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La ballata di Ronan McCoy
'A painfully optimistic book that does the favour of making you laugh as it breaks your heart' Kenneth Branagh
'A tender, elegant novel about the beauty and importance of friendship…One of the most moving books I’ve read in some time' John Boyne
'Soaring, lyrical and heart-breaking' Michelle Gallen
'A fresh and authentic voice is found in this impressive and original debut about grief, loss and the enduring power of love' Christine Dwyer Hickey
***
A tender coming-of-age story about friendship, first love, loss, and facing the ultimate who am I going to be? For fans of Douglas Stuart, Michael Magee, David Nicholls and Andrew O'Hagan
Brendan's best friend, his only friend, is Ronan McCoy. He knows things about Brendan that no one else about his job washing the cars at Feeney’s Funeral Home, about the loneliness he sometimes feels even when surrounded by hundreds of others at school. But Brendan never told Ronan about the dark feeling that sits at the bottom of his stomach, the feeling that tells him something bad is coming. It never comes when Ronan's around.
Ronan is smart and sporty and popular, totally comfortable in his own all the things that Brendan himself isn't. But Ronan always makes him feel like a good friend, a good person, a better Brendan.
Standing at the school gates on the first day of term, the dark feeling begins to form in Brendan's stomach. And when Ronan doesn’t turn up, Brendan learns that something terrible happened to his best friend over the summer and he'll never be the same again. Over the course of the final year of school, Brendan will have to learn to navigate the new shape of their friendship and find a place for himself in the world without Ronan to protect him.
The Ballad of Ronan McCoy is a beautifully written, tender coming-of-age story about friendship and first love, loss and letting go, and the hopes and fears of a young man standing on the cusp of the rest of his life.
'A tender, elegant novel about the beauty and importance of friendship…One of the most moving books I’ve read in some time' John Boyne
'Soaring, lyrical and heart-breaking' Michelle Gallen
'A fresh and authentic voice is found in this impressive and original debut about grief, loss and the enduring power of love' Christine Dwyer Hickey
***
A tender coming-of-age story about friendship, first love, loss, and facing the ultimate who am I going to be? For fans of Douglas Stuart, Michael Magee, David Nicholls and Andrew O'Hagan
Brendan's best friend, his only friend, is Ronan McCoy. He knows things about Brendan that no one else about his job washing the cars at Feeney’s Funeral Home, about the loneliness he sometimes feels even when surrounded by hundreds of others at school. But Brendan never told Ronan about the dark feeling that sits at the bottom of his stomach, the feeling that tells him something bad is coming. It never comes when Ronan's around.
Ronan is smart and sporty and popular, totally comfortable in his own all the things that Brendan himself isn't. But Ronan always makes him feel like a good friend, a good person, a better Brendan.
Standing at the school gates on the first day of term, the dark feeling begins to form in Brendan's stomach. And when Ronan doesn’t turn up, Brendan learns that something terrible happened to his best friend over the summer and he'll never be the same again. Over the course of the final year of school, Brendan will have to learn to navigate the new shape of their friendship and find a place for himself in the world without Ronan to protect him.
The Ballad of Ronan McCoy is a beautifully written, tender coming-of-age story about friendship and first love, loss and letting go, and the hopes and fears of a young man standing on the cusp of the rest of his life.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2026
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June 5, 2025merlin actor writing a gay coming of age novel I said oh im sure 🙂↕️🙂↕️
March 26, 2026
A tearjerker. But in the best possible way.
I lost count of how many times my eyes went blurry while reading this gorgeous book. It already started at the very beginning, when Brendan just knows that something has happened to his best friend Ronan after he doesn’t show up at school following summer break. And when I found out what was wrong with Ronan, tears immediately sprang to my eyes. And they kept coming and sometimes I had to put my ereader down because otherwise I would be a sobbing mess. But every now and then my lips would suddenly pull up, and the more I read, the more that smile grew, sometimes I even chuckled out loud.
The Ballad of Ronan McCoy is a story about friendship, about grief, about love. It’s a book to keep loads of tissues at hand, a story that crawls into your heart and warms you from the inside. The writing itself is pretty simple, Brendan’s voice a little younger than sixteen. But oh boy, set somewhere in the early aughts in Northern Ireland, this is a stunner of a novel in all its simplicity. And it feels incredibly personal.
Brendan and the McCoys had such a beautiful relationship and as a parent, I was in awe of those two people who were so optimistic and had so much love for Brendan despite what had happened to their son.
That last part wrecked me. I read a bit, started sobbing, did some laundry, read a bit more until the dam broke again, did some more chores, tried to read again, but my eyes blurred the moment I started. I finally thought the water had settled in me, and then Brendan suggested something, and the flood came pouring back again.
Sometimes life is so unfair. And sometimes, even in the ugliest moments, it is so beautiful…
Thank you, HQ Stories and NetGalley, for this beautiful ARC.
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I lost count of how many times my eyes went blurry while reading this gorgeous book. It already started at the very beginning, when Brendan just knows that something has happened to his best friend Ronan after he doesn’t show up at school following summer break. And when I found out what was wrong with Ronan, tears immediately sprang to my eyes. And they kept coming and sometimes I had to put my ereader down because otherwise I would be a sobbing mess. But every now and then my lips would suddenly pull up, and the more I read, the more that smile grew, sometimes I even chuckled out loud.
The Ballad of Ronan McCoy is a story about friendship, about grief, about love. It’s a book to keep loads of tissues at hand, a story that crawls into your heart and warms you from the inside. The writing itself is pretty simple, Brendan’s voice a little younger than sixteen. But oh boy, set somewhere in the early aughts in Northern Ireland, this is a stunner of a novel in all its simplicity. And it feels incredibly personal.
Brendan and the McCoys had such a beautiful relationship and as a parent, I was in awe of those two people who were so optimistic and had so much love for Brendan despite what had happened to their son.
That last part wrecked me. I read a bit, started sobbing, did some laundry, read a bit more until the dam broke again, did some more chores, tried to read again, but my eyes blurred the moment I started. I finally thought the water had settled in me, and then Brendan suggested something, and the flood came pouring back again.
Sometimes life is so unfair. And sometimes, even in the ugliest moments, it is so beautiful…
Thank you, HQ Stories and NetGalley, for this beautiful ARC.
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January 31, 2026
One of the best literary fiction novels I've read.
This book was heartfelt and hopeful with an underlying reminder of the solemnity of the human existence. Ronan and Brendan's relationship was complex and understandable in their new context of friendship with Morgan weaving threads together to pull us into their lives so deeply that they'll leave their marks on us. I was transfixed by this book and honestly just think it's a wonderful story that was told beautifully, it was subtle in its simplicity but was packed with powerful emotion. A five star debut from Colin Morgan.
31/01/2026 - re-read: still a five star read and even more impactful upon a second read, I noticed so many elements of the book that I didn't in the first instance and in fact, noticing them has made me already want to go back to the beginning and take in the story again.
This book was heartfelt and hopeful with an underlying reminder of the solemnity of the human existence. Ronan and Brendan's relationship was complex and understandable in their new context of friendship with Morgan weaving threads together to pull us into their lives so deeply that they'll leave their marks on us. I was transfixed by this book and honestly just think it's a wonderful story that was told beautifully, it was subtle in its simplicity but was packed with powerful emotion. A five star debut from Colin Morgan.
31/01/2026 - re-read: still a five star read and even more impactful upon a second read, I noticed so many elements of the book that I didn't in the first instance and in fact, noticing them has made me already want to go back to the beginning and take in the story again.
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July 4, 2026Knowing Colin, this is going to be depressing af. I’m ready 🙂↕️🥲
Edit: finished the book. I was right. But it was also really beautiful, and it's going to stick with me for a very long time. I think it is safe to say that this book has changed me.
