[The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

CN: queermisia, vomit, suicide attempt, hp references, use of the word ‘eskimo’

To be honest, I only requested “All Our Hidden Gifts” on NetGalley because I knew it would be translated into German and I was curious about the queer representation, so my expectations weren’t very high. But this book was actually really good! The plot was very interesting, I liked the way tarot cards were incorporated into the story, and the queer representation was surprisingly well done. “All Our Hidden Gifts” might even become one of my favorite fantasy books of the year. Now I can only hope the German translation won’t ruin the book…

A magical uplifting read for all.

All Our Hidden Gifts is a book for anyone who wants to believe in the reality of magic in our world. It is not all fantastical wizards and dragons but more on a level that ordinary people can be sensitive to energies and connect with the world around them with things like a pack of Tarot Cards. It is reminiscent in style to Diana Wynne Jones but with references relevant to today and LGBTQ+, identity and intolerance. Whether you believe in " The New Age" or not and the fictional events depicted you will almost certainly find a place in your heart for the characters of Maeve, Roe and Fiona and all the others as well as they face the malevolent forces that have been set loose.

The story is well crafted and the characters are very authentic. I love that at the heart of the book there is a message around friendship, not giving into peer pressure to be a certain way, finding your voice and learning to be comfortable within your own skin. It is magical with a touch of adventure and ultimately uplifting and one I will be recommending to all my pupils when it is published!!!

I really enjoyed this book, from the diversity of the characters, the supernatural folklore and the dynamics of friendships and romance. Can't wait for the next one in the series.

There's a very specific kind of whimsy and escapism that can be encountered in early 2000s paranormal fantasy and ALL OUR HIDDEN GIFTS captures this so well, but updates it in a way that makes it much more reflective of modern audiences (read: less girl hate, more genderqueer love interests, for example).
O'Donoghue portrays such a realistic, albeit raw, snippet of the teen experience, when everything is all at once tentative and allconsuming. The cattiness of cliques, the slightly cringe attempts to fit in regardless of the sacrifices required, the proper stupid rows between family members - ALL OUR HIDDEN GIFTS is uncanny in its verisimilitude and authenticity. Our protagonist isn't really likeable, nor does she truly attempt to make herself come across that way; instead, all she is trying to do is get by and be a little less miserable if life will allow it. She is such an absolute mess, yet so self aware in a way that's nothing short of endearing. More importantly than creating a likeable character, O'Donoghe gives the reader an interesting one, a character that may test the reader.
ALL OUR HIDDEN GIFTS does what every good fantasy would - it uses quirky magical elements to explore very real societal issues. O'Donoghue's Ireland comes alive right off the place in a perfect mirror image of the real thing, magic or not. The novel, in many ways, holds up a mirror to the nation and forces it to confront its shortcomings.
I adored this with every fiber of my being and am beyond myself that it's merely the first in a series. I cannot see what else there is in store for these characters!

All Our Hidden Gifts is a book which tries to do too much, but is still very enjoyable.

Following a girl called Maeve, Caroline O’Donoghue’s first YA novel dives into female friendships, magic and the conservative nature of Ireland.

While in detention, Maeve finds a pack of tarot cards. She quickly discovers that she has a skill for tarot; a nice surprise for Maeve, who has always struggled at school and failed to live up to her successful older siblings. Maeve makes a name for herself at school and soon finds her readings in demand.

However, things take a turn for the worst when Maeve is forced to do a reading for her ex-best friend, Lily. Lily draws a card which doesn’t exist in the traditional tarot deck. The Housekeeper spooked Maeve so much the first time that she saw it that she hid it in her drawer at home, and Maeve can’t understand how it possibly appears during Lily’s reading. That doesn’t stop Maeve from saying something she regrets during the reading, which turns into a heated argument in the blink of an eye. Maeve’s comment is something that she can’t stop thinking about when Lily doesn’t turn up to school the next day, and it becomes apparent that she has gone missing.

Teaming up with her new friend Fiona, and Lily’s brother Roe, Maeve and the gang have to get to the bottom of Lily’s disappearance, even if it might put their lives in danger…

As soon as I discovered that All Our Hidden Gifts was about tarot reading, I jumped on the request button. I love books about witches and magic, but I can’t remember ever reading a book about tarot before. Unfortunately the readings are consigned to the beginning of the novel before Lily’s disappearance, but the idea of this mysterious, sinister card appearing sent a shiver down my spine.

