When 18-year-old Debbie makes the transition from secondary school student to college student, she's overwhelmed by the adulting decisions she now faces in school, the pressure to socialise with other students and she lives a life treading between two worlds - that of a more metropolitan Dublin, and her home on the family dairy farm caring for her unstable mother, and talking Greek mythology with her beloved uncle Billy.

This book is raw, dark and heartwarming all at the same time, and I absolutely loved it. I think Louise Nealon captured a girl on the cusp of the rest of her life so well, this absolute fine line between childhood and adulthood. A girl who absolutely does not know herself at all, does not know how to look after herself, and just needs to be kinder and more understanding to herself in all ways. This is very much a coming of age type novel, interspersed with some magical realism in a way thanks to Debbie and her mother's penchant for prophesising dreams, and Uncle Billy's reputation as a wise man. But is it really magical realism, or just a family with a bloodline that mean they are more sensitive to those around them, and the knowledge of the other plane of the world others have forgotten.

There are moments in this that are shocking and cutting in brutal ways from the way Debbie treats herself; her unhealthy relationship with alcohol and sex (the conversation about Debbie's maybe virginity between Debbie, Xanthe and Griffin was honestly terrifying at the thought any young girl would be unsure of that), Maeve's mental illness and Billy's secret that has haunted him since he was a young boy.

I absolutely loved Billy as a side character - the type of character that just walks off a page, hands in pocket with a gruff, 'how's things?' - just instantly alive. Think Matt Le Blanc as Irish dad in Friends Reunion episode - that is Billy. He was so multi-faceted in a way I loved, a farmer, an uncle, a dad figure, mentor, 'local politician' in Xanthe's words, but also a scholar, a learner and a dreamer. I just loved him.

This book is brilliant. It would make you sad and make you despair but it will also make you smile and think about the imperfect perfection that is a family unit.