Stations

by Louise Kennedy

In 1982, Róisín and Red meet as teenagers in their hometown in Ireland. Red's reputation for trouble might precede him, but Róisín finds in him an intelligent and funny – if unlikely – friend. When a brush with the law pushes Red into a corner, he escapes their town and his family for good to start a new life in England.

As the years pass, they grow up and apart. Despite Red's particular gift for disappearing, they remain tethered to one another, a fragile thread holding their once fierce friendship together. When Róisín arrives in London to spend Christmas with her estranged father, she finds herself swept up once more into Red's storm. Róisín longs for the closeness they once had, but Red continues to travel away from her – and as the past weighs on the present, Róisín wonders if she'll ever reach Red where he is.

Stations is a devastating story of love and friendship, and the choices we blithely make when we are young, unaware that the consequences will reverberate throughout our lives.

Genres: Fiction, Irish Literature, Ireland, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novels

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 24, 2026

About the author

Louise Kennedy grew up near Belfast. Trespasses is her first novel. She is also the author of a collection of short stories, The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac. She has written for The Guardian, The Irish Times, and BBC Radio 4. Before becoming a writer, she worked as a chef for almost thirty years. She lives in Sligo, Ireland

Reviews

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

ugh yes louise kennedy has done it again ⭐️

[Tilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I’ve been shot nine times (compliment)

[róis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing amazing amazing

[Mia Meaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read the arc for this book.
The story follows the characters of Róison and Red who become friends in their childhood and evolves over time.
The story focuses on the obstacles and unexpected paths life takes you on. The writing and description is very well done. However there was quite a few times I felt lost in the story with the time jumps and the shift from scene to scene and following along with the plot.
One thing I appreciated as an interesting choice was how the book didn’t follow in any route I could have expected, especially the ending which left it up for interpretation.
It tells the story of how friendships come and go and the people who come back into your life after years apart.
The main themes of the book are friendship, love, life choices, coming of age and loyalty.
Spoiler warning !!!! :
As much as the ending being left open for interpretation is interesting I would have enjoyed some form of closure on what happened in terms of Ró searching for Red and what happened to him.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get a proof copy of this book and I’m glad I was able to read it early. It was so moving throughout the book as we follow Ró & Reds story and it pulled at my heartstrings for sure.
4.5⭐️

[Katharina Christenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louise Kennedy up there with one of my new fave writers. Devastating and real and so fucking SAD!

[switterbug (Betsey) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“And so they went on, throwing out truths without eye contact, the words so powerful neither of them could bear to behold their effect.”

Let this Irish novel germinate while you read. Stations is not meant to fill in a space between books, or as a propulsive plot (although the last 1/3 of the book just about destroyed me!). Kennedy’s world-building here is unflinching, infallible, and formidable. All those F words! There are no straw characters or phony incidents. It’s so credibly authentic that I would have believed it as a memoir. This is the story, primarily, of Róisín McCaffrey and Red Camelin, which starts in the early 1980s and ends in 2007. Is it a love story? One of friendship? It is both, plus a story of community, isolation, grief, addiction, identity, family, found family, and a few unmentionables.

In a small town in Ireland (closest big city is Dublin), Róisín and Red meet in school, around age fifteen. Both outcasts, although Red is from a wealthy and influential family. However, it is obvious he doesn’t like to go home, and spends a lot of time staying with Róisín and Una (Róisín’s divorced mother) at their somewhat squalid but also homey home. Red is an attentive listener, and he will happily indulge Róisín. But he is circumspect, if not silent, about his own life. He may speak in generalizations, but Róisín repeatedly and unsuccessfully presses him to share more, to trust her with his guarded secrets.

Years pass, Róisín goes to college for a while, and Red takes off for the wilds, but they circle around and find each other. During this era, moving to London can put a chip on your Irish shoulder, but they both do that independently and end up squatting in a London building with several others. Red is still emotionally unreachable. Róisín remains besotted. “Sometimes she was so comfortable in his company she forgot herself, farting, mumbling aloud then, realizing he was there, feeling astonished to see him. Other times...it was as though a crackle of lightning was going between them, like God’s finger giving life to Adam in pictures she had seen from the Sistine Chapel.” Can these characters grow? One thing I learned young—wherever you go, there you are.

