It's Ireland in the 1980s. The Finnegans--Mam and Dad, five daughters and one son, Jim--are, unlike many of their fellow countrymen, not poverty-stricken. Fourteen-year-old Jim spends his days at school and riding his bike with his geeky friend Gary. Jim wants to spend time with the charismatic Mozzo and his posse, but his Mam forbids it. Mozzo's girlfriend is Saidhbh Donohue. Of course, Jim falls in love with her.
So far, it's an average coming-of-age tale, filled with Irish vernacular, good humor, and boyish shenanigans. Enter Father O'Culigeen. He tells Mrs. Finnegan that Jim needs to be an altar boy to sort him out, then forces him to commit heinous acts before every Mass. Jim goes from being a happy-go-lucky innocent to a withdrawn, confused adolescent.
O'Culigeen arranges a job for Mozzo's mother, neatly moving Mozzo out of town and out of the way. What he doesn't foresee is that Saidhgh and Jim become more than casual friends, which is hard for anyone to credit since Saidhbh is a regal 18-year-old beauty and Jim still wears Spider-Man pajamas. Saidhbh gets pregnant, and Jim has to figure out a way for her to have an abortion, which is illegal in Ireland.
With an irresistible, beautifully written combination of poignancy, deep sadness and good humor, Kevin Maher's debut novel explores and explains an Ireland firmly in the grip of the Catholic Church and still feeling the effects of the "Troubles," as well as a young man's leap into adulthood. --Valerie Ryan, Cannon Beach Book Company, Ore.