My favourite thing about All Our Hidden Gifts was the representation throughout this novel. Fiona is half-Filipino, so there are a lot of discussions about how white-centric Ireland – and particularly Maeve and Fiona’s Catholic school – are, and the way that Fiona is demonised in the street due to the colour of her skin. Roe is non-binary (although still uses he/him pronouns) and bisexual, and throughout the novel he experiments with his portrayal of gender, wearing nail varnish and performing on stage in luxurious capes and dresses. Similarly to Fiona, Roe experiences transphobic bullying and hate crimes due to his gender identity, furthering Caroline O’Donoghue’s commentary on the regressive nature of certain members of Irish society.

This is primarily explored through a hate group called the Children of Brigid. Founded by Americans, the Children of Brigid claim to be aiming to turn Ireland back into a good old Catholic country, and they’ll stop at nothing to get their way.

The subplot with the Children of Brigid is left wide open, so I’m sincerely hoping that All Our Hidden Gifts is the first book in a series. If it is, I will be amending my rating and rating this either 4 or 4.5 stars, but as it currently seems to be remaining a standalone, I’ve had to round that rating down to 3.5 stars. As a standalone, I don’t find All Our Hidden Gifts as satisfactory as I would if it was the start of a bigger story.

Reviewing this as if it were a standalone, there is just far too much going on in this story. Lily’s disappearance becomes the least interesting aspect of the plot, and I found myself wishing there was more of a focus on the Children of Brigid. I also wanted to see more of Maeve and Roe’s relationship. She is unquestionably accepting of his sexuality and his gender identity, and the communication between the two of them is the stuff of dreams. Despite the fact that they have a lot against them – and that it takes them at least half of the book to finally admit that they like each other, because they’re far more focused on Lily’s disappearance – I think they’re going to end up becoming one of my favourite ships.

Also – without giving spoilers – something happens at the end of the book which will be completely pointless if the story isn’t continued. I was expecting the Children of Brigid story to begin to wrap up in the last few chapters, but instead an entire new dynamic gets introduced and I just want to know what Caroline O’Donoghue is planning to do with these characters next. If this is the first book in a series, I am HOOKED.

I’m not completely sure when All Our Hidden Gifts is actually being published anymore. It was originally scheduled for release in February, but now Waterstones claims it’s arriving on the 20th of May, while Goodreads thinks it’s not being released until the 1st of July. Either way, this is a book that I’d recommend keeping an eye out for.

When Maeve discovers and old pack of tarot cards while serving detention, her world flips upside down. She begins doing tarot readings for her classmates, and for a while she basks in her new found popularity, but of course, not everything is as it seems. There’s a card in the pack, a card that is different and terrifying. The housekeeper. And when Lily, Maeve’s ex best friend, pulls the housekeeper card in a reading, Maeve’s world descends into chaos. Lily goes missing, and Maeve thinks she’s responsible.

This book has LGBT rep - Lily’s brother Rory, or Roe, is struggling with their gender identity, Maeve’s sister is in a sapphic relationship, and the topics of hate crimes and homophobia are discussed, both on and off page.

My only criticism is that I did not connect with Maeve - she felt very young and immature, in a way that did not feel intentional. She felt more like a character in a middle grade novel, which contrasted unnaturally with the older topics, such as sex and death.

Overall, All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue is fun, it’s creepy, it’s so hard to put down, and I read it within the space of a day

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue was the book I needed right now!
I absolutely adored this book, I was immediately drawn in after reading the blurb about Maeve finding a pack of tarot cards while cleaning her closet.
As someone new to trying to learn to read tarot cards I love reading fiction involving them, there isn’t enough!

Maeve’s ex-best friend Lily draws a card called “The Housekeeper” that Maeve has never seen in her deck before, then Lily goes missing.

This book is a great YA/Fantasy read, it also handles topics of LGBT very well and realistically.

I genuinely could not stop reading this book once I started I was hooked, it’s funny, spooky and a nice mystery!

