This book is bonkers and totally brilliant. I couldn't put it down. At first I didn't know what to make of it but got sucked in. The characters are all so different and true to life, and I think the setting really makes it with the Troubles as a backdrop and the religious threads through people's lives. The reason behind what's been happening is obvious to the reader before the characters and I found myself willing them to find out. I'll be recommending this to everyone! Definitely one of the top books this year.

This is the fourth novel involving a plague-type scenario I’ve read since the start of the pandemic and it’s my favourite one yet. It has such a strong narrative voice and the central character is immediately engaging. The mystery of what’s happening to all the children in Ballylack isn't actually that mysterious (I’d worked it out in the first couple of chapters) but the mystery isn’t the point here and doesn’t detract at all from the storytelling. It is a very vivid picture of life in a religious community in rural Northern Ireland during the early 90s but in many ways it transcends its time and place. I gulped it down and couldn’t recommend it more - thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you, thank you, thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I loved everything about this book. The writing style, the characters, the humour. I can’t say enough good things about it and will be recommending it to everyone on it’s release. It’s a book I want to give to everyone I know to see if they love it as much as I do! Best book I have read this year by a mile!

An inexplicable illness is killing off the children of a small town in Northern Ireland. Excellent story told by young Hannah, where religion, politics and family give her plenty to deal with.

I absolutely loved The Raptures. It is an incredibly original and compelling story set in a Protestant community during the Troubles in N.Ireland. Hannah is a schoolgirl belonging to a family of evangelical Christians which means when the rest of her class go on a school trip she is not permitted to go by her father. This decision will have dire consequences. Carson explores religion, superstition, family and community dynamics and the nuances of living in N.Ireland perfectly. This is a brilliant read.

I absolutely adored this book. It was so well written . It is told from, so many perspectives and all the characters are so well written. Carson is an immensely talented writer and I cannot recommend this book enough.

Such a wonderful and interesting cover! And on top of that a beautiful story about religion, illness, death, grief, ghosts, growing up, belonging, family etc. Loved this book and I loved grandpa Pete!
Thank you Doubleday and Netgalley UK for the ARC.

Jan Carson treads a delicate line here between comedy and tragedy, largely by relating events through the observations of 10-year-old Hannah. An only child of parents belonging to a strict Protestant Church outside the village, she finds it hard to fit in at school. She struggles, too, to understand her parents’ faith, especially since her beloved Grandpa is sceptical and tends to break the rules. The cast of characters in the church and the village are a rich source for Jan Carson’s wry humour, and included here unexpectedly are those poor children who succumb to the disease rampaging through Hannah’s class. You wouldn’t expect such an enjoyable story from such grim material, but somehow she pulls it off.

OH MY GOSH this book was amazing. I couldnt stop reading it was so compelling and I was gripped right from the very start. One minute I was crying and then another I wanted to cry. It is so emotive and full of tension and mystery. I loved the writing, I loved the characters, I loved it.

I cannot find the words to review this book,without giving the whole plot away,and nobody wants that.
Suffice to say its PACKED full of emotion,and drama.
There's suspicion and faith a plenty too.
There's a lot.
And every single bit of it is good.
Definitely one to add to your MUST buy list. .