With Love, From Old Town is a monthly subscription service where members receive one new release a month that is more-often-than-not signed. We focus on debut or sophomoric novels, generally within the genre of literary fiction. You can sign up to join With Love with a 6 or 12-month subscription.

Toward the end of each month, we will get a glimpse into the selection process for With Love by sharing Team OTB’s monthly newsletter to subscription members. January’s pick was A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion.

Dear Readers,  

Despite being born fifteen years after the time period of this novel, it reminded me of something. It reminded me of long car rides with my parents and late afternoon bike rides; the feeling in your chest as you listen to adults whisper in another room, and the tightrope walk of babysitting children not much younger than you. In short, it reminded me of adolescence, the good, the bad, and the mysterious.

A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion begins in a crowded car, with 15-year-old Libby, her four siblings, and her mother. It’s the last day of school and Libby’s mom and her younger sister, Ellen, are fighting again. And it’s one pointed remark from Ellen about their deceased father that sends their mother slamming on her breaks and ordering Ellen out of the car. They’re six miles from their suburban Pennsylvania home but it’s getting dark and their mother drives away.

Through Libby’s honest and perceptive narration, Mannion depicts the summer that follows with careful darkness and emotional dialogue, as Libby, along with her siblings and other kids in the neighborhood try to discover what happened to Ellen on that fateful night. This book is part mystery, part literary novel, and part coming of age story that pulls you in and won’t let you go.

As always, we look forward to sharing in the excitement for this book online and on social media with the hashtag #OTBtbr (Old Town Books To Be Read) and by tagging us with @oldtownbooks. Happy reading!

With Love,

- Abby Bennsky
Old Town Books Floor Manager

Photos by Amanda Robinson. Blog contribution by Abby Bennsky. Edited by Shannon McCarthy.