Thank you for letting me read this book.

All our hidden gifts
I waited for ages for this book appear. It was Spring 2020 when a Bookseller announcement heralded Caroline O’Dohoghue’s Stranger Things meets Sabrina story and I knew I had to read it (I even pre-pitched it to my reading groups). To my delight when Autumn 2020 rolled around I got the ping from NetGalley. All my Christmases had come at once. The book is divine. And, in a life-imitates-art moment where I had surely drawn the Tower card: my entire review of this title had left my cache of docs. So, summoning the Page of Wands (and warding off the Housekeeper), I offer the following review.
Irish teen Maeve Chambers is fighting to answer the question many of us, not just adolescents, struggle with: Who are you? She doesn’t quite fit into her high achieving family. She even looks different: ‘straight off the Armada’ says her mum. In her quest for popularity, she has even alienated her best friend. On her latest detention at school, consigned to clean a grubby cellar cupboard, Maeve happens upon the thing that will both save and haunt her – an old Tarot deck. Soon, she discovers a flair for readings and queues of girls wait to hear her read their fortune. But the dark forces are there too, waiting, and they present Maeve with both nightmare and dreamboat in the shape of the mysterious disappearance of her ex-best friend Lily and the emergence of Lily’s boyfriend-material Roe. And dark forces have invaded her Irish town too, in the guise of a far-right Christian cult that is baying for blood from the LGBTQ+ community.
The story moves along at a clip: its comfortingly familiar YA paranormal plotline lends a speedy vehicle for a well-wrought story. In fact, while I was trying to recall the plot of All our hidden gifts (see intro for personal disaster anecdote) it unrolled itself in full cinematic glory. The Chokey, the second-hand clothes shop, Lily’s decline, Roe’s gender-fluid victory and the haunting Housekeeper all showed their hand. I adore a mystery, so one of my favourite parts was the activity that unfolds as Maeve, Fiona and Roe try to solve the mystery of Lily’s disappearance. It was good to see a wide range of LGBT+ issues and characters interwoven into the story arc creating a true YA slice-of-life adventure.
I’m beginning to come to terms with the anti-hero. Maeve Chambers is definitely that. Since reading Tracy Darnton’s The truth about lies, I have found that stamina with negative main characters pays off. Who doesn’t have a bad day, year, adolescence anyway? Maeve is all that but she has also seized the opportunity to redeem herself and do the right thing. Caroline O’Donoghue handles the awkwardness of teens in all their straight, queer, lost and found incarnations with the deft hand of a skilled world builder. So hats off to her for creating a book I could not put down.
All our hidden gifts is truly unique. It has a supernatural bouquet immersed in a heady elixir of thriller meets teen angst. If you like Maggie Stiefvater’s spooky Raven Cycle, Kat Ellis’s creepy Harrow Lake, Karen McManus’s One of us is lying and the deviousness of Chelsea Pitcher’s This lie will kill you then you will love All our hidden secrets.
Thanks to NetGalley for the pre-pub review copy. c:

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book (I'd like to visit Divination), and I loved reading about Maeve discovering her gifts for tarot. It was a very enjoyable and fast read, I'd recommend to anyone who loves school settings and witchy vibes!

Maeve and Lily were the very best of friends. Until, that is, Maeve realised that sticking with Lily would cast her out of the popular group, and school acceptance, forever. Now Lily is always alone, and the subject of snide remarks and ridicule. Why should Maeve care? Why should she feel guilty? But she does, and hates Lily for making her feel that way.
When her latest punishment, for yet another misdemeanour, involves clearing 0ut an old, forgotten, basement classroom, Maeve sets to with half hearted gusto. Before she knows it hours have passed, and she is now in possession of a Walkman (complete with an 80’s mix tape!) and an old deck of Tarot cards.
Having spent the evening learning the deck via YouTube, Maeve discovers that she finds the readings easy - the first time in her life she’s been good at anything. A revelation for the family failure. The following weeks she and her new found friend Fiona make a killing reading the cards for all and sundry. So far so good. But then events conspire and she finds herself reluctantly reading for Lily, and the mysterious Housekeeper card makes an appearance.
Lily disappears, and it looks like it is all Maeve’s fault. Together with Fiona and Roe (Lily’s older sibling) Maeve battles to bring Lily back. Can she do it? And how high a price must she pay?
This really is a riveting read. The characters all burst from the page, full of life and colour with well rounded personalities, and as a reader I felt completely invested in them. As the book develops it picks up speed, like running down a steep bank - you can’t stop even if you want to! Brilliant ending.