Conor, Róisín’s father, is an immature man and alcoholic with a new wife and a baby daughter, also in London. Róisín has a reason to visit now, to be with her sister, Mary. Family dynamics steer the choices that Róisín makes. The narrative grows outward, to the Irish diaspora in London, and sometimes inward again, almost claustrophobic. The prose is spot-on and restrained, a lot the reader can suss in the silent spaces. All characters have blind spots, some will leave you in pieces.

It’s a moving portrait of a complex and highly developed cast, foremost about Róisín and Red and the community that surrounds them. It unspools with delicacy-- but raw, too, a bittersweet finale-- no promises, and a twist of hope.

Thank you to Riverhead for sending me a copy for early review. I'm still waiting to exhale!

[Kristin Gleeson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for a review copy of this book. A beautifully written book, crafted to create a feeling of a story unfolding seamlessly in front of the reader, easy yet so heartbreakingly real. A young Irish woman, Rósín strives through her life to make sense of her past and her relationship to the one person who dominated it from her teens onward, if only in her mind and her sense of self. This is a story that lingers on in the mind long after the book is finished. It’s haunting, poignant and tragic in some ways but ultimately provides a deep appreciation of what some people will do for the ones they love, even if they don’t love themselves. I found this book deeply moving, just like Kennedy’s prior book, Trespasses. Kennedy has a gift of weaving a narrative that is multi layered and thought provoking while at the same time so compelling, the story just steals the reader’s attention until it reaches its end.

It is the 1980s in Ireland. The first time Rósín met Red she was acting as a go-between for a mean girl, Tina from her school because Red was already too much of a notorious black sheep for any father to approve of. Rósín’s own father had long since made off to London initially for a job, but never to return, after the family had moved from the North because his stint with the RUC hadn’t worked out. In Red though, Rósín feels she’s met a friend, a friend who might be a kindred spirit, a person with whom she feels a soul deep connection that for her is romantic. So when Red turns up on her doorstep and asks to stay for a few days, she is delighted and her mother, charmed by his personality and manners, is too. Rósín feels their connection deepen and knows it’s only a matter of time before they will become a couple. Until her world is shattered and Red’s father has him banished from the town and Red takes off for London. The loss and devastation feels at his departure makes Rósín feel increasingly isolated, and when circumstances take her to London and eventually broken hearted to his door at a squat in a posh area of London she finds a Red that she’s not sure she recognises. In the weeks that turn into months she battles with herself and the deteriorating situation around her to understand what has changed and why. This desperation to understand fully all the situation and herself as well as Red haunts her for years and drives many of the decisions she makes.

The understanding and themes of the book are so subtly crafted and laid out in the book buried deep as the book allows us slowly to come to understand Red and the self destructive behaviours that both main characters show and also to understand what a beautiful person Red was underneath it all. The book is tragically Irish in its rendering and background and beautifully written in that manner to, joining ranks with some of the top Irish writers, I feel. This book will definitely be one of my top reads for the year.

[Gabs · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5☆

i love literary fiction, irish authors, and a story that spans years, so this was right up my alley.

stations begins with ró and red’s initial friendship in a small town in ireland, and follows them to london in the late eighties/early nineties. what shines through is kennedy’s descriptive writing, it never feels like she’s ‘ telling rather than showing’ and i could vividly picture every setting and could sketch the squat from memory.

i liked the direction the story took, and the ending. their were a few reasons i didn’t rate it higher. the first being the central friendship. as it’s the foundation of the novel, i would have liked a stronger sense of their emotional connection, besides circumstance.

