The Stones of Burren Bay

by Emily de Angelis

In a tragic car accident, 15-year-old Norie loses her father while her distant mother is injured. Her prized possession, an antique artist’s box that traveled from Ireland with her great-great-grandmother, is destroyed along with her deep connection to her art. As Norie grapples with her self-identity, obscured by grief and anger, she and her physically and emotionally fragile mother are forced to relocate. With no other relatives to rely on, they call on the kindness of her mother’s oldest friend Dahlia and her daughter Wil, who run the Jolly Pot Tearoom and Burren Bay Lighthouse Museum on Manitoulin Island. Dahlia introduces Norie to ancient Irish Celtic spiritualism and opens the thin veil between the past and present where Norie encounters the echo of a century’s old spirit, Oonagh. Through Oonagh’s own story Norie comes to terms with her father’s betrayal and death and rediscovers her passion for art. As her mother’s emotional wounds reach a crisis, Norie realizes they must face their guilt and grief together in order to heal and become reunited as mother and daughter.

Genres: Fantasy

183 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2024

Reviews

[Kat (Katlovesbooks) Dietrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stones of Burren Bay by Emily de Angelis is a fiction story about a teenaged girl who is struggling with the death of her father, and her strained relationship with her mother.  Note there is a paranormal element to the story.

First, I love promoting a Canadian author.   It also takes place on Manitoulin Island, which I have visited a number of times. 

This book, although aimed at the YA crowd, really looked at topics which can be felt at any age.   The book looked at guilt, at grief, at family, and finding something that can help a person overcome some of the anger, to heal, and learn to move on.

The author got the characters right.  You really felt the anger coming off the 15 year old Norie, as well as the confusion and hurt that young Wil felt when she tried to help Norie.   The relationships between the characters was well done.  I didn't particularly like Norie.  Nor did I like her mother.  I did, however, understand where they were coming from.

I enjoyed the poem at the start, and the spiritual morning prayers.  Actually I liked most of the spiritual aspects of the book, including the stones.  They all tied the story together rather well.

Sometimes I felt the detailed techniques about art were a little lengthy, but as I wasn't skimming,  I guess they were not really a problem.

Overall, this was an emotional read -- at any age.  It was eventually a feel-good story, and a little predictable, as mother and daughter reunited.  It was also a very fast read.

Anyway, until next time ....


For a more thorough review of this book and others (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, my own synopsis of the book, and its author information), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

 

[Lauren | Wordsbetweenlines · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a beautiful story. I loved the dual timelines and the set up and the found family aspect.

It’s a YA novel that touches on grief, anger, loss with a touch of magic. It felt like a story of hope and redemption in so many ways. It’s beautifully written and a story you can sit down with and sink into in our sitting.

Pub Date: May 4, 2024

Thank you river street writing for the advanced readers copy!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A library find,
September 2024.
Well written.
Moving.

[Sara Hailstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Stones of Burren Bay,” a YA novel by Emily De Angelis begins with poetry. A woman plants a tree, a seedling and surrounds the tree with limestone shards. The tree grows and she orients around it, finally cutting it down one day “in its old age,/ hundreds of linear feet of wood/ for fire and furniture/ for a small narrow box/ to hold a painter’s brush.” Yet, throughout this relationship with the tree and after the removal of it, “the stone circle sits.” This poem is rooted in the orientation of the characters that will follow in this novel and the lives they lead, the trauma and adversity they endure become a metaphor of the stones that remain long after removal, loss and pain.



The novel follows the tragic inciting incidents surrounding 15-year-old Norie’s life. First, she loses her beloved grandmother and in a state of agonizing events, her father is killed in a fatal car accident with Norie and her mother Alice left wounded and estranged, almost having died themselves. Tied to these events is the presence of a family heirloom, an antique wooden artist’s box made from the tree of a planted sapling, passed on down through the generations. This antique box, the last cherished residue of Norie’s grandmother, has perished in the car accident as well and Norie is left crippled emotionally, grieving, angry and unable to express herself artistically. The gift and talent of painting and drawing has carried on through the line of women in Norie’s family and her one outlet of expression is blocked. Caring for her fragile and wounded mother, Norie reaches out to a name of her mother’s oldest friend who has sent a card. Norie and her mother go and stay with her mother’s friend, Dahlia, her husband and her teenage daughter Wil. What follows is a cathartic plotline of facing grief and loss on a rugged and enchanting landscape at Burren Bay Lighthouse Museum on Manitoulin Island. Tones of Celtic spiritualism, magic realism and the supernatural are braided through a story of what life is like after crises.



The presence of artistry and craft in the novel stem from the author’s own personal history, which makes for an intriguing and catching story. Emily De Angelis is born from a family of visual artists, musicians and storytellers. With the support of the Humber School for Writers, an Ontario Arts Council grant for Northern Works in Progress, De Angelis has presented a YA novel of imagination and eloquently fluid prose: “The Stones of Burren Bay has come into being like sedimentary rock- bits and pieces of stuff blown together over the years into layers of character and plot, setting and theme, and then heated and compressed by the warmth and weight of editing and revision.” De Angelis has written short stories, poetry and is published in anthologies and periodicals. “The Stones of Burren Bay,” is her debut YA novel.