Maeve finds a pack of tarot cards and instantly feels a strange and strong connection with them. After Maeve starts doing readings for her classmates, one vanishes, Is there a link between the mysterious cards and Lily's disappearance? Does Maeve have hidden gifts or is something more sinister happening?

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I read it in 24 hours and enjoyed everything about this story. It's so atmospheric and intriguing. I was hooked from the first page - from the very first line even; it had me at "four detentions."

All the characters are interesting and so much fun to spend time with (except for Aaron, who is creepy, but still incredibly compelling!). The main protagonist, Maeve, is wonderful and so relatable. She is far from perfect but very human and I loved her witty inner monologue.

It's brilliant how this features LGBT and non-binary/gender-fluid characters and also represents different ethnic backgrounds. I love how it features 90's music and fashion. The incense, crystals, herbs, and Maeve's candle-lit homemade spells, all add to the story's mystical qualities. The heavy snowfall that forms part of the plot makes it an even cosier reading experience.

I didn’t want this book to end, but at the same time, could not stop reading it. The story's conclusion is satisfying and unambiguous, yet leaves room for potential sequels. I would LOVE to read more about these characters – I was so reluctant to say "goodbye" to everyone as I reached the final pages.

"All Our Hidden Gifts" is as funny as it is spooky, and keeps the reader in a constant state of spine-tingling suspense. Despite depicting a series of extraordinary events, it feels very real and nothing ever seems far-fetched. It's fantastic how the author seamlessly weaves Irish history and contemporary social issues into the narrative. The story raises important points about political events and the far-reaching consequences of colonialism, and the Irish famine, yet never feels heavy-handed, and remains entertaining throughout.

Aaron is based on the recent attempts at interference in Irish referendums, made by Irish Americans and US-based right-wing religious groups. It could even be argued that Aaron is another product of the famine and the diaspora it incited. I found Aaron and his influence just as terrifying, if not more so, than many of the supernatural elements.

Caroline O’Donoghue writes beautifully with lyrical, evocative prose. I loved "Promising Young Women" by the same author and was so excited when I heard she had written her first book for younger readers. O'Donoghue perfectly captures the essence of being a teenage girl. This is a powerful and captivating young adult debut from a remarkably skilled writer. The gifts of her characters may be hidden, but O'Donoghue's talents are obvious. Highly recommend!

2.5 Stars.

Trigger/content warnings: This book features bullying, a missing person, a religious cult, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and suicide attempts.

When I first heard of All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue, I was certain it was right up my street! A mystery involving tarot cards? Absolutely my cup of tea! But while the story was intriguing, I felt kind of disappointed overall.

During detention involving clearing out a storage cupboard, Maeve finds an old tarot deck, and soon discovers she has a knack for tarot readings. But Maeve is cornered by her "friends" into giving Lily - Maeve's former best friend, before Maeve cut her out of her life to be friends with more popular girls - a tarot reading she doesn't want to give, and Lily doesn't want. The mysterious Housekeeper card is pulled, which she has only seen once before - a card that doesn't fit the deck, has no meaning as far as she can see. Two days later, Lily goes missing. Certain that she somehow summoned the Housekeeper to abduct Lily, Maeve, along with help from her new friend Fiona and Lily's brother Roe, to uncover the mystery behind Lily's disappearance, and try and get her back.

I was definitely intrigued by this story, especially when it went down a darker route. When there's more to this Housekeeper card than just a random mystery card, and discover it seems to be linked to folklore in many different cultures, of different versions of the White Lady, a spirit or ghost summoned by betrayal and revenge. I loved that Maeve started getting interested in witchcraft after discovering this, thinking she might find a way to bring Maeve back. The plot was just so interesting, and I really wanted to see where the story would go. But the cards themselves don't play as huge a role as I expected. She only talks about specific cards a handful of times, and while there was definitely some research put in to real witchcraft, there were aspects that were a little off. I don't know if this was for the sake of the story or that O'Donoghue just got some things wrong.

