Starred review from February 6, 2023
Geary’s heartbreaking latest (after Montpelier Parade) follows a pair of childhood friends as they age out of a hardscrabble Irish housing estate. Violence and religion define the constrained lives of Juno and her friend, Seán (nicknamed Legs), in the 1980s. They unite against abuse from nuns, priests, and playmates at their primary school where, as Juno narrates, “all the meanness in the world begins with a kind voice.” After they act out by dumping cement down toilets, a subsequent act of vengeance on an abusive priest at their school sends Legs to juvenile detention until he’s 18. Then, following a devastating loss in Juno’s family, she drops out of secondary school and lives rough in Dublin. Her reunion with a sickly Legs after he’s released is bittersweet, and he confesses the truth behind the incident that sent him to detention. Geary often finds poetry in Juno’s plainspoken narration, whether in lucid reflections on the brutality at the school or in Juno’s openhearted wonder at Dublin, where she discovers “the world was another, a vast other.” The blistering dialogue, too, captures the characters’ hard-won wisdom (“see everything, believe nothing, and definitely, don’t ever lend money,” a thrift store proprietor tells Juno). This is one to savor.
Starred review from June 10, 2024
Juno's life is anything but easy, growing up in a poor working-class Catholic family in 1980s Dublin. Constantly on the outs with her strict religious teachers, Juno befriends fellow outcast Sean, whom she dubs "Legs." Juno and Legs become inseparable and lean on each other as they face off against an unforgiving world. A gritty coming-of-age story, Geary's (Montpelier Parade) latest follows Juno as she experiences a succession of harsh tragedies and the loneliness that ensues, made worse by substance abuse. Then Legs finds Juno after several years apart and draws her back into the fold of a deep friendship, rooted in the understanding of what it means to be different and loved. The raw narrative comes to life with the performance of narrator Alana Kerr Collins. Collins's rendering of Juno's raw emotions, spiky personality, and witty banter with Legs is impressive on its own. Add in her native Irish accent, and she inhabits Juno in her entirety. VERDICT This heartbreaking, exquisitely narrated audio should not be missed; an essential purchase for all collections.--Katy Duperry
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