Girl on the Leeside - by Kathleen Anne Kenney (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Siobhan Doyle grew up with her Uncle Kee at their family pub, the Leeside, in rural Ireland. Kee has been staunchly overprotective of Siobhan ever since her mother's death in an IRA bombing, unwittingly isolating her from other people and the full richness of life. Still, Kee and Siobhan consider themselves comfortable in their quiet haven, serving drinks to locals and reading and discussing Irish poetry. But then fate intervenes.

A visiting American literary scholar awakens Siobhan to the possibility of a fulfilling life away from the Leeside. Meanwhile, secrets from the past threaten to tarnish her relationship with Kee. In the face of these changes, Siobhan reaches a surprising decision about her future. Lyrical and heartfelt, Kathleen Anne Kenney's Girl on the Leeside deserves a place alongside contemporary literature's best-loved coming-of-age novels.

Review Quotes

"You [will] revel in the descriptions of the Irish landscape, the snippets of poetry....and the satisfying -- and surprising -- story of love." --Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Quiet, lyrical and sprinkled with verses of the Irish poetry Siobhan loves, Girl on the Leeside is a slim, beautiful debut about one woman taking her place in the world." --Shelf Awareness

"Lovers of Irish poetry will find this book a treat." --Booklist

"A beautiful and poetic coming-of-age story." --Bustle

"In its hauntingly evocative Irish setting, this is a book suffused with poetry--real poetry. It is a book of awakenings of every kind, and of moving surprises. Like all good stories, as this local tale unfolds it becomes universal." --Edward Rutherfurd, author of Paris and The Princes of Ireland

About the Author

Kathleen Anne Kenney is an author, freelance writer, and playwright. Her writing has appeared in Big River, Coulee Region Women, and Ireland of the Welcomes, as well as other publications. She has had numerous short plays presented in Minnesota theaters and has published the play The Ghost of an Idea, a one-actor piece about Charles Dickens. Her play New Menu was a winner in the 2012 Rochester Repertory Theatre's national short-play competition. She is currently at work writing her next novel.