But there isn't a massive amount of magic or tarot reading actually on the page, It's a lot of conversations, the three trying to figure things out together, the more they learn from Fiona's tita, who used to read tarot cards, and the shopkeeper at New Age store Divination. There's also a lot of angst and insecurity. My main issue was how these characters are portrayed. They're all meant to be 16 or 17, but felt much, much younger. The arguments were just so childish and immature, the reactions a little too melodramatic. They just didn't seem that believable as the ages they were. But Fiona and Roe at least felt a little maturer, more reasonable than Maeve, who just just a ball of angst and insecurity, but also feels like she's right, because she has this knack the others don't. Fiona and Roe were much more interesting characters overall. I think Maeve was just too stuck in her head with her thoughts, and again, with her seeming much younger than she is, it was just a lot. She was just so tiresome.

I also felt there were some weird aspects to the plot. Maeve has some weird dreams, and while they're disturbing, she's sure they mean something. And while in general, I can get on board with that, she just decides they are, there's nothing to say that they are. She makes connections and believes things without much to back it up. Sure, she's a "sensitive" - someone who has a natural ability for magic - but it just seemed farfetched for her to make these great leaps when there's no real evidence of anything. Why does she make these leaps? Why does she believe this to be true over something else? Why? I needed more. I just feel it needed filling out a bit, more explanation, more answers. I did love how Fiona seemed to have a head on her shoulders and wouldn't just automatically believe what Maeve did, while Roe believed anything Maeve said, but Maeve just accepted that, and took it to be a "you've got to see it to believe it" situation, and didn't try to explain her own thought process. So even though it's this perfect time for O'Donoghue to give some credence to what Maeve thinks, she doesn't.

All Our Hidden Gifts is very diverse, though. Fiona is half-Filipino, Lily wears a hearing aid, Maeve's older sister Jo is gay, and Roe - who isn't a big fan of labels - is attracted to both guys and girls, and also not cisgender. Roe is the name he has given himself, there are a number of times when he's wearing dresses and make-up, though he uses he/him pronouns. While I didn't quite believe the romance between Roe and Maeve, I really loved how Roe's gender wasn't a thing to Maeve. She doesn't completely understand early on, can be a little confused at grasping what he tells her of his gender, and she's a little shocked when she sees Roe in a dress and make-up for the first time, but she never questions her own attraction to him, is never anything but accepting, which I think is awesome. Outside of Roe and Jo's identities, LGBTQ issues are quite a big thing in this book, with a side-dish of racism. When Lily disappears, Maeve, Fiona and Roe discover the Children of Brigid, an almost cult-like religious group of teenagers and young adults, run by an American man who riles them up into hate of themselves, and of LGBTQ people, and incites them to hate crimes. There are a number of really awful scenes in this book, but this sub-plot isn't resolved, and I get the feeling this is only the beginning, and the CoB are going to become an even bigger problem in subsequent books.

All Our Hidden Gifts had so much potential; everything was there for a truly awesome story. It just fell quite flat for me in regards to characterisation and inexplicable aspects of the plot. I was so, so looking forward to this book, and I'm just so dissappointed it didn't meet my expectations. It wasn't for me, but it might be for you, so do read some other reviews before deciding whether or not pick up All Our Hidden Gifts.

Thank you to Walker Books via NetGalley for the eProof.

A massive thank you to Walker Books and Netgalley for this review copy!

A book about tarot cards, what more could you want?

When Maeve finds an old tarot card deck, she figures out she has a knack for reading people’s fortunes.

It soon goes terribly wrong!

It all gets out of hand when a girl goes missing, and suddenly it’s not just a bit of fun anymore.

I loved the folklore behind tarot throughout the book, and I loved how fast paced the story was.

All in all, this was an entertaining and quick read.

This tale was a wild ride that kept me on my toes and turning pages; and I sincerely hope there is a sequel already in the mix.

Protagonist Maeve Chambers doesn't feel like she has much going for her - academically struggling, trying but not really fitting in at school, and juggling her home life against the background of a politically unrest Ireland isn't easy. Even her ex-best friend Lily seems to be doing better, despite Maeve pushing her away.