Edit: finished the book. I was right. But it was also really beautiful, and it's going to stick with me for a very long time. I think it is safe to say that this book has changed me.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The best compliment I can pay this book is that I can't currently write a proper review of this as I will just end up in tears. One of my favourite books of the year. Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I may come back and add to this or I may just leave this beautiful book in my now broken heart 💔
May 22, 2026
did i finish this book or did it finish me? 💔
July 25, 2026
Absolutely traumatic. Nobody speak to me. Five stars.
July 15, 2026
I was already a Colin Morgan fan long before he became an author. I loved *Merlin*, particularly the performances of Angel Coulby as Guinevere and Morgan as Merlin himself. He brought such intensity to the classic wizard while also capturing the insecurity and vulnerability of a young man still discovering who he was and what he could become.
So, when seemingly everyone on Bookstagram began raving about the audiobook of *The Ballad of Ronan McCoy*, I was surprised—and delighted—to discover that it was written by that very same Colin Morgan. Even better, he narrates the audiobook himself, and his performance is truly wonderful.
Set in Northern Ireland in the years following the Troubles, this tender coming-of-age story follows Brendan, an insecure secondary school student who is content to remain invisible. The only person who truly sees him is his best friend, Ronan McCoy. Ronan is everything Brendan believes he is not: popular, athletic, confident and seemingly at ease in the world.
As the boys prepare for their final year of school, Ronan suddenly disappears. Brendan is lonely and bereft, left without the one person who made him feel understood. When Ronan finally returns, he is in a wheelchair and unable to speak following an accident on his family’s farm. Brendan must then learn how to become a different kind of friend to him—one who is patient, attentive and willing to meet Ronan wherever he is.
Meanwhile, Brendan begins growing closer to a classmate named Jennifer, confiding in Ronan about his hopes of asking her to the school formal. As Brendan tentatively steps into a larger life, Ronan slowly attempts to form words and reconnect with the world around him.
What makes this novel especially memorable is the way Morgan captures the distinctive cadence of the Northern Irish voice. Listening to him perform his own words adds warmth, humor and emotional texture to an already beautifully written story. The audiobook feels intimate, almost as though Brendan himself is sitting beside you and quietly sharing the parts of his life he has never trusted anyone else to hear.
This is a deep and heartbreaking story, but it never becomes cynical. Morgan views the world through the eyes of a teenage boy who is far more hopeful, sensitive and in need of connection than boys are often allowed to be in fiction. Brendan’s vulnerability is never treated as weakness, and his devotion to Ronan becomes a moving portrait of friendship, grief and the many forms love can take.
*The Ballad of Ronan McCoy* is quiet, tenderhearted and perfectly lovely—a character study filled with humor, longing and enormous compassion. As much as I hate to rely on that iconic critic’s phrase, there is simply no avoiding it here:
I laughed. I cried. And I loved spending time with Brendan and Ronan.
**4.5/5 stars**
Published June 18, 2026.
So, when seemingly everyone on Bookstagram began raving about the audiobook of *The Ballad of Ronan McCoy*, I was surprised—and delighted—to discover that it was written by that very same Colin Morgan. Even better, he narrates the audiobook himself, and his performance is truly wonderful.
Set in Northern Ireland in the years following the Troubles, this tender coming-of-age story follows Brendan, an insecure secondary school student who is content to remain invisible. The only person who truly sees him is his best friend, Ronan McCoy. Ronan is everything Brendan believes he is not: popular, athletic, confident and seemingly at ease in the world.
As the boys prepare for their final year of school, Ronan suddenly disappears. Brendan is lonely and bereft, left without the one person who made him feel understood. When Ronan finally returns, he is in a wheelchair and unable to speak following an accident on his family’s farm. Brendan must then learn how to become a different kind of friend to him—one who is patient, attentive and willing to meet Ronan wherever he is.
Meanwhile, Brendan begins growing closer to a classmate named Jennifer, confiding in Ronan about his hopes of asking her to the school formal. As Brendan tentatively steps into a larger life, Ronan slowly attempts to form words and reconnect with the world around him.
What makes this novel especially memorable is the way Morgan captures the distinctive cadence of the Northern Irish voice. Listening to him perform his own words adds warmth, humor and emotional texture to an already beautifully written story. The audiobook feels intimate, almost as though Brendan himself is sitting beside you and quietly sharing the parts of his life he has never trusted anyone else to hear.
This is a deep and heartbreaking story, but it never becomes cynical. Morgan views the world through the eyes of a teenage boy who is far more hopeful, sensitive and in need of connection than boys are often allowed to be in fiction. Brendan’s vulnerability is never treated as weakness, and his devotion to Ronan becomes a moving portrait of friendship, grief and the many forms love can take.
*The Ballad of Ronan McCoy* is quiet, tenderhearted and perfectly lovely—a character study filled with humor, longing and enormous compassion. As much as I hate to rely on that iconic critic’s phrase, there is simply no avoiding it here:
I laughed. I cried. And I loved spending time with Brendan and Ronan.
**4.5/5 stars**
Published June 18, 2026.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2026
Oof. I did not like this.
It could have been really good, which unfortunately, is part of why I think it ended up feeling so shallow and disappointing.
First of all, as someone who was popularized and gained a large portion of his fanbase for being on a show that did little but queerbait the audience, it feels like a weird first choice to write a book that is also unbelievably queer coded and then market it as just two boys being the bestest of friendsies. Like, surely you know what you're doing when you make that decision. It’s all over the text and how else do you explain that the “fruitier” bowtie suits Brendan better, or at least it does until Ronan dies, and his love is lost.
"But what about Jennifer!" Honestly, I'm not convinced that the entire book wasn't written completely without her and then someone commented that it was too obviously queer, so the author went back and wrote her scenes, evenly spacing them throughout the book. Why else do none of her scenes overlap with anything else that's going on? They get together when she writes a poem about Ronan and her whole personality from there is being genuinely understanding of Brendan while he blows her off time and again. She begs him to hang out and he's like, "Nah, sorry, I'm gonna chill with Ronan -- which you absolutely could be included in! But never will be!" He gets upset when she wants to talk to him about anything other than Ronan or fails to ask about Ronan often enough. They go to prom together and he spends the entire night taking photos and talking to other people about Ronan, ignoring Jennifer completely. When she later brings up that she was disappointed because she actually, you know, likes him and wanted to spend time with him on their date (a very reasonable expectation, if you ask me) he gets mad at her audacity to assume that any relationship could rival the importance of his and Ronan's. Eventually SHE apologizes. He says he’ll do better, then doesn’t. Near the end of the book she bakes a cake for Brendan’s birthday and takes it to the hospital where she knows he’ll be visiting Ronan. This is her very first visit to Ronan and this seems to be her only chance to see her boyfriend on his birthday. Then, instead of helping her carry the cake inside and show her where Ronan’s room is, Brendan and his dad just leave her alone in the parking lot and go inside without her. Huh, that’s weird. I wonder why. Could it possibly be because this is the scene where they take Ronan off life support and she was never intended to be in that scene or in the book at all? Because she plays no significant role to the emotional core of the story? …Hmm.
Which brings me to the narrative decision to end Ronan’s life ON BRENDAN’S BIRTHDAY. You cannot convince me that this was anything more than a ploy to make the book as manipulatively sad as possible. There’s just no other reason for it. Why not the day after? Or the day before? They think it’s better to hold off so they don’t ruin his divers' test… The easily rescheduled drivers test? That will happen once? Versus letting him watch his best friend die on his birthday?? An event that will happen annually? Make it make sense! Meanwhile, there’s nothing stopping poor goddamn Jennifer from barging in balancing half a dozen plates of cake and singing Happy Birthday. Of course, no one tells her anything! Why would they! Seriously, justice for Jennifer.
