Name: Foster
Rating: 4.343984962406015 (133 reviews)
ISBN: 9780571255665

Claire Keegan

A small girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm in rural Ireland, without knowing when she will return home. In the strangers' house, she finds a warmth and affection she has not known before and slowly begins to blossom in their care. And then a secret is revealed and suddenly, she realizes how fragile her idyll is. Winner of the Davy Byrnes Memorial Prize, Foster is now published in a revised and expanded version. Beautiful, sad and eerie, it is a story of astonishing emotional depth, showcasing Claire Keegan's great accomplishment and talent.

Foster

Phil

'A real jewel.' Irish Independent 'A small miracle.' Sunday Times 'A thing of finely honed beauty.' Guardian 'Thrilling.' Richard Ford 'As good as Chekhov.' David Mitchell From the author of Small Things Like These It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm, not knowing when she will return home. In the strangers' house, she finds a warmth and affection she has not known before and slowly begins to blossom in their care. But in a house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers how fragile her idyll is.

A story about a family in Ireland who send their child to stay with relatives over the summer due to various struggles within the family.  Throughout the summer, she grows, learns, and experiences new things, and ends up feeling somewhat healed. The Kinsellas send her off with something of indescribable value: attention, care and love. 

I really, really liked how this book, even though it’s so short, tells such a meaningful story. 

Hadisa

A story about a family in Ireland who send their child to stay with relatives over the summer due to various struggles within the family.  Throughout the summer, she grows, learns, and experiences new things, and ends up feeling somewhat healed. The Kinsellas send her off with something of indescribable value: attention, care and love. 

I really, really liked how this book, even though it’s so short, tells such a meaningful story. 

Midnight Ink Drinker

As someone who has been in foster care, this book really hit home. Keegan perfectly captures that specific, unsettling feeling of being dropped into the unknown without a proper goodbye. What I loved most, though, was that it wasn't a story of neglect. Seeing the Kinsellas grow to love and hug her was so healing. It’s a beautiful reminder that there are truly good people out there who can make a child feel safe and seen.

Bárbara Borba

Even better than Small Things Like These.

yasi

Margo Koss

I'm amending my review because after really going out of my way to read literary criticsm of this book, I'm realizing that's an indication I enjoyed it. I think this is a 4 star book, and feel I might rate it higher if I read the book rather than audiobooked it. The writing was so simple and really felt like the main character's POV (a child). It was so simple yet powerfully indicated what it was trying to say.

One quote which many point to in this book is "Kinsella takes my hand in his. As soon as he takes it, I realize my father has never once held my hand, and some part of me wants Kinsella to let me go so I won’t have to feel this. It’s a hard feeling but as we walk along I begin to settle and let the difference between my life at home and the one I have here be. He takes shorter steps so we can walk in time. I think about the woman in the cottage, of how she walked and spoke, and conclude that there are huge differences between people."

It was the embodiment childhoood innocence and a realization that helps the girl grow up and realize the differences in conditions she was raised. I think Claire Keegan is a modern literary legend. 

Ashley Denktas

I'm amending my review because after really going out of my way to read literary criticsm of this book, I'm realizing that's an indication I enjoyed it. I think this is a 4 star book, and feel I might rate it higher if I read the book rather than audiobooked it. The writing was so simple and really felt like the main character's POV (a child). It was so simple yet powerfully indicated what it was trying to say.

One quote which many point to in this book is "Kinsella takes my hand in his. As soon as he takes it, I realize my father has never once held my hand, and some part of me wants Kinsella to let me go so I won’t have to feel this. It’s a hard feeling but as we walk along I begin to settle and let the difference between my life at home and the one I have here be. He takes shorter steps so we can walk in time. I think about the woman in the cottage, of how she walked and spoke, and conclude that there are huge differences between people."

It was the embodiment childhoood innocence and a realization that helps the girl grow up and realize the differences in conditions she was raised. I think Claire Keegan is a modern literary legend. 

“I look out across the sea. There, the two lights are blinking as before, but with another, steady light, shining in between.”

shen

James Wattie

Beautifully written story. Quick read. Lines I’ll remember for a while.

britt

i can’t find the words to describe how this book made me feel and i can’t even really explain what made it so good, but i felt it.

“I feel at such a loss for words but this is a new place, and new words are needed.” 

this brilliantly simple story, less than 90 pages long, packs quite an emotional punch. intimate and achingly beautiful. 

“I feel at such a loss for words but this is a new place, and new words are needed.” 

this brilliantly simple story, less than 90 pages long, packs quite an emotional punch. intimate and achingly beautiful. 



Another remarkable story. We join somewhere in the middle and leave before its end, yet Keegan’s writing always feels like just enough.

Foster

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