*the smallest spoilers below that aren’t really spoilers but i’m being extra cautious as this book isn’t out yet*



secondly - and why i took a while to rate this - is because this book is too ‘irish’. i know that sounds funny, especially considering my first sentence of this review, but it leans so heavily relies into the aesthetics of irishness that it made me think the author was afraid you would forget the characters were irish. examples include; crying about an irish artist’s immigration book, shamrock tattoos, celtic wedding bands (all things i actually like), planning to visit the grave of an irish character in march to leave shamrocks (st patrick’s day - get it?), the phrase, “insanely cool for an irish mammy,” and despite, living in london, seemingly only reading the irish times.

one one hand, it makes sense for irish characters who were living in england during the 80s and 90s, during significant anti-irish sentiment, to latch onto their culture and each other, given the political climate. on the other hand, it also seems to be written as “irish for the international audience”. i havn’t read trespasses yet but wonder if the international success of that influenced this approach.

overall, i liked it, i’m excited for when it’s released so i can discuss it with my friends, and as a result, kennedy’s other book is creeping up my tbr.

[Ceecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up

In October 1982 Róisín McCaffrey is a reluctant go-between delivering a letter from her bête noir Tina Doyle to Red (Redmond) Camelin who’s reputation for trouble precedes him. However, Róisín finds him to be intelligent and funny and an unlikely friendship develops. After a brush with the law, Red leaves Ireland to start a new life in England and they drift apart, although there’s some kind of invisible thread that binds them together. As it turns out, he’s always with her even when he’s not.

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy is a favourite book of mine and so I quite simply had to read this and I’m definitely not disappointed! It’s a beautifully written, emotional, character driven novel with a strong sense of time and place, taking the reader from 1982 to 2007, a twenty five year journey of friendship, love, loss and family through many ups and downs and multiple layers in the storytelling. The characterisation is outstanding, especially of Red, Róisín, her sister Mary and Barry/Finbarr but all are portrayed well. Many are complex and complicated and some are damaged, with Red being especially intriguing. He’s a troubled soul, extremely unpredictable, highly intelligent and very well read. His issues take him into many self-destructive places and in the process, he causes pain. Despite his difficulties it’s easy to understand why people are drawn to him and I don’t think I’ll forget him in a hurry.

The end result of all this is sad but also funny especially through the dialogue, it’s heartbreaking and bleak at times, but it feels very true to life. The ending is open ended which feels just right after what has gone before and that’s life sometimes, it’s incomplete.

I love the book for its messy honesty, it’s heartache and for showing characters vulnerability with well placed humour along the way. I hope this is another best seller for the author.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Bloomsbury Publishing PLC for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

[Mary Lins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last night I finished an advanced copy (thank you Riverhead) of “Stations” by Louise Kennedy, and it was SO GOOD, I had to sit with it a while to savor it and to figure out how to review it without giving anything away.

It’s the coming-of-age and loss-of-innocence story of Róisín, a lonely teenager in a village near Dublin in the 1980s. In order to get “in” with the popular girls, she agrees to deliver a love note to enigmatic Red on behalf of mean girl, Tina. With this act, Róisín and Red become kindred spirits and fast friends, but Róisín wants more than friendship from Red.

Red is estranged from his family and at sixteen, he flees to Dublin taking up a life as a squatter and drug dealer. After she graduates from high school, Róisín joins him.

What follows is their stories, together and apart, through the 1980s, and then in Part Three, picks up almost 20 years later in 2007.

Their stories are riveting, shocking, and often heartbreaking. I couldn’t put the book down. Much is eventually revealed about why Red is the way he is, and I realized how true it is that when we are young, we miss (and/or ignore) so much information that is right before our eyes.

There is a wide cast of unforgettable characters to fall in love with, all perfectly rendered, flawed but sympathetic, always human. I agonized over some of their choices wanting to scream “NO!” several times.

Kennedy’s dialogue is pitch-perfect with all the signature dry humor, sarcasm, and Irish fatalism that I love so much from Irish writers writing about Ireland.

As I neared the end I had become so invested that I was in a panic about how it was going to end for both Róisín and Red, but I should have trusted Kennedy, she ends “Stations” perfectly.

I predict “Stations” will be nominated for many book prizes (it’s certainly going on my personal Top Ten List for this year), the November 3rd publication date seems far away so I’m urging my reading friends and book clubs to pre-order this beautiful novel.