I was absorbed into the novel through the descriptive landscapes of cliffs and rocky shores, moved by weather that played expertly on pathetic fallacy with the accelerating plotline. Fire, storms and muggy summer days fogged into each other revealing deeper undertones of Celtic spiritualism, matrilineal connections and supernatural forces that made for an engulfing story. The reader will meet a character named Oonagh and it is the merging of these two young womens’ parallel lives that I feel many readers will take away from the novel that makes for a crossroads of analysis and contemplation for YA readers. De Angelis articulates that it is this intersection between Norie and Oonagh that builds Magic Realism into the novel. “It is the merging of Norie’s modern life with Oonagh’s spiritual existence that is magical and extra-ordinary. I knew that setting the novel on Manitoulin Island or Spirit Island, as it is called, would be a perfect fit for this kind of spiritual experience. The Island has been home to the Anishinaabe people for centuries, long before white settlers arrived. When you’re there, it’s clear that it’s a place steeped in spirit and sacredness.” Indeed, the atmosphere and tone of the novel is made more special with this carefully laid world-building that is believable and unforgettable narrative residue.

Norie is an important character for YA readers as she honestly works through pain, not always gracefully or kindly, and struggles with self-identity. Her character is relatable and sometimes not likeable, which is the rawness of her humanness. The reading experience will push for compassion and understanding for a YA reader. De Angelis herself states that “youth need to see themselves as protagonists in their own stories, where artistic expression is fundamental to their personhood and self-identity. This is especially relevant in a world full of social and political dysfunction, global conflict and fear.” I envision this novel as a refreshing new read in Canadian English classrooms for students working through their own adversity, while potentially becoming engaged in historical and cultural understandings of their locality.

I love when writer’s cleanly tie in motif and metaphor and De Angelis does this with stones in her novel. Stones represent characters and show how interconnected people become as community by sharing the land. We can learn from each other, feel for each other and become inspired by each other.

Thank you to Emily De Angelis, Latitude 46 Publishing and River Street Writing for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review!

Sources

https://youngadulting.ca/2024/07/01/5...

https://alllitup.ca/first-fiction-fri...

https://www.sarahailstone.com/book-re...

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brilliant debut is worth the read. It’s a very well-crafted story about grief, loss, confusion, and hope…all of it taking place in the life of a 15 year old. I love ‘coming of age’ stories like this. Ones that tackle the darker parts of life but don’t feel hopeless. I’m really looking forward to more from Emily!

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the books that I actually read the synopsis before I read the book lol and it really intrigued me. What drew me on the most was the talking and artistic box passed down many generations.
I feel like this story could be relatable readers, it’s a coming of age novel where our main character has to death with death and grieving multiple times, dealing with bad parenting; a mother who lets her father walk all over her and a skeezy father who will sell whatever he can to get a few bucks. I felt bad for Norie because of her guilt about the accident but it was actually for the better. I like that she then got to experience life and not just be stuck in the box her parents had later out for her.
The Stones a Burren Bay was skillfully written and the author, Emily de Angelis actually drew her own cover so props to her. I would recommend this to CanLit lovers and someone looking for a moving coming of age novel.

Thank you to River Street Writes and Latitude 46 for the review copy.

[Irene Mckay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norie, the main character of the story went into phases of her life…tragedy, frustration, self-doubt, an emotional roller coaster from her own family.

You’ll understand from her standpoint why she felt like that in the story, seems shallow but was a huge impact in her view of life. She tried to bring together things happening to her life into a more meaningful experience.

A short read that you can read in one sitting.

“Circle us, keep light within, and darkness without”. (excerpt from the book p.68)

Thank you for the gifted book.

3.8/5⭐️

[Joanne Culley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Stones of Burren Bay by Emily De Angelis follows 15-year old artist Norie who loses her father in a car accident, and her mother to depression. When her mother’s friend invites them to spend the summer on Manitoulin Island to help out with a lighthouse museum and tea room, Norie reluctantly goes. A small beaded pouch that she finds in a rocky crevice leads her on a healing journey, to the past, present and her future. Technically a young adult novel, this gentle, well-written story is one that can be enjoyed by readers of any age.

[C.J. Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful!
I purchased this at a book fair and was drawn to the cover art, only to discover that the author drew it herself. This story unfolds slowly, but it's worth the trip. I loved the main character's connection to nature (charcoal, stones, water) as I feel we're all more connected to nature than we often realize. A good Canadian read.

[Anya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story!

[Shannon McKechnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

stunning. will be recommending to any and all teenagers and former teenagers going forward

[Susan Wadds · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Not just for young readers, this is a unique and beautifully told coming-of-age tale. I always love a story where the veil is thin.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful story about tragedy, grief, healing and friendship. Absolutely loved this one.