This was a very complicated Fanily and it’s ups and downs. It was very funny in places and showed another side to an Irish family. I enjoyed reading it and had me giggling in places

Jenny and Jacob know they can rely on their mammy for everything. She's always there to look after them and bake them a cake on their birthdays, and mammy is one of the only people to can really communicate with Jacob, who has autism and is non-verbal. But when mammy suffers a stroke, daddy and granny have to step in and things become different for a while.

This book has a lot of good intentions, and the veins of a really good story with compelling characters and nice representation of disability - both mental and physical. I, at first, really liked seeing how the author wrote chapters through the eyes of Jacob, who sees the world completely differently to everyone else. and Annette when she was sick and unable to understand or communicate her thoughts well. Jenny is also a brilliant character with a vivid imagination and it was both heartwarming and heartbreaking watching her try to understand and cope with her changing world.

The book fell apart for me about 30-40% through. While the story is mostly focused on the family life, I feel it lacked a real plot other than wondering if mammy would ever fully return to health and return home, and there were some odd moments thrown in about Jenny fabricating friendships and people that was never fully explored or explained. I felt that, at times, Jacob and Annette's chapters were too long for the way they were written. While it's fantastic to have the type of representation in a book, there's only so many pages a reader can read of nonsensical sentences.

Granny was one of the strongest characters in the book, though I had a sweet spot for the dad as well. She was extremely strong, and was a typical Irish granny the way she was able to swoop in and take charge of everything like she'd been there all along. There were some nice moments in this book that I smiled and laughed but by halfway through I did become frustrated by the storytelling and I'd had enough. There were times about 80% through it felt like the story had wrapped up and I couldn't figure out why there was still so much left so I had an unenjoyable experience struggling to finish it.

There are also some small problematic things said in conversations in the books such as casual references to "tinkers" (the Irish traveling community) which could have been left out in my opinion.

This book was both heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure and I enjoyed it a lot. I’d highly recommend it.

What a brilliant read, I enjoyed every page. Will definitely recommend to my friends. A real 5 star read

This novel about an Irish family who are coping with all of the problems related to dealing with a child with autism. Then the mother has a stroke and Granny arrives and attempts to be the glue which will hold the family together.
The story is told from the viewpoint of the different characters and the Irish accents and dialogue seem very well written. The story is incredibly sad but having said that there are some moments of high comedy. One of the problems for me seemed to be getting to the main thrust of the story, I felt as though I was flagging towards the end of the book. For a debut novel I did however think this was well written and will look out for books by this author in the future.

When Annette has a stroke Granny Mae-Anne moves in to help out with the Augustt family, Jenny the young daughter and Jacob the autistic son. A moving story of a family trying to pull together in face of adversity, Jacob unable to verbalise his emotions and Jenny preferring to write it down rather than talk about it. I loved Granny Mae-Anne I thought she was a great character and although a difficult subject, and the style of writing took me a while to get into, an enjoyable book

Meet the August's - a love Irish family, who like so many other families, are a little bit complicated. Bound together by love they have their own quirky ways of managing each others emotions, behaviours and traits until misfortune strikes and they have to figure life out all over again. Queue Granny Mae-Anne - the BEST character I've read so far this year (and I've read over 25 books already some of which are amazing).

Sometimes, a book makes me want to find out more about the author. Especially a book that touches on Autism - because I want to know how the author got to understand it at such a level that they could then write something so gripping about it. This book is one of those. I spent time reading about Eleanor O'Reilly as I pieced together this review - even before I had finished reading the book. That rarely happens - but there were so many moments in this book that I wanted to capture that I had to begin in advance to do my review justice.

"Sr Mary Assumpta up in the office is the boss nun. Da says she's like 159 years old in Nun Years. Nun Years are different from human years. Da says nuns live longer than people do. It's like when they're born they look like they are about thirty but then everything slows down, so they never really look older than sixty-eight no matter what age they are. Every Nun Year is equal to about twelve human years or something like that. Da says there's even a Nun Year Converter online to work out the age of a Nun."

Honestly. I've read that paragraph out-loud to more than one person and ended up disolving in laughter every single time. This book is just so brilliant that you'll wish you'd written it.

Descriptions, in this book, are epic. We are told the family story through the eyes of each individual character but young Jenny's story at the start is the one that grips me. Her young years definitely show but at the same time there's a level of maturity captured throughout that is completely realistic and admirable.