[Meg Orton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: Bloomsbury Export in conjunction with Tandem Collective and Netgalley kindly sent me an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

It's 1982 in Kildare, Ireland, and Roisin McCaffrey is the 'go-between' for Tina Doyle and Red Camelin. She delivers letters to Red, even though he doesn't seem that interested in Tina Doyle. In fact, he spends a lot more time talking to Roisin about books and music, and smoking cigarettes by the riverbank.

At a school dance months later, Red drinks too much and ends up being taken home by Roisin and the local policeman. Except when they get close to Red's home, he doesn't want to get out of the car. He begs them not to leave him at the fancy house everyone knew the Camelins lived in. That night, he comes home with Roisin, sleeps on her couch, and becomes a fixture in the humble home she shares with her mother, Una. Roisin's father left them a long time ago, and Una quickly warms to the troubled Red.

In 1984, Roisin has finished high school and catches a train to London to visit her father for Christmas. At the front door, she's greeted by his new young wife, Lynn, and their baby daughter. Instead of being delighted, Roisin can't face any of it and runs off to stay with Red.

Red has been living in London for a few years in a squat with a few roommates. They are all drinking and smoking a lot, and it seems Red has been selling drugs to make ends meet. Since her school days in Ireland, the drugs have gotten stronger, and the squat is a dismal existence. Roisin stays a lot longer than she means to—and falls more in love with Red every day. But Red has fallen in with a crowd that includes a young, wealthy socialite, and so our heroine finds herself falling into the arms of Barry Doyle, the very same brother of Tina Doyle—the reason Roisin was once a 'go-between'. Whilst in London, she makes up with her father, falls in love with her baby sister Mary, and finds that Red is becoming more and more lost to her. Her father's alcoholism causes a great many hardships for Lynn, who struggles to parent Mary on her own.

It's suddenly 1988, and Roisin is working as a filing clerk, has long since left the squat, Red, and Barry Doyle, and is now in a fairly normal relationship with a young man named Guy.

In 1989, Roisin sees Red at a train station in London begging for money.

Twenty years later, Red's mother comes to Roisin and begs to see her son one last time. His father, whom Red famously hated, is dead, and she is not long for this world either. Roisin hasn't seen Red Camelin since that day at the station, and starts to track down parts of the life she lived during her time in that dirty squat, hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy she once loved. In 2007, even Roisin's sister Mary is a grown-up, and the world is a very different place to the one it was in the 1980s.

Stations is a heartbreaking, achingly beautiful story of life and the transitions we go through. The loss and grief of addiction and abuse are very present in this novel, and even though Roisin is the main character, and it's through her eyes that we see the world, Red's influence in her life is never far away from the main stage. This is a story about friendships, connections, and relationships that we have in our lives that are sometimes fleeting, and sometimes forever. Both have the power to have the same impact, and it is these places (or stations) that we find ourselves in, briefly, that can be the most impactful of all.

[Shénagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I want to start by saying that I've finished this book and I still don't know how I feel. Am I happy for the FMC? Was that really a HEA? Do I feel satisfied with the ending? I'm genuinely conflicted, and I think that's exactly what makes this such an incredible read.

Stations was an instant 5 star book for me, but one that took me through every possible emotion. As someone born towards the end of the Troubles in the North of Ireland, there was a strange familiarity in each person's childhood story. The trauma surrounding families at the time, whether through religion, social divides, or simply the fear and anxiety of where you lived, felt incredibly authentic and echoed so many of the stories I grew up hearing.

Louise Kennedy's writing is beautiful. She captures both the quiet moments and the heartbreaking ones with such skill that every emotion feels palpable. Red and Róisín's relationship always felt as though it was destined to end in heartbreak, and the ripple effects it had on their families and friends felt painfully real. There were moments when all I wanted was for Róisín to go home and find comfort in her mam.