Second, everything (writing, plot, timeline, character's ages, etc.) felt slightly off. Like it was written by an alien that sort of understands humankind, but also decidedly doesn't fully get it. Perhaps some of the things that flagged as odd for me are cultural differences, but there were just so many. He's hanging out on the playground as a senior in high school? What high school even has a playground?? He's practiced driving multiple times a week for literal months and hasn't yet made it out of a parking lot? He's never even heard of a brain injury despite his small town having a dedicated support group of 15+ people that meet at the local library weekly? He never sees Ronan during the summer nor has he ever met Ronan’s parents, yet again, despite living in a small town and being best friends for years? Jennifer is shocked that her parents leave her home for a weekend as a seventeen-year-old? Brendan is way too busy to eat lunch because he needs to study, yet Jennifer regularly eats lunch despite taking more classes and having other friends? Nearly adult Brendan seems genuinely shocked that his birthday wish doesn’t actually magically wake Ronan from a coma? What?
Also, you just have to accept Brendan's word for it that he and Ronan are the best of friends. We sure never see it. Ronan is apparently the most popular boy in school -- good grades, great at sports, beloved by all. Brendon, by contrast, has literally no other friends whatsoever. It's a narrative decision that makes his devotion to Ronan that much less compelling to me. Obviously he's going to be personally invested in Ronan's recovery for that fact alone, regardless of any actual loyalty to Ronan. Also, it’s never really explained why Brendan doesn’t have any other friends. Both Ronan and Jennifer seem pretty well-regarded and they both like him, so it’s not that he’s just that much of an outcast. In fact, at the beginning of the book he says the main reason he doesn’t have any friends is that he used to make up excuses to get out of hanging out with them, because he didn’t want to tell them that he had a part-time job. Which like, why? No one that he tells reacts badly to it and also, it wouldn’t keep him from having other friends that he generally only sees in school.
I think this book needed a much harsher editor. It's so long and repetitive (and so boring) without really going anywhere. You could easily cut out a hundred pages just by condensing conversations that happen twice or three times back to back down into one scene. This is supposedly adult fiction! Trust me when I say that I got it the first time and you're trying too hard. It also regularly tells the story up until a scene that might have been pretty interesting, then it suddenly flashes forward and Brendan tells us what happened in retrospect. Also, (sorry!) but I did not enjoy the narration. The strong accent, the weird inflection points, the fact that I listened to 10+ hours and if I hadn't seen it written I'd have no idea if the MC's name was Brendan or Brandon -- it all left something to be desired. And don't even get me started on the dialogue. Too late, I'm started This is actual dialogue taken directly from the book (as best I can tell from the audiobook):
The entire book is written like that. “Wee” is used five times in roughly as many sentences. A variation of “some/something/someone/somewhere" is used five times in the same sentence that “maybe” is also used twice in. I felt like I was having a stroke.
I also just really loathed the artificial suspense that never went anywhere. A few examples:
1. A major plot point is Brendan studying for his exams -- the McCoy’s keep him from hanging out with Ronan, his part-time job tells him to take a few weeks off, and his dad lets him out of driving practice. Sure seems like these exams are awfully important, huh? At long last, Brendan gets his results. And we never find out what they are. Why would we care?
2. The massive and entirely fake stakes built up around Brendan passing his driving test. We get a scene where we find out that all this time he hasn’t even made it out of the parking lot and onto the road at all. Then it’s not really mentioned again until he takes his test and passes.
3. Of course, everyone wants to know, what happened to Ronan? How did he get a major head injury in the middle of an open field? Well, if you want to know you’d better keep reading! Sure, Brendan gets to hear the rumors but we, the readers, are going to get it directly from Ronan! Eventually. Probably. …Not.
That one particularly annoyed me. Why is a major plotline that Brendan doesn’t want to listen to the rumors and instead wants to wait to hear what happened to Ronan from him directly. But when that’s no longer an option it’s just dropped completely. He doesn’t even acknowledge that now he’ll never know. For so much of the focus being on allowing Ronan the autonomy of telling his own story it feels absolutely bizarre to me that the ONLY THING this guy is able to communicate is “time machine” which his parents decipher to mean ‘time capsule”. WHICH WE THEN NEVER LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT. Why would we care! Why would we want to know! Nothing matters!
For a story supposedly about Ronan, his ballad and all that if you remember, we really never get to know very much about him, which feels like a disservice. The choice to start the book after Ronan’s injury really reduces him to little more than an entity in a lot of his scenes. Which kind of just makes him the inspiration of Brendan’s coming-of-age self-actualization summer. A decision that I hated.
Okay, rapid fire round, other things that were weird:
-Ronan is visibly upset whenever Brendan mentions Jennifer. Will this go anywhere? No. Is it because it’s kind of gay? Sure feels like it.
-The weird religious overtones without any meaningful exploration that really ramp up in the back half.
-Kevin is apparently so upset that Brendan saw him vulnerable that one time that he does absolutely nothing about it for a full calendar year and then decides to physically fight him.
-The ~dark feeling~?? What is he, a psychic?
-Mr. Feeney’s chest hair apparently merits more of a description than anything about Jennifer’s appearance.
-After Ronan's death, Brendan rides his bicycle to Feeney's in a fugue state, admitting to mentally blacking out and not paying attention to his surroundings. When he gets to Feeney's, they decide it's probably a great idea (a gift, in fact!) for him to be the one to drive the most expensive car in town (the hearse) at Ronan's funeral the next day. He definitely won't be emotionally compromised or anything. He's probably still only got the temporary paper license and he's never driven an automatic. But what could go wrong?
-Brendan, despite being unbelievably sheltered and naive, always seems to make the optimal play. He’s not embarrassed that Ronan is screaming and everyone is looking at them -- he’s just embarrassed that he didn’t know how to support Ronan better. All of the adults around him are constantly impressed with how profound he is and they give him nothing but understanding and time. All of which leads to a book that’s just kind of lacking depth.
I don’t know, it just felt like nothing mattered or existed until the scene it was the focus of. The entire book acted like it wanted to dive in and explore some really interesting themes, but then chickened out after briefly mentioning them. Hmm, medical expenses can be crushing… let’s think about it in passing once and never again. Why would we be interested in knowing what the McCoy’s do for work that enables them to both take almost a full year off of work to care for Ronan and still be able to afford his hospital bills and the house renovations? Sure feels like Brendan is some kind of neuro-spricy, given that his response to the death of a loved one is to make a sandwich and his idea of fun is cleaning other people’s cars. He can’t connect with any of his peers, but has no problem talking to his adults… But we’ll never actually explore that. Has anyone noticed that the McCoys seem awfully invested in Brendan’s success and emotionally attached to him... Could this be an unhealthy coping mechanism? Should there be boundaries? Isn’t it kind of weird that Brendan’s chatting with Ronan’s parents daily while actively avoiding his girlfriend’s calls? Feels like something to consider, but the narrative just never goes there. Which, if you’re not going to actually say anything about any of the themes you’re skirting around, why even bring them up in the first place?
I feel like when you make the choice to write a book that is this much of a bummer to read, you’re kind of making a promise to the reader that you’re going to take them somewhere -- that you’re going to say something of value by the end. That there will be at least a glimmer of the profound to resonate with that makes the reading experience worth it. This book never gets there.
TL;DR: If you want a similar story with more compelling themes, pick up A Separate Peace and save yourself half the page count.
It could have been really good, which unfortunately, is part of why I think it ended up feeling so shallow and disappointing.
First of all, as someone who was popularized and gained a large portion of his fanbase for being on a show that did little but queerbait the audience, it feels like a weird first choice to write a book that is also unbelievably queer coded and then market it as just two boys being the bestest of friendsies. Like, surely you know what you're doing when you make that decision. It’s all over the text and how else do you explain that the “fruitier” bowtie suits Brendan better, or at least it does until Ronan dies, and his love is lost.