That's until she finds the cards.

With an innate talent for tarot, Maeve soon becomes the school 'witch', prophesising the lives fellow students. When forced into reading Lily's cards, the mysterious Housekeeper card appears - not one of the major arcana and not with a clear meaning in the deck. But then it's meaning is all too soon revealed when Lily goes missing, and Maeve might be to blame.

I thoroughly enjoyed the framing of magic in this story. Drawing on all kinds of traditions, the balancing of the real world and the world of 'witchcraft' were, for me, a new view on magical realism that O’Donoghue executed with precision and wit. The theming was equally never left behind and the tenterhook plotting meant you always felt the looming watch of the Housekeeper, wondering if Lily might be saved.

Equally, there's a fantastic cast of characters of different genders, sexualities and attitudes. It feels diverse without making it too much of a statement; these are just normal kids that happen to get themselves into something a bit more than normal trouble. While I personally resonated with Maeve's character the most (oh to have a spitfire female lead that I could've related to as a teen), I really loved Roe and how O’Donoghue treated his storyline. I just love this little squad of elementals!

To me, this is the kind of contemporary YA we need to be seeing on our shelves - full of witty, diverse characters, intriguing mystery, and a dash of everyday magic. I look forward to what O'Donoghue does next for the genre.

I really liked the premise, plus the cover is gorgeous. Having said that, I didn't manage to finish the book. It wasn't that there was something wrong with the plot or writing, but simply that the narrative sounded more middle-grade fiction than YA and it had been a long time since I'd read anything in this genre. In any case, I do think that All Our Hidden Gifts will find many grateful readers.

I was unable to read this title as it wasn't available for Kindle, however I was very excited, the premise sounded really interesting and the reviews make it sound fantastic.

All Our Hidden Gifts was phenomenal! I always love reading a YA book by an Irish author and Caroline didn't dissapoint! This story was like nothing I'd ever read and I found the subject of the tarot cards to be really exciting! I loved Maeve as a character even though she wasn't always sure of herself and could be selfish (but aren't we all) the characters were all relatable and I felt as if I was living in the story myself! I will forgive Caroline for the spelling of Maeve (as that's the English way).😂 Loved it so much!

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the premise was amazing and I myself dabbled in tarot card reading (yes I was abysmal, let's move on) when I was younger but somehow, the pacing was really off in this book. Every single time I was about to put down the book because it bored me it would give me a little snippet that kept me reading, which sounds nice, but I'd have liked to stay invested throughout the story instead of having to wait around for another scrapnel of tension.
Still, this was a fast-paced read and I did enjoy the writing style overall so maybe this plot was just not for me?

Maeve’s strangely astute tarot readings make her the talk of the school until a classmate draws a chilling and unfamiliar card—and then disappears.

Despite being 24, I love a good YA book and this is exactly why. This book has everything you need for a good YA novel, it is eyecatching, has a good description and overall, the story is all-consuming and makes you want to carry on reading.

I would recommend and love a hard copy!

4.5/5

This book came along at the perfect time. I've DNF'd a lot this year already, so I didn't want to have to give up on another. Luckily, this book was near perfect. The only reason I docked half a star is that it felt like there was so much packed into it that the book dragged, but at the same time, I genuinely don't think there's anything that I would have removed from it.

All Our Hidden Gifts explores sexuality and gender in a most informative fashion, informing without forcing the issues to stand out, without making the reader feel as though they're being scolded or patronised. I learned so much about gender and sexuality from this book that I couldn't learn from the heaps of Instagram infographics, so I think this book will be subtly useful to readers who struggle to identify. This book has characters who represent non-binary, bisexual, lesbsian and genderfluid people, as well as a Filipino main character, a South Asian queer sescondary character and a main character with a hearing impairment.

The story itself captivated me - I've always had an interest in books about witchcraft and tarot, but this one was more spectacularly presented than the others I've read before. This is a book I could read time and time again to find solace in. I loved the characters and the way they built and crafted relationships, as well as the exploration of how relationships can break down and we have no control over them. If I'd read this as a teenager going through all the drama of friendship and hormones, I think I would have found home in All Our Hidden Gifts.