Louise Kennedy is a fantastic author, and I'll be eagerly waiting to see what she writes next. If you haven't read any of her previous work, I wholeheartedly recommend Trespasses while you wait for the release of Stations.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC of this book

[Jackie Murrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roisin and Red meet as teenagers in a small town in Ireland and become unlikely friends. Their connection remains even when he is thrown out by his family and flees to England, and eventually she follows and they live a life of decadent sqalor for a while in a squat. Roisin wants a deeper relationship than Red seems willing or able to give, and eventually their paths diverge and they lose touch, but she can never forget him, and as time passes the past begins to catch up with her. Raw and emotional, this novel really brings to life what it was like to be young, troubled and Irish at the end of the twentieth century. Parents struggle and fail, angry children lash out and forgiveness and understanding are hard won, and sometimes come too late. The demons of drink and drugs are ever looming, pride and shame lead to bad choices, but still in this world there is beauty and reconciliation. Red seems to personify the misery of previous generations through history; showing Roisin an old part of London, he asks her, “ ‘Can you not feel it? All those wretched lives layered up underneath us.’ Can you not, because he knew she wouldn’t understand.” Exquisitely written and often heart-wrenching, this second novel from Kennedy more than lives up to the promise of the first, and will surely be one of the best books of the year.

[Jamad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the first half of Stations much more compelling than the second. I was quickly drawn into the friendship between Róisín and Red, and the novel does an excellent job of capturing the pull of home, the excitement of London in the 1980s, and the complicated ways people become entwined in each other’s lives.

As the years passed, though, my interest gradually began to fade. I found myself increasingly fed up with Red’s immature, self-destructive behaviour. I appreciate that this was very much the point of his character, but after a while I found him more frustrating than engaging, and I became less interested in where his story was heading.

I also felt the novel could have done with a stronger edit. That’s always a sign for me that I’m starting to lose interest in a book. There were sections that felt as though they could have been tightened, and the pacing lost some of the momentum that had made the opening so absorbing.

Kennedy writes beautifully, with a keen eye for relationships and the lasting effects people have on one another. There is plenty to enjoy here, but for me the novel never quite recaptured the strength of its opening chapters.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've not read anything that hit me like this in a long time.

In full
It's October 1982. Róisín has been asked by a girl she knows (but doesn't like) to give a letter to a boy from their school called Red. Róisín is not that popular and not bothered by him either (although he is seen as attractive). They sit smoking and then start talking about favourite things. He follows her home and they talk a lot more. There's a lot of teen angst as well as some very Irish aspects. She was originally from the north and has only moved to the south quite recently. Red is from the south. For me this felt teen like, funny, Irish and quite convincing.

The book is about Róisín as she grows and the narrative changes as she grows. It's about her family too (& that's complicated). Her relationship with her mother is probably quite normal (ie less than good). Her father is now absent having left to work in England - he is a troubled character. Some people are quite constant over the book while others are transient. Red features in this from time to time and that's complicated too. Both of them leave Ireland for London though not together - there's an inevitability about some things.

Having written that I actually realise this book is simply about life and for many people that can be very complicated. Róisín starts off by hating almost everyone else. Over time she hates herself just as much. I guess that could sound a bit depressing and parts of the book really are quite dark. However other parts are funny, powerful and uplifting. Maybe worth saying that this book does have parts that might affect some people. There's homelessness, drugs, mental health issues, alcohol abuse. Personally I became engaged with this book fairly quickly - for me it has a strange charm and authenticity to it. As time went by I simply tried to avoid putting it down. I really wanted to know how everything worked out.

I rate very few book at 5 star these days however this one really does have something special for me. Róisín's journey from anger and hate of others to the same feelings for herself was just so powerful. Please don't take this as meaning that this book is depressing though. It's dark at times however there is such warmth and humanity at other times. It's maybe 4.5/5 but I'm rounding it up for the tears! I'd read something else by Louise Kennedy without hesitation.

My thanks to the author and the publisher for an advance copy of this book

[James B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Riverhead Books for the ebook. This Irish novel follows Roisin and Red through three different times in their lives. During high school, when Roisin is pretty much an outcast, but somehow the handsome and enigmatic Red thinks she wonderful and charms her mother so that he can sleep over most nights. Does he love Roisin or does he maybe just not want to go home? A few years later, Roisin visits her father in London and finds that he has a new family that he hasn’t told her about. She tracks down Red, who has been banished to England by his father and she ends up living with Red in a squat as she watches Red and his roommates drink and drug themselves to dangerous levels. The last section finds Roisin back in Ireland and summoned by Red’s mother. Red’s father is dead and she’s dying of cancer. Will Roisin go to London and see if she can find Red, who has been missing for years, bring him back home? A fascinating novel about longing and the secrets that we never tell anyone.