"But what about Jennifer!" Honestly, I'm not convinced that the entire book wasn't written completely without her and then someone commented that it was too obviously queer, so the author went back and wrote her scenes, evenly spacing them throughout the book. Why else do none of her scenes overlap with anything else that's going on? They get together when she writes a poem about Ronan and her whole personality from there is being genuinely understanding of Brendan while he blows her off time and again. She begs him to hang out and he's like, "Nah, sorry, I'm gonna chill with Ronan -- which you absolutely could be included in! But never will be!" He gets upset when she wants to talk to him about anything other than Ronan or fails to ask about Ronan often enough. They go to prom together and he spends the entire night taking photos and talking to other people about Ronan, ignoring Jennifer completely. When she later brings up that she was disappointed because she actually, you know, likes him and wanted to spend time with him on their date (a very reasonable expectation, if you ask me) he gets mad at her audacity to assume that any relationship could rival the importance of his and Ronan's. Eventually SHE apologizes. He says he’ll do better, then doesn’t. Near the end of the book she bakes a cake for Brendan’s birthday and takes it to the hospital where she knows he’ll be visiting Ronan. This is her very first visit to Ronan and this seems to be her only chance to see her boyfriend on his birthday. Then, instead of helping her carry the cake inside and show her where Ronan’s room is, Brendan and his dad just leave her alone in the parking lot and go inside without her. Huh, that’s weird. I wonder why. Could it possibly be because this is the scene where they take Ronan off life support and she was never intended to be in that scene or in the book at all? Because she plays no significant role to the emotional core of the story? …Hmm.
Which brings me to the narrative decision to end Ronan’s life ON BRENDAN’S BIRTHDAY. You cannot convince me that this was anything more than a ploy to make the book as manipulatively sad as possible. There’s just no other reason for it. Why not the day after? Or the day before? They think it’s better to hold off so they don’t ruin his divers' test… The easily rescheduled drivers test? That will happen once? Versus letting him watch his best friend die on his birthday?? An event that will happen annually? Make it make sense! Meanwhile, there’s nothing stopping poor goddamn Jennifer from barging in balancing half a dozen plates of cake and singing Happy Birthday. Of course, no one tells her anything! Why would they! Seriously, justice for Jennifer.
Second, everything (writing, plot, timeline, character's ages, etc.) felt slightly off. Like it was written by an alien that sort of understands humankind, but also decidedly doesn't fully get it. Perhaps some of the things that flagged as odd for me are cultural differences, but there were just so many. He's hanging out on the playground as a senior in high school? What high school even has a playground?? He's practiced driving multiple times a week for literal months and hasn't yet made it out of a parking lot? He's never even heard of a brain injury despite his small town having a dedicated support group of 15+ people that meet at the local library weekly? He never sees Ronan during the summer nor has he ever met Ronan’s parents, yet again, despite living in a small town and being best friends for years? Jennifer is shocked that her parents leave her home for a weekend as a seventeen-year-old? Brendan is way too busy to eat lunch because he needs to study, yet Jennifer regularly eats lunch despite taking more classes and having other friends? Nearly adult Brendan seems genuinely shocked that his birthday wish doesn’t actually magically wake Ronan from a coma? What?
Also, you just have to accept Brendan's word for it that he and Ronan are the best of friends. We sure never see it. Ronan is apparently the most popular boy in school -- good grades, great at sports, beloved by all. Brendon, by contrast, has literally no other friends whatsoever. It's a narrative decision that makes his devotion to Ronan that much less compelling to me. Obviously he's going to be personally invested in Ronan's recovery for that fact alone, regardless of any actual loyalty to Ronan. Also, it’s never really explained why Brendan doesn’t have any other friends. Both Ronan and Jennifer seem pretty well-regarded and they both like him, so it’s not that he’s just that much of an outcast. In fact, at the beginning of the book he says the main reason he doesn’t have any friends is that he used to make up excuses to get out of hanging out with them, because he didn’t want to tell them that he had a part-time job. Which like, why? No one that he tells reacts badly to it and also, it wouldn’t keep him from having other friends that he generally only sees in school.
I think this book needed a much harsher editor. It's so long and repetitive (and so boring) without really going anywhere. You could easily cut out a hundred pages just by condensing conversations that happen twice or three times back to back down into one scene. This is supposedly adult fiction! Trust me when I say that I got it the first time and you're trying too hard. It also regularly tells the story up until a scene that might have been pretty interesting, then it suddenly flashes forward and Brendan tells us what happened in retrospect. Also, (sorry!) but I did not enjoy the narration. The strong accent, the weird inflection points, the fact that I listened to 10+ hours and if I hadn't seen it written I'd have no idea if the MC's name was Brendan or Brandon -- it all left something to be desired. And don't even get me started on the dialogue. Too late, I'm started This is actual dialogue taken directly from the book (as best I can tell from the audiobook):
Dad: What’s that?
Brendan: It’s a metal. A holy metal.
Dad: Let me see. Oh, it’s one of them metals off someone’s rosary beads. You remember your granny had one on hers?
Brendan: It’s on the one she gave me.
Dad: Aye, it’s a, it’s a, what do you call it? A holy relic. It’s got a wee bit of cloth off one of the saints or the pope or someone inside. Just a wee bit of something, wee fragment.
Brendan: Alright. Just like, a wee bit of the pope’s robe? Or something like that, maybe?
Dad: Aye. Or something, maybe, the pope blessed or something, and someone -- some priest maybe, in Rome, or somewhere, would have then set a metal with a wee window on it.
The entire book is written like that. “Wee” is used five times in roughly as many sentences. A variation of “some/something/someone/somewhere" is used five times in the same sentence that “maybe” is also used twice in. I felt like I was having a stroke.
I also just really loathed the artificial suspense that never went anywhere. A few examples:
1. A major plot point is Brendan studying for his exams -- the McCoy’s keep him from hanging out with Ronan, his part-time job tells him to take a few weeks off, and his dad lets him out of driving practice. Sure seems like these exams are awfully important, huh? At long last, Brendan gets his results. And we never find out what they are. Why would we care?
2. The massive and entirely fake stakes built up around Brendan passing his driving test. We get a scene where we find out that all this time he hasn’t even made it out of the parking lot and onto the road at all. Then it’s not really mentioned again until he takes his test and passes.
3. Of course, everyone wants to know, what happened to Ronan? How did he get a major head injury in the middle of an open field? Well, if you want to know you’d better keep reading! Sure, Brendan gets to hear the rumors but we, the readers, are going to get it directly from Ronan! Eventually. Probably. …Not.
That one particularly annoyed me. Why is a major plotline that Brendan doesn’t want to listen to the rumors and instead wants to wait to hear what happened to Ronan from him directly. But when that’s no longer an option it’s just dropped completely. He doesn’t even acknowledge that now he’ll never know. For so much of the focus being on allowing Ronan the autonomy of telling his own story it feels absolutely bizarre to me that the ONLY THING this guy is able to communicate is “time machine” which his parents decipher to mean ‘time capsule”. WHICH WE THEN NEVER LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT. Why would we care! Why would we want to know! Nothing matters!
For a story supposedly about Ronan, his ballad and all that if you remember, we really never get to know very much about him, which feels like a disservice. The choice to start the book after Ronan’s injury really reduces him to little more than an entity in a lot of his scenes. Which kind of just makes him the inspiration of Brendan’s coming-of-age self-actualization summer. A decision that I hated.
Okay, rapid fire round, other things that were weird:
-Ronan is visibly upset whenever Brendan mentions Jennifer. Will this go anywhere? No. Is it because it’s kind of gay? Sure feels like it.
-The weird religious overtones without any meaningful exploration that really ramp up in the back half.
-Kevin is apparently so upset that Brendan saw him vulnerable that one time that he does absolutely nothing about it for a full calendar year and then decides to physically fight him.
-The ~dark feeling~?? What is he, a psychic?
-Mr. Feeney’s chest hair apparently merits more of a description than anything about Jennifer’s appearance.
-After Ronan's death, Brendan rides his bicycle to Feeney's in a fugue state, admitting to mentally blacking out and not paying attention to his surroundings. When he gets to Feeney's, they decide it's probably a great idea (a gift, in fact!) for him to be the one to drive the most expensive car in town (the hearse) at Ronan's funeral the next day. He definitely won't be emotionally compromised or anything. He's probably still only got the temporary paper license and he's never driven an automatic. But what could go wrong?
