles with anxiety and grief in a coastal Irish town in this contemporary novel.

Saoirse’s father moved their family from Limerick to the small town of Cloughmore after the death of her mother two years before. While her awful, image-conscious younger sister, Eva, has blended in, Saoirse and her younger brother, Aran, find their new town narrow-minded and claustrophobic; 18-year-old Saoirse is glad to be taking her final secondary school exams before returning to Limerick for college. However, it doesn’t come soon enough for her to escape being ostracized by the crowd that her ex-boyfriend, Finn, is part of. When he dies by suicide, Saoirse’s mental health is stressed to the point of breaking. The unrelenting pressure Saoirse experiences is vividly depicted in her first-person narration, realistically manifesting itself in stomach upset, breathing difficulties, and blackouts. A large cast of secondary characters, including grieving Dylan, who was Finn’s best friend but with whom Saoirse is also involved, and Jade, her outspoken, complicated, bisexual best friend, are sketched in broad strokes that flesh out Saoirse’s world, grimly but poignantly illustrating how difficult it can be for people to find support. An auspicious ending to this story is both surprising and welcome. Most characters are White.

A bittersweet, honest look at loss and trauma.