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When their bold and brassy mother, Vera Coffey, disappears after declaring she was born into Ireland's Traveller community, a traditionally nomadic ethnic minority, Shibby and her twin sister Dorah are left behind in a settled family already cracking at the seams. Under the iron rule of their rigidly prejudiced grandmother, the girls grow up on opposite tracks: Dorah, brash and arrogant; Shibby, bruised and unmoored.
As Shibby stumbles into adulthood, she's drawn to men who either abuse or discard her, trapped in patterns she can't yet see. She finds stability in the fast-paced chaos of a restaurant kitchen, but a question continues to gnaw: is her future in the rooted life of the settled, or on the open road to God only knows where?
With the steadfast support of a chosen few -- Alice Duffy, housekeeper turned surrogate mother; Moochie de Barra, an affectionate stand-in for an emotionally absent father; and Kitty Dooley, who embodies the fierce pride and harsh realities of Traveller life -- Shibby begins to confront hard truths about cultural identity, family, and what she desperately needs to find where she truly belongs.
In the tradition of Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, and Donal Ryan's The Queen of Dirt Island, Shibby Magee is a warm yet incisive Irish tragicomedy about a woman shaped by childhood abandonment and social prejudice as she struggles toward dignity, love, and self-possession.
Richly drawn, multidimensional characters and evocative storytelling, with thoughtful exploration of identity, family, and belonging -- Bev Saludo, Goodreads reviewer
Carrie Kabak has a true gift for descriptive prose -- every scene is sensory, textured, and alive. Funny, tender, and completely immersive... I stayed fully invested in Shibby's journey from beginning to end -- Theresa Von Colln, Goodreads reviewer
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