-Brendan, despite being unbelievably sheltered and naive, always seems to make the optimal play. He’s not embarrassed that Ronan is screaming and everyone is looking at them -- he’s just embarrassed that he didn’t know how to support Ronan better. All of the adults around him are constantly impressed with how profound he is and they give him nothing but understanding and time. All of which leads to a book that’s just kind of lacking depth.
I don’t know, it just felt like nothing mattered or existed until the scene it was the focus of. The entire book acted like it wanted to dive in and explore some really interesting themes, but then chickened out after briefly mentioning them. Hmm, medical expenses can be crushing… let’s think about it in passing once and never again. Why would we be interested in knowing what the McCoy’s do for work that enables them to both take almost a full year off of work to care for Ronan and still be able to afford his hospital bills and the house renovations? Sure feels like Brendan is some kind of neuro-spricy, given that his response to the death of a loved one is to make a sandwich and his idea of fun is cleaning other people’s cars. He can’t connect with any of his peers, but has no problem talking to his adults… But we’ll never actually explore that. Has anyone noticed that the McCoys seem awfully invested in Brendan’s success and emotionally attached to him... Could this be an unhealthy coping mechanism? Should there be boundaries? Isn’t it kind of weird that Brendan’s chatting with Ronan’s parents daily while actively avoiding his girlfriend’s calls? Feels like something to consider, but the narrative just never goes there. Which, if you’re not going to actually say anything about any of the themes you’re skirting around, why even bring them up in the first place?
I feel like when you make the choice to write a book that is this much of a bummer to read, you’re kind of making a promise to the reader that you’re going to take them somewhere -- that you’re going to say something of value by the end. That there will be at least a glimmer of the profound to resonate with that makes the reading experience worth it. This book never gets there.
TL;DR: If you want a similar story with more compelling themes, pick up A Separate Peace and save yourself half the page count.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2026
I am very tight fisted with my 5 star ratings, but this book totally got me. What a devastatingly poignant book from beginning to end. It’s a gorgeously written story of unconditional teenage friendship, loss and grief. I lost count of the times I cried, and spent most of the book with a lump in my throat.
I wouldn’t recommend this to everybody at any time, because it is just so heart shattering and sometimes the sadness is overwhelming. However, if you’re in the mood for a book that is character driven and devastating, and need a really good cry, this is fantastic.
Two of my favourite quotes:
“Coffins are made from great tall oaks. I think I’d choose oak. Out there, somewhere in the world, there’s a tree and it’s growing. It’s growing for me.”
“Promise less, give more.”
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this outstanding book. I’ll be thinking about it for a very long time.
I wouldn’t recommend this to everybody at any time, because it is just so heart shattering and sometimes the sadness is overwhelming. However, if you’re in the mood for a book that is character driven and devastating, and need a really good cry, this is fantastic.
Two of my favourite quotes:
“Coffins are made from great tall oaks. I think I’d choose oak. Out there, somewhere in the world, there’s a tree and it’s growing. It’s growing for me.”
“Promise less, give more.”
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this outstanding book. I’ll be thinking about it for a very long time.
October 17, 2025
I couldn’t stop annotating this book! Every few pages there was a line so raw and beautiful that I had to pause and take it in. Colin Morgan writes about grief, love, and friendship with such honesty and tenderness that it lingers long after the last page. This is a story that feels deeply human, heartbreaking, and yet full of quiet hope.
Beautifully written, unforgettable, and profoundly moving.
Thank you so much to HQ Stories for the gifted copy of The Ballad of Ronan McCoy!
Beautifully written, unforgettable, and profoundly moving.
Thank you so much to HQ Stories for the gifted copy of The Ballad of Ronan McCoy!
audiobook-tbr
September 21, 2025Merlin actor writing a coming of age literary fiction?? I am SO reading to get my heart broken
August 11, 2026
Brendan's a bit of a loner, who's invisible at school, for the most part. He's a bit anxious and an overthinker. His best and only friend is Ronan, a smart, athletic, popular boy. Their friendship pretty much stays on school grounds, they don't visit each other's homes, nor talk on the phone.
One day, a dark feeling takes over Brendan. Why is Ronan not at school?
This was a sweet coming of age novel, with such endearing characters. Brendan is the sweetest teenager. The world needs more people like him.
I was going to comment that the narrator did a fantastic job, only to discover upon looking up who it was, that it's Colin Morgan, the author himself, who has quite a few audiobooks under his name. He's also a pretty well known Northern Irish actor. Some people are multi-talented.
One day, a dark feeling takes over Brendan. Why is Ronan not at school?
This was a sweet coming of age novel, with such endearing characters. Brendan is the sweetest teenager. The world needs more people like him.
I was going to comment that the narrator did a fantastic job, only to discover upon looking up who it was, that it's Colin Morgan, the author himself, who has quite a few audiobooks under his name. He's also a pretty well known Northern Irish actor. Some people are multi-talented.
June 29, 2026
Colin Morgan you are paying for my therapy 😭😭
September 24, 2025
This is heavy. Yet there are moments that were so light and lovely that it had me smiling. The Ballad of Ronan McCoy tells the story of friendship, family, love, and above all grief. Grief is explored in so many different variants but at the heart of this book is the tale of Brendan and his best friend Ronan.
Colin Morgan has made my heart ache in both a good and bad way. There are lots of moments I could talk about but specifically there is a scene that stood out to me, Brendan and his Mum are talking about a death in the family and the instant reaction to that was so bizarre and made no sense. Brendan was making a sandwich, he couldn’t stop making this sandwich and it made him and his dad late to the hospital. Something so small and simple, yet it resonated with me so much. The night my dad died, I had this box of chocolates, it was a big box that was gifted for Christmas. I sat after coming home from the hospital just chatting and eating these chocolates and it was so normal but also like what was I doing? Eating my favourite chocolates just after my dad had died. This book made me feel and remember things that I haven’t thought of in so many years. It really touched me and hit in a way very few books do.
I really believe everyone should read The Ballad of Ronan McCoy, it’s touching and painful but there is so much truth and power in the words. It’s truly heart wrenching and beautiful. The journey of grief in this book is a painful truth that is stunningly written. A tremendous debut novel from Morgan!
5/5 ⭐️
Release date: June 2026
Thankyou so much @whatcarolineread / @hqstories for gifting me such an early copy.
Colin Morgan has made my heart ache in both a good and bad way. There are lots of moments I could talk about but specifically there is a scene that stood out to me, Brendan and his Mum are talking about a death in the family and the instant reaction to that was so bizarre and made no sense. Brendan was making a sandwich, he couldn’t stop making this sandwich and it made him and his dad late to the hospital. Something so small and simple, yet it resonated with me so much. The night my dad died, I had this box of chocolates, it was a big box that was gifted for Christmas. I sat after coming home from the hospital just chatting and eating these chocolates and it was so normal but also like what was I doing? Eating my favourite chocolates just after my dad had died. This book made me feel and remember things that I haven’t thought of in so many years. It really touched me and hit in a way very few books do.
I really believe everyone should read The Ballad of Ronan McCoy, it’s touching and painful but there is so much truth and power in the words. It’s truly heart wrenching and beautiful. The journey of grief in this book is a painful truth that is stunningly written. A tremendous debut novel from Morgan!
5/5 ⭐️
Release date: June 2026
Thankyou so much @whatcarolineread / @hqstories for gifting me such an early copy.
June 19, 2026
I picked up The Ballad of Ronan McCoy with no real idea who Colin Morgan was, although it quickly became apparent that this was a debut novel. The story follows Brendan, a lonely teenager whose world revolves around his best friend Ronan McCoy. When a devastating event changes the course of Ronan’s life, Brendan is forced to navigate grief, friendship, first love and the uncertainties of his final year at school. It is very much a coming-of-age novel about loss, identity and growing up.