[Elena M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this advance copy!

„Trespasses“ was one of my favourite books last year and so I had high hopes (potentially overinflated) for Stations. We follow our two main characters Ró and Red who become friends in childhood and how their relationship evolves over time. The writing itself is excellent. For me the issue with this book was that the main characters deeply unlikeable. Ró comes across as immature and petulant and Red seems disinterested and absent. As a consequence, I didn’t understand their connection that forms the basis for many actions in this book. This leads me to the second issue: the plot. Because this is a very character driven novel, I didn’t invest heavily in any of the characters‘ actions either and the plot felt very meandering and lacking direction. Whilst this was an enjoyable read, I felt that more could have been done by the author to establish plot and characterisation.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its October 1982 in a small town in Ireland Roisin Mc Caffrey has been asked by a girl she doesn’t like Tina to give a letter to a guy called Red Camelin. By doing so the pair start talking and form a friendship that last years into adulthood.
When the friendship first formed Red stayed around Roisin house trying to get away from his own. Later, Red decides to move to London and Roisin decides to give up her place at Uni and follow him. At first, they live in a squat. Roisin wants more than friendship, but Red is in love with drugs and they drift apart. Not for many years later that Roisin learns abouts red’s family life.
I do love a story set in Ireland, and this is the first book that I have read from the author. I enjoyed learning about Roisin and Red complicated childhood, this is an emotional read which I kept me turning the pages, But two thirds the way in the storyline. The pace of the story changed and I started losing interest. 3.5 stars from me.

[Linda Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so pleased to receive an ARC of this book but often the proofs are kind of 'set aside' until nearer publication date ... well this one had me in its grip from the opening pages. It reminded me of when I used to have a book at my side through lunch, in the bathroom ( before the evil phone days) ... the characters have a darkness that is flawed, compelling and oh so vulnerable. The story moves through the decades with an attention to detail, but an immediacy in the writing. No spoilers will be given, but suffice to say it's not the obvious outcome but is all the more powerful for it. If you enjoyed Claire Daverley's Talking at Night, or the TV series It's A Sin .. a story full of young characters with heart-breaking circumstances, not only was I thoroughly invested in them but I kind of need to know what they are at now, already. Loved it.

[Joules · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't want to be mean, but if possible, this may be the most nothing book ever. I'm not mad at it or anything I just feel nothing. It is a thing I read and was able to make it through without too much difficulty, but it failed to truly engross me or interest me. The writing isn't bad, but incredibly detached, and I lacked the character elements that make a character driven work like this - such as any sense of Ró's rich inner life or raw feeling. I lacked any awareness of the true pain or unease that comes with loving someone devolving into active addiction, but maybe that was the point.

All of this being said, after DNFing 'Trespasses' for being thoroughly miserable, I will not be picking up a book by Louise Kennedy ever again. (Special thank you to my boyfriend for translating some lines of dialogue and description I am too American to comprehend)

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

This is Louise Kennedy's follow up to Trespasses which I loved.

Stations is the story of the on off friendship between Róisín and Red who meet as teenagers in their small Irish hometown in 1982 and end up in London. It was a nostalgic read for me as I grew up near Kilburn where much of the book is set in around the same period and the time and place is really well and accurately captured in the book.

It is a sad but lighter read than Trespasses and I missed the political angle of the earlier book. I think Stations would translate well to screen and it has something of David Nicholls' One Day about it.

Overall, I liked Stations but I didn't love it. That being said, it's really well written with sparky dialogue and interesting characters and I think it would make a great beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an ARC of this novel.

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5* Stations - Louise Kennedy. A solid second outing from the author of Trespasses (which should have won the Women’s Prize).

Roisin and Red. She’s from a one parent family, migrated from the North. He’s a local bad lad with an incredible love of poetry. The two become firm friends and more.