"And then Granny says she offered up a novena to St Anthony that morning coz it was Tuesday and that's the only day of the week that he works and coz St Anthony's the sain to flost things she thought he might be able to help Jacob find his lost voice. Da laughed out real loud and Granny says she doesn't know why he's laughing coz there's more chance of Jacob finding his voice than there is of Da finding a job and then Da says F-off with his mouth but not with his voice..."

About the author - M for Mammy is Eleanor O'Reilly's debut novel and she is described as an emerging Irish talent. I never liked that word 'Emerging' when describing talent. Her talent isn't emerging at all. It's pretty much right there out in the open, in this book and in everything that she does! She is full of talent. Permanent Irish talent! Authors all come from somewhere before they 'Author' something and O'Reilly is a teacher of English and Classical Studies in Co. Wexford. She is utterly brilliant.

M For Mammy

I’m reading M For Mammy for Netgalley, I chose to read it from their suggestions because I was sure I’d heard something about it somewhere and the cover and blurb appealed to me.


Meet the Augustts: a loving, Irish family who, like all families, are a bit complicated.

They are bound together by their love for each other, but each expresses themselves in a very different way. When misfortune strikes the family, they must learn to understand each other anew. Sometimes, in a family as complicated as the Augustts, it's not always what is spoken that makes the most sense.

Everything is shaken up when Granny Mae-Anne moves in and takes charge. A force of nature, full of stern words and no-nonsense common sense, it is she who must try and hold the family together.


A Heartfelt read from different perspectives from a child, a parent and grandparent. The story begins slowly explaining who, what and why before going onto further developments in the family.

I enjoyed finding out the real relationships between them and the dynamics of their roles within the family.
I particularly liked ‘Granny’, as well as feeling a little frustrated at times, I could tell why she ‘ rubbed some people up the wrong way.’

The parts that made me smile were beautifully written, for example when a child tells a teacher about Granny and some of the things she’s said. This prompts a smile on the teachers face, who is struggling not to show their amusement. Grannies comment of course has gone completely over the child’s head, leaving a question mark in their mind.

There are moments that I read which made me tear up as well as laugh out loud moments. I thought the world through the characters eyes was captured well. You find out quite quickly that one of the children in the story is autistic. Their thought processes and behaviours are spot on for someone on the autistic spectrum.

I’d like to read other books by the author Eleanor O’Rielly, this was a good read!

I really loved the sound of this novel, but sadly I also really struggled with it. I couldn’t engage properly with the writing style and as such I read because I had to, rather than wanted to. Sadly not for me.

This tale is about an Irish Family which is affected by autism, a stroke, bullying, and unemployment, yet somehow manages to leave you feeling uplifted by the end. The young daughter Jenny has a really rough time trying to deal with everything, and is helped through this by an amazing teacher at her school, through the power of reading. Her reaction to the ending of a The Boy In The Striped Pajamas brought tears to my eyes! And there were some amazingly funny lines from Jenny’s grandmother along the way!
Overall, this was a three star read for me. There were moments in the book I really struggled to get through. These were the chapters portraying Jacob (autistic) and Annette’s (the mother who suffered from a stroke) perspectives. I can understand why the author chose to represent their chaotic jumbled thoughts in this way, as it helps with their character development. Unfortunately his chaotic jumble of words makes it incredibly difficult for the reader to make sense of things, and connect with the developing story. And it’s unfortunate that this might lose readers interest, as the underlying story is quite beautiful and well thought out.

I found this book difficult to engage with and so did not finish it.

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book.

This is a heart-warming family drama about the Irish Augustt family, told from the perspective of Jenny, a young girl just trying to make sense of the world, her brother, Jacob, who is autistic and non verbal, and her mother who has just had a serious stroke and disappeared to hospital. Three very different types of voices. Her grandmother moves in to help out and her dad struggles with unemployment and drinking. Can they pull it all together as a family?

I thought this was a strong debut novel for Eleanor O’Reilly, authentic and charming with characters that really stood out. The dialogue and accents of the characters were so well done that I could easily hear each distinct Irish brogue as I read. The sad parts are tempered by the funny parts and there’s a feeling of real life here – these are the struggles that families endure.

At times I found it a little hard to follow due to the complexity and shifting perspectives and the story didn’t seem to have much purpose; but it was never going to be easy to tell a story from the point of view of a non verbal autistic and a confused stroke victim that’s for sure! Overall, I enjoyed this read and it’s attempt to sensitively explore an interesting and authentic family dynamic.

The Augustts are, like all families, a bit complicated. A loving irish family, their love binds them together – but all express that in very different ways. However, when misfortune strikes the family they are forced to work together in order to understand each other again, as with a family as complicated as the Augustts it's not always what is spoken that makes the most sense. Things are shaken up further when Granny Mae-Anne moves in and takes charge. Full of stern words and common sense, she's a force of nature who must try her hardest to hold the family together.