There were aspects of the book I could admire. Morgan clearly wants to write with sincerity and compassion, and the themes of friendship and grief are handled with care. But for me the novel felt much more YA than adult fiction. Brendan’s narrative voice sounded considerably younger than his supposed age, which made it difficult to engage fully with his journey.
The biggest stumbling block was the prose. The sentence structure often felt overly simple and repetitive, and after a while I found it frustrating rather than effective. What may have been intended as an authentic teenage voice instead came across as underpowered, leaving too little variation in tone and rhythm to sustain my interest across the novel’s length.
There will undoubtedly be readers who connect with its earnestness and emotional core, but I never quite did. An admirable debut in some respects, but ultimately not one for me.
There were aspects of the book I could admire. Morgan clearly wants to write with sincerity and compassion, and the themes of friendship and grief are handled with care. But for me the novel felt much more YA than adult fiction. Brendan’s narrative voice sounded considerably younger than his supposed age, which made it difficult to engage fully with his journey.
The biggest stumbling block was the prose. The sentence structure often felt overly simple and repetitive, and after a while I found it frustrating rather than effective. What may have been intended as an authentic teenage voice instead came across as underpowered, leaving too little variation in tone and rhythm to sustain my interest across the novel’s length.
There will undoubtedly be readers who connect with its earnestness and emotional core, but I never quite did. An admirable debut in some respects, but ultimately not one for me.
July 10, 2026
Can’t stop crying
July 1, 2026
colin morgan when I catch you
June 19, 2026
Excellent. I feel as if I’ve been shot and I will never recover.
October 1, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
Firstly a huge thank you to HQ stories for the early proof copy! I’ve always been such a huge fan of Colin Morgan from watching him in Merlin when I was younger so when I found out he was releasing a novel I just knew I had to read it.
What an outstanding debut novel it is. The story felt so raw and real to me, I could picture everything in my head so perfectly and that is one of my favourite things as a reader. Having struggled in high school myself I could really relate to Brendan and wished I had someone like Ronan to lean on during those dark days. Their friendship was so special and it truly captured my heart.
The novel beautifully covers the theme of friendship and coming of age so effortlessly. I found myself tearing up during several moments, whilst also enjoying the heartfelt happy moments, I went through all the emotions while reading this. Another thing I loved was Brendan’s kindness and his connections with the McCoy’s. I just wanted to give him a big hug, he always tried his best to make sure everyone else was okay leaving little to no time for himself! Such a selfless individual, his friendship with Ronan is too pure for this earth and I’m grateful to have been apart of it in some way as a reader.
I will be recommending this to all my friends and family, this book must be on your radar for 2026!
Firstly a huge thank you to HQ stories for the early proof copy! I’ve always been such a huge fan of Colin Morgan from watching him in Merlin when I was younger so when I found out he was releasing a novel I just knew I had to read it.
What an outstanding debut novel it is. The story felt so raw and real to me, I could picture everything in my head so perfectly and that is one of my favourite things as a reader. Having struggled in high school myself I could really relate to Brendan and wished I had someone like Ronan to lean on during those dark days. Their friendship was so special and it truly captured my heart.
The novel beautifully covers the theme of friendship and coming of age so effortlessly. I found myself tearing up during several moments, whilst also enjoying the heartfelt happy moments, I went through all the emotions while reading this. Another thing I loved was Brendan’s kindness and his connections with the McCoy’s. I just wanted to give him a big hug, he always tried his best to make sure everyone else was okay leaving little to no time for himself! Such a selfless individual, his friendship with Ronan is too pure for this earth and I’m grateful to have been apart of it in some way as a reader.
I will be recommending this to all my friends and family, this book must be on your radar for 2026!
June 27, 2026
all during gcse season? i'd have imploded
July 7, 2026
ci sono momenti nella nostra vita che dobbiamo accettare: dei veri e propri traumi che fanno parte della nostra vita, come la perdita di qualcuno o un'amicizia finita, per esempio. ecco, 'la ballata di ronan mccoy' secondo me parla di questo, anche se ha un punto di vista specifico, in questo caso quello di brendan e come è arrivato al punto di accettare una situazione che non si sarebbe mai potuto aspettare che sarebbe successo: la sua vita è cambiata, perché il suo migliore amico ronan ha subito un incidente quasi mortale che lo ha cambiato per sempre.
la ballata è quel tipo di storia di amicizia, sì confermo solo di amicizia, che porta a riflettere su quanto l'amore che proviamo nei confronti di chi vogliamo bene e che stanno al nostro fianco possa essere grande. brendan infatti per me è un personaggio meraviglioso: il punto di vista di chi subisce una situazione imprevista, anche se non è lui in prima persona a farlo, come capita nella vita quando qualcosa di colpisce in prima persona; ci sono delle conseguenze anche nei confronti di chi ci circonda.
è un romanzo che mi sento di consigliare a tutte quelle persone che non si sono mai sentite protagoniste della loro stessa vita: colin morgan è riuscito a cogliere nel segno, mostrando come non solo la vita possa essere imprevedibile, ma anche che non dobbiamo farci abbattere da questo e piuttosto accettare di andare avanti. una storia che commuove, racconta e definisce tutto ciò che siamo in quanto esseri umani. come primo romanzo dell'autore è validissimo.
ringrazio ancora @oscarvault per la copia in omaggio!
la ballata è quel tipo di storia di amicizia, sì confermo solo di amicizia, che porta a riflettere su quanto l'amore che proviamo nei confronti di chi vogliamo bene e che stanno al nostro fianco possa essere grande. brendan infatti per me è un personaggio meraviglioso: il punto di vista di chi subisce una situazione imprevista, anche se non è lui in prima persona a farlo, come capita nella vita quando qualcosa di colpisce in prima persona; ci sono delle conseguenze anche nei confronti di chi ci circonda.
è un romanzo che mi sento di consigliare a tutte quelle persone che non si sono mai sentite protagoniste della loro stessa vita: colin morgan è riuscito a cogliere nel segno, mostrando come non solo la vita possa essere imprevedibile, ma anche che non dobbiamo farci abbattere da questo e piuttosto accettare di andare avanti. una storia che commuove, racconta e definisce tutto ciò che siamo in quanto esseri umani. come primo romanzo dell'autore è validissimo.
ringrazio ancora @oscarvault per la copia in omaggio!
August 4, 2026
2.25⭐️
Not my favorite. A sweet story, but the writing felt very cliche and a lot of moments were written as if the book was a screenplay.
Not my favorite. A sweet story, but the writing felt very cliche and a lot of moments were written as if the book was a screenplay.
July 11, 2026
Christmas Eve 2012, I am nine years old and have control of the TV remote for the first time in my life. It is the last ever episode of my favourite TV show Merlin. I feel incredibly special because it is the only show on Real Adult TV Channels I am allowed to watch and it is ending and surely that makes me one step closer to Real and Adult. Most of all, I am looking forward to seeing how Merlin saves Arthur.
Christmas Day is not a happy one.
I am twenty-three years old, it is the night before the one year anniversary of my best friend's accident and I finally get to pick up Colin Morgan's debut novel. I know it will be beautiful because you can tell he has a passion for storytelling in every form just by looking at the care he put into his acting in a ridiculous family dramedy about Arthurian legend. I don't know what to expect.
I am twenty pages in and crying so hard I can't see the page anymore. Every word has blurred together to form some big black shadowy mass that is a pretty apt representation of what I was feeling almost exactly a year ago when I got the call from my best friend's mum. I can't breathe. I have to tiptoe down to the bathroom to blow my nose and wash the tears from my face. A futile effort in the end. I read ten more pages and start crying again. Then I don't stop crying until I close the book for that night. I do not pick it up for four more days.
When I find it in myself to reopen it, it makes me wish I hadn't. But I'm glad I did it. Because my story ended differently to Ronan and Brendan's and for that I'll always be infinitely grateful. But there was a time where I had no idea how mine and my best friend's story would end and I was terrified.
