Foster by Claire Keegan is a compact book, sharp like a punch to the gut, about children's lack of control in this world and a summer of lessons about letting actions speak louder than words. 

Set in Ireland, a girl leaves home for the summer to live with an aunt and uncle who lost their only child. That home stands in stark contrast to the only home she knows, run by an alcoholic father and ever-pregnant mother with a brood of children they can ill afford. The child is open about the family’s m...