All the Bad Apples

I found this a compelling read and I definitely stayed up well past my bedtime with this one.
This is a story of a girl who is trying to deal with an absent father, a stressed aunt who is standing in for her mother who died shortly after she was born and coming out as gay in a conservative secondary school. When her other aunt, with whom she is quite close, disappears and is presumed dead, she, in a fit of grief, goes on a quest to find out more about her ancestors, a project her aunt was working on. On her way she finds a legacy of ancestors who paid a price for love and awkward fumbles and experience pregnancy in all it's shades of shame and late 19th and 20th century Ireland. It includes Magdalene Laundries, being evicted by a show more landlord, being outcaste and shame.
Deena also discovers herself, her ancestors, her sexuality (and not a little bit of romance) and the power of friends who care and family. Mostly set in 2012, before abortion was legalised in Ireland and before some of the current backlash had set in, it's interesting to see a largely LGBTQ+ cast of characters roadtripping their way through Ireland. Largely relying on the kindness of strangers.
There's a suggestion of background Irish mystical stuff and some women who are referred to as Banshees but could easily be angry grey-haired post-menopausal women who are done dealing with society's stuff, and some apple trees that have links to the past but it's pretty normal Irish stuff. Some may find it a bit woo but I found it made it more rooted in Ireland.
The metaphor of bad apples was interesting and I liked how it was resolved in the end. show less

Oh my goodness, this book. I barely had an inkling of what All The Bad Apples had in store for me, and I’m actually glad for that. It made discovering this book all the more bittersweet. See, there is a deep message under all the beautiful, lyrical writing. By the time I reached the ending of this story, I was in tears. I’d honestly be surprised if you aren’t as well.

Deena lives in a world where being a “nice, normal girl” is what is expected. Raised by her older sister, judged from afar by her absent father, attending a strict Catholic school, Deena feels hemmed in. She notes the girls around her who are brave enough to stand tall, to show their true colors, but she doesn’t know how to be one of them. This is why I loved show more Deena, and why I’m so glad that she was our main character. She wasn’t immediately fierce, but instead her bravery grew as she went on the journey to find her missing sister. A hero’s journey, if you will. Each piece of the puzzle that fell into place, each lesson learned from her ancestors, brought her closer and closer to the person that she wanted to be. It was a beautiful, brutally honest journey, and it was just perfect.

I loved how Fowley-Doyle was able to bring in so much rich, albeit damning, history into this story. Deena’s journey is told in alternating chapters between current day Ireland, and historical Ireland. Within these chapters, the author starkly lays out the similarities between people who lived hundereds of years ago, and the girls who are involved in the modern day story. It’s terrifying how much similarity there is between the two of them. There’s a definite focus on the people considered to be on the fringes of society, or the bad apples if you will. People who dared to love outside of the “norm”. People who looked different, or acted different, or merely wanted something more than what society told them they should have. I can’t express enough how poignant all of that is. I don’t want to spoil anything, since this is something to discover, but reading the author’s note at the end broke my heart in two. I had no idea of this history before