This novel is deeply personal to me on so many levels and I will forever carry it close to my heart. Thank you Colin.
"It was the place where one story had ended and another had begun. I'd never know how, only that they did and that I got to be a part of both of them."
Christmas Day is not a happy one.
I am twenty-three years old, it is the night before the one year anniversary of my best friend's accident and I finally get to pick up Colin Morgan's debut novel. I know it will be beautiful because you can tell he has a passion for storytelling in every form just by looking at the care he put into his acting in a ridiculous family dramedy about Arthurian legend. I don't know what to expect.
I am twenty pages in and crying so hard I can't see the page anymore. Every word has blurred together to form some big black shadowy mass that is a pretty apt representation of what I was feeling almost exactly a year ago when I got the call from my best friend's mum. I can't breathe. I have to tiptoe down to the bathroom to blow my nose and wash the tears from my face. A futile effort in the end. I read ten more pages and start crying again. Then I don't stop crying until I close the book for that night. I do not pick it up for four more days.
When I find it in myself to reopen it, it makes me wish I hadn't. But I'm glad I did it. Because my story ended differently to Ronan and Brendan's and for that I'll always be infinitely grateful. But there was a time where I had no idea how mine and my best friend's story would end and I was terrified.
This novel is deeply personal to me on so many levels and I will forever carry it close to my heart. Thank you Colin.
"It was the place where one story had ended and another had begun. I'd never know how, only that they did and that I got to be a part of both of them."
July 1, 2026
utterly devastating — do not listen to this audiobook while driving
beautiful debut from Colin Morgan
beautiful debut from Colin Morgan
July 1, 2026
Leggere questo libro è stato come camminare sul filo spinato tutto il tempo e cercare di sorridere nell’impresa.
È un titolo che ti lascia addosso una tristezza indicibile, ecco perché ho cercato di leggerlo in due lunghe sessioni di lettura. 😅
Ognuno di noi ha un rapporto unico con le proprie emozioni e, per quanto mi riguarda, in questo frangente, questa tristezza è stata talmente sgradevole che mi ha preso completamente in contropiede.
Non posso dare più di due stelle proprio per questo motivo e anche per gli altri che seguiranno.
Perché? Perché dare una tale rappresentazione di una persona disabile?
Quale motivo spinge una persona a scrivere una storia simile?
Non fraintendetemi, il romanzo è scritto davvero molto bene e l’amicizia tra i due protagonisti è pura, tenera e luminosa come mille soli. Ci sono dei momenti davvero toccanti, Brendan è un ragazzo eccezionale, ma… alla fine di tutto: perché?
Avere vicino una persona con grave disabilità può essere difficilissimo, una cosa che non riesco nemmeno a immaginare; è una strada costellata di dolore e anche, a volte, di qualche gioia e proprio per questo mi chiedo ancora cosa questa storia voglia donarci.
Non so, ma ho provato una sensazione davvero negativa nel leggere la formazione del personaggio di Brendan attraverso la terribile vicenda di Ronan. Pensavo sarebbe stata una storia di amicizia passo passo verso la guarigione e la comprensione l’uno dell’altro; perché svilire la loro crescita e storia con una morte così insensata?
Perché il disabile deve morire e non può invece avere una vita tutto sommato dignitosa da vivere?
Tutto questo non riesco a digerirlo, anzi, mi sembra che la crescita e la maturazione di Brendan siano avvenute proprio con la morte di Ronan e non solo per la sua assistenza post-incidente.
Incidente di cui, tra l'altro, nessuno mai parla o desidera fare chiarezza.
È accaduta una tragedia. Fine. Preghiamo per Ronan. D’altronde non ci troveremmo nella cattolica e bigotta Irlanda del Nord.
Non so, ma tutta questa storia poteva essere resa molto, molto meglio.
Sento che in qualche modo non mi è arrivata; mi sento solo devastata. Punto.
Ho letto commenti in cui le persone si sono commosse, hanno pianto per la loro storia e ci sono dei punti che hanno commosso anche me, ma per il resto no. L’amicizia di Ronan e Brendan è meravigliosa, ma oscurata da un’ombra che non è la disabilità di Ronan, anzi, ma è una specie di fato, di necessità che grava su tutti loro (pensate alle premonizioni di Brendan) dal quale non si può sfuggire, che resta ineluttabile e inconoscibile agli umani.
Ho pensato: perché limitarsi ad accettare l’evidenza e assistere Ronan quando magari lo si sarebbe potuto portare in un centro specializzato fuori dall’Irlanda e farsi in quattro per cercare di riabilitarlo quanto più possibile?
Ah sì, per le solite ragioni di trama e di etica cattolica. Grazie. Crystal clear.👌🏻
Questa è la mia opinione. Sorry not sorry.
Ultimo, ma non meno importante: perché accidenti tutti sui social hanno insistito sul fattore queer della storia?!
Ammesso che ci sia (cosa che a me non è sembrata affatto, così come Jennifer non mi sembrava “solo” un’amica), come cavolo si può pensare di fare una politica di marketing per questo libro insistendo sulla “storia queer scritta da Merlin”!
È vergognoso e totalmente irrilevante ai fini delle tematiche principali (amicizia, lutto, amore, disabilità, ricerca dell’identità e del proprio posto nel mondo) e mentirei se prima di comprarlo non avessi pensato anche io a quanto era stato detto sui social, sbagliando completamente strada sul VERO contenuto della storia.
Oscar Vault si rivela essere nuovamente una enorme delusione dal punto di vista marketing e pubblicità.
Se avete voglia di soffrire come se foste sotto tortura e di piangere ogni lacrima, fatevi pure avanti; io non credo che leggerò mai più questo titolo per il resto dei miei giorni. ❤️🩹 Mi dispiace, librino. 🥺
È un titolo che ti lascia addosso una tristezza indicibile, ecco perché ho cercato di leggerlo in due lunghe sessioni di lettura. 😅
Ognuno di noi ha un rapporto unico con le proprie emozioni e, per quanto mi riguarda, in questo frangente, questa tristezza è stata talmente sgradevole che mi ha preso completamente in contropiede.
Non posso dare più di due stelle proprio per questo motivo e anche per gli altri che seguiranno.
Perché? Perché dare una tale rappresentazione di una persona disabile?
Quale motivo spinge una persona a scrivere una storia simile?
Non fraintendetemi, il romanzo è scritto davvero molto bene e l’amicizia tra i due protagonisti è pura, tenera e luminosa come mille soli. Ci sono dei momenti davvero toccanti, Brendan è un ragazzo eccezionale, ma… alla fine di tutto: perché?
Avere vicino una persona con grave disabilità può essere difficilissimo, una cosa che non riesco nemmeno a immaginare; è una strada costellata di dolore e anche, a volte, di qualche gioia e proprio per questo mi chiedo ancora cosa questa storia voglia donarci.
Non so, ma ho provato una sensazione davvero negativa nel leggere la formazione del personaggio di Brendan attraverso la terribile vicenda di Ronan. Pensavo sarebbe stata una storia di amicizia passo passo verso la guarigione e la comprensione l’uno dell’altro; perché svilire la loro crescita e storia con una morte così insensata?
Perché il disabile deve morire e non può invece avere una vita tutto sommato dignitosa da vivere?
Tutto questo non riesco a digerirlo, anzi, mi sembra che la crescita e la maturazione di Brendan siano avvenute proprio con la morte di Ronan e non solo per la sua assistenza post-incidente.
Incidente di cui, tra l'altro, nessuno mai parla o desidera fare chiarezza.
È accaduta una tragedia. Fine. Preghiamo per Ronan. D’altronde non ci troveremmo nella cattolica e bigotta Irlanda del Nord.
Non so, ma tutta questa storia poteva essere resa molto, molto meglio.
Sento che in qualche modo non mi è arrivata; mi sento solo devastata. Punto.