Red is sent away. Roisin visits her father in London and ends up with Red, until circumstances and events pull them apart and they lose touch. Yet Roisin never gives up hope of finding his again.

A beautifully told story of a relationship to last through the ages. The prose and dialogue are spectacular although sometimes unspooling a little too far to keep my attention. I hugely enjoyed this book but it didn’t live up to the promise of the early relationship and at times felt a little indulgent and in need of an additional edit.

Thanks to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for an ARC.

[McBreakneck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Trespasses so had to read this asap.

In 1982 Róisin and Red meet as teenagers, both are outsiders in their small town in Ireland. Róisin is a recent arrival from the North, while Red already has a reputation for trouble. An unlikely close friendship blossoms.

Stations follows their friendship through the years, sometimes close, sometimes miles apart, to a London squat and beyond, through drink and drugs. It’s often fairly bleak and really quite moving.

Louise Kennedy’s prose has that same natural flow that you loved from Trespasses. It pulls you into the page and carries you along.

If you enjoyed Trespasses you won’t want to miss this. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ)

[Abbeigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Louise Kennedy’s best work to date. Her writing style and the feelings she invokes really sets her apart from other authors for me; it’s like she leaves a part of her soul in her books.

‘Stations’ broke my heart over and over again, the friendship between Róisín and Red growing throughout a difficult childhood, until she follows him to London, where it can only be described as ‘life’ happening.

This story was raw and real, sparing no feelings for the cards people are dealt in life. All of the characters were multi faceted, and their growth evident within the plot. I truly felt the heartbreak and despair as if it were my own. This really was a work of pure art.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing through Netgalley for my early review copy.

[Justin Sarginson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Louise Kennedy's previous books, full of strength and truly fantastic stories told from a passionate and empathtic perspective.
I'm delighted to say that this book is as spectacular as the other two, with an emotional narrative that draws you in from the first word and never lets you go. The characters are pure joy and you will genuinely laugh and cry with them, as their respective stories are told with such humanity and warmth that genuinely shocked me with their emotion and pathos.
The most engaging and heartfelt book I have read in 2026.

I have pre-ordered this book but I am genuinely grateful to the publisher to allow me to read this book so early, I sincerely hope that this book receives the massive success and acclaim that it truly deserves.

[Susannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - a good second novel from Louise Kennedy. I particularly enjoyed the third part where I felt the story came together the best and the search aspect of the plot propelled the story forward. Kennedy also really rooted the novel in its time period well (80s-early 2000’s Ireland and London). Having said that, I did think that the overall pacing off the book was slightly off as it felt like we were just skating across the surface of the characters lives without enough depth to be invested in them. I did really enjoy the overall depiction of a complicated relationship though, and it cleverly showed how yearning and anger can easily be two sides of the same coin.


Advanced copy from Bloomsbury + Netgalley

[hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Louise Kennedy but it certainly won't be the last. We are introduced to Róisin and Red who meet in 1982 in Ireland, but we follow them to London over the years after they both endure various struggles. It was a tragic read, and bleak at times but I really couldn’t put this down. I loved the characters in this story, despite their flaws but also because of them and their actions just felt so real to me. There was so much vulnerability and complexity in them. I think they will stay with me for a long time. 4.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy :)

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Louise Kennedy’s brilliant debut novel and was so excited to be able to read Transitions. With such an assured, emotionally cogent first novel I was sure things could only get better. I was right. This is a beautiful coming of age novel set against the twin issues of addiction and abuse and with the effects of the Troubles always present in the background. The intensity of youth and its selfishness and the simultaneous inability to cope with the problems of others is beautifully represented. The way those traumas ripple on through the following decades is also well handled. I loved this.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two teenagers forge a friendship that endures over the years, with all the usual messiness and misunderstandings. The lives of the main characters are blighted by their past and the choices of their parents, and it is frustrating that they seemed unable to break away or chose an easy path to tread. I enjoyed the cultural references to the 1980s. It felt thin on plot, maybe that is the point and actually what I should be taking with me is that we don't know what is going on in other people's lives and we can't understand why people chose to make certain decisions.