Author Eleanor O'Reilly is a teacher of English and Classical studies, who has just completed an MA in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. Based in Ireland with her husband and daughter, O'Reilly has won several awards for her short stories, with M for Mammy her first novel.

I should start by saying that, historically, I've struggled with novels that are written in the language of a child. Whilst I understand that it allows the author to connect the reader and the character easily, it's a style that is rarely used well - with, in my opinion, some authors using it as a crutch rather than a narrative device that adds anything to the storytelling. However, in the last few years I have read a few exceptions, and M for Mammy is one of these - with author O'Reilly utilising various viewpoints in order to tell her story - allowing her to use a variety of narrative styles and ensuring that, when she does tell the story through the viewpoint of a character such as young, autistic Jacob, the effect is maximised on the reader to compelling, emotional effect.

The story told here is a warm and moving tale of a family finding out how to come together in the wake of a family emergency - when Annette, Mammy, heart of the family, has a stroke and loses her ability to talk. In the wake of the stroke the family is pulled together by Granny Mae-Anne, but they struggle to talk to each other about their feelings - with Da feeling unable to communicate, daughter Jenny preferring to write her thoughts down than to discuss them, and son Jacob unable to express his feelings due to autism. At heart, this is a warm and uplifting family drama, but amplified and improved by the clever choices that O'Reilly chooses to make in how she tells her tale. These really allow the reader to get to know each character intimately - and as such ensures that the emotional pull of the narrative is strong throughout. Family should be warm, comforting, and a little bit complicated - and that's exactly what M for Mammy is – a simple tale told with great complexity, nuance, and skill.

Thanks for the early copy. Unfortunately not my favourite book but given the authors first novel it had good parts. It was difficult to follow but interesting characters each telling their part.

I tried several times to engage th this book, but couldn’t take to the writing style. The length of sentences, quite honestly, made me dizzy. Wasn’t for me.

I think this is one where I may well be out of step with popular opinion; I found it to be a sad read, and at times struggled to get through to the end.

All about the lives of the Augustts; Da, Mammy, Jenny and Jacob. The are not without their problems but, as families do, they muddle through. Then Mammy suffers from a bout of ill health and the rest of them are left struggling like a rudderless ship. Granny Mae-Anne decides that the only answer is for her to move in and look after both children - and she is a force to be reckoned with.

This novel reveals the innermost thoughts of Jenny and Jacob, whilst following Annette in her long road to recovery. As with any child who cares for a younger sibling, Jenny is old beyond her years and isn't sure about things Granny does differently from Mammy. Da and Mammy don't exactly hit it off, adding to the confusion. There is so much reading in this one, I found the narrative to go on and on, and I lost focus more than once, but I kept going to the final page. In all honesty, I can't say I loved it, finding it to be a sad and heart-breaking story. It was an okay read, and I'm really not sure I would go any further than that, sadly.

My thanks to John Murray Press for my copy via NetGalley. This is, as always, my honest and unbiased review.

Found myself reading the book with an Irish accent. You can't beat the love of family and what power it has to overcome major life difficulties and trauma.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. Whilst the premise of this was good, I found it a real struggle to get through this book, and really had to force myself to finish it. Although O'Reilly captured three different voices for the narrators very well, I just couldn't engage with the writing style.

This book is a fantastic first novel by Eleanor O’Reilly. Told from the point of view of three of the characters, it can be a bit confusing but, I feel, consciously so. The turbulent thoughts of Annette and Jacob give an unusual but compelling insight into their respective minds and this tells there story much better than anyone else could.
Jenny’s engaging and at times heart-breaking sections of the book were gripping. The portrayal of her Da and Granny was both funny and touching. Mae-Ann was a Mammy to be reckoned with and the development of her and Kevin’s relationship was beautiful. I will definitely recommend this book to my book club.

This story is of an Irish family told by each of them individually. The author has been so clever in the way she has brought out the Irish accents and dialogue I could hear each one in my head. Especially Granny who I perceived had the strongest of accents and used phrases I have not heard since my childhood (not Irish )
Mammy has a stroke which was quite unusually written with just random words on the page, I struggled with that
The father who is trying his best to keep his family together but needs Granny's help like it or not
Jenny who writes everything down and yet Jacob her brother has no words as he has the autism
I struggled at times found it sad at times but as a first novel it was so different from what we see normally as Irish chick lit, this book is definitely not in that category