Ho letto commenti in cui le persone si sono commosse, hanno pianto per la loro storia e ci sono dei punti che hanno commosso anche me, ma per il resto no. L’amicizia di Ronan e Brendan è meravigliosa, ma oscurata da un’ombra che non è la disabilità di Ronan, anzi, ma è una specie di fato, di necessità che grava su tutti loro (pensate alle premonizioni di Brendan) dal quale non si può sfuggire, che resta ineluttabile e inconoscibile agli umani.
Ho pensato: perché limitarsi ad accettare l’evidenza e assistere Ronan quando magari lo si sarebbe potuto portare in un centro specializzato fuori dall’Irlanda e farsi in quattro per cercare di riabilitarlo quanto più possibile?
Ah sì, per le solite ragioni di trama e di etica cattolica. Grazie. Crystal clear.👌🏻
Questa è la mia opinione. Sorry not sorry.
Ultimo, ma non meno importante: perché accidenti tutti sui social hanno insistito sul fattore queer della storia?!
Ammesso che ci sia (cosa che a me non è sembrata affatto, così come Jennifer non mi sembrava “solo” un’amica), come cavolo si può pensare di fare una politica di marketing per questo libro insistendo sulla “storia queer scritta da Merlin”!
È vergognoso e totalmente irrilevante ai fini delle tematiche principali (amicizia, lutto, amore, disabilità, ricerca dell’identità e del proprio posto nel mondo) e mentirei se prima di comprarlo non avessi pensato anche io a quanto era stato detto sui social, sbagliando completamente strada sul VERO contenuto della storia.
Oscar Vault si rivela essere nuovamente una enorme delusione dal punto di vista marketing e pubblicità.
Se avete voglia di soffrire come se foste sotto tortura e di piangere ogni lacrima, fatevi pure avanti; io non credo che leggerò mai più questo titolo per il resto dei miei giorni. ❤️🩹 Mi dispiace, librino. 🥺
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2026
"𝘞𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘺."
Well, if I can see through my tears, I'll get this one written.
Brendan and Ronan are the best of friends. While Brendan is quiet and introverted, Ronan is athletic, popular, and outgoing. But the two share an unbreakable bond and friendship as they navigate their school days in Northern Ireland side by side. When Brendan shows up to school after summer to begin his final year, he waits for Ronan on the steps, as he always does. Only Ronan doesn't show...
I hemmed and hawed for several days after reading this on what to say in my review. I don't want to elaborate too extensively on the plot because trust me, you just 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 to read this one. My heart ached and soared and broke alongside Brendan and Ronan, and yours will, too.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗰𝗖𝗼𝘆 is a tenderhearted and moving story of friendship and one of the most beautifully written coming-of-age stories I've read. There's a simplicity and quiet beauty in the title that's deeply reflected in the writing and the story.
Perhaps best known for his acting in the series 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯, Colin Morgan can officially add author to his extensive resume (as well as narrator, but more on that below). I'll say it again: this was a phenomenal debut. Brendan and Ronan are unforgettable, and I'll be tucking them away inside my heart.
🎙 Colin Morgan didn't just write a remarkable debut; he gave it an incredible narration, too. He embodied the character of Brendan, so thoroughly conveying the emotions and nuances. You cannot go wrong in either format you choose to read this one. The only wrong decision is to not read it.
Well, if I can see through my tears, I'll get this one written.
Brendan and Ronan are the best of friends. While Brendan is quiet and introverted, Ronan is athletic, popular, and outgoing. But the two share an unbreakable bond and friendship as they navigate their school days in Northern Ireland side by side. When Brendan shows up to school after summer to begin his final year, he waits for Ronan on the steps, as he always does. Only Ronan doesn't show...
I hemmed and hawed for several days after reading this on what to say in my review. I don't want to elaborate too extensively on the plot because trust me, you just 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 to read this one. My heart ached and soared and broke alongside Brendan and Ronan, and yours will, too.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗰𝗖𝗼𝘆 is a tenderhearted and moving story of friendship and one of the most beautifully written coming-of-age stories I've read. There's a simplicity and quiet beauty in the title that's deeply reflected in the writing and the story.
Perhaps best known for his acting in the series 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯, Colin Morgan can officially add author to his extensive resume (as well as narrator, but more on that below). I'll say it again: this was a phenomenal debut. Brendan and Ronan are unforgettable, and I'll be tucking them away inside my heart.
🎙 Colin Morgan didn't just write a remarkable debut; he gave it an incredible narration, too. He embodied the character of Brendan, so thoroughly conveying the emotions and nuances. You cannot go wrong in either format you choose to read this one. The only wrong decision is to not read it.
Read
July 15, 2026Amid the daily onslaught of stories highlighting all that is wrong with the world, there occasionally comes a beacon of light that reminds us that kindness and hope still exist. Once such beacon is Colin Morgan’s debut novel, THE BALLAD OF RONAN MCCOY.
A few days ago I didn’t know this book existed. When two readers whose tastes I trust completely recommended the book as a must read, I dropped everything else and immediately grabbed the audiobook.
I settled into the novel knowing only that it was a coming of age story featuring two school age boys; wildly popular Ronan and Brendan, his quiet opposite. The two become friends early on and the friendship deepens through the years despite their differences. When Ronan fails to show up at school one morning, everything changes.
What follows is a tender, heartbreaking, yet life affirming story of friendship, devotion, sorrow, dreams, and charting a course for the future. Ronan and Brendan, along with the supporting characters, are complex and nuanced. Morgan’s writing and narration bring them to life in ways that have the reader feeling all the emotions as they navigate a reality they never imagined. Amid the sadness there is hope. Amid the harshness there is gentleness. Amid the changes there is acceptance. And at the heart of it, there is friendship. A deep, abiding friendship that remains steadfast even as it evolves.
THE BALLAD OF RONAN MCCOY is a gorgeous debut. It is exactly what I look for in character driven literary fiction. Morgan brings the story full circle in a way that both broke and healed my heart. Grab the tissues. You will need them.
A few days ago I didn’t know this book existed. When two readers whose tastes I trust completely recommended the book as a must read, I dropped everything else and immediately grabbed the audiobook.
I settled into the novel knowing only that it was a coming of age story featuring two school age boys; wildly popular Ronan and Brendan, his quiet opposite. The two become friends early on and the friendship deepens through the years despite their differences. When Ronan fails to show up at school one morning, everything changes.
What follows is a tender, heartbreaking, yet life affirming story of friendship, devotion, sorrow, dreams, and charting a course for the future. Ronan and Brendan, along with the supporting characters, are complex and nuanced. Morgan’s writing and narration bring them to life in ways that have the reader feeling all the emotions as they navigate a reality they never imagined. Amid the sadness there is hope. Amid the harshness there is gentleness. Amid the changes there is acceptance. And at the heart of it, there is friendship. A deep, abiding friendship that remains steadfast even as it evolves.
THE BALLAD OF RONAN MCCOY is a gorgeous debut. It is exactly what I look for in character driven literary fiction. Morgan brings the story full circle in a way that both broke and healed my heart. Grab the tissues. You will need them.
August 9, 2026
This felt far more like YA then general fiction, so definitely an odd choice by the publisher.
Overall though, very much enjoyed this! Unsurprisingly a book exploring grief made me sad and I definitely cried a few times on my way to work!
My only frustration is that I would loved for this book to be more openly queer or at least explore queer themes a little more. On this point, the fact that the actor of Merlin is responsible for this rage bait, will forever bother me.
Overall though, very much enjoyed this! Unsurprisingly a book exploring grief made me sad and I definitely cried a few times on my way to work!
My only frustration is that I would loved for this book to be more openly queer or at least explore queer themes a little more. On this point, the fact that the actor of Merlin is responsible for this rage bait, will forever bother me.
July 17, 2026
Beautifully written and beautiful story. It was hard to read at times when my eyes were filled with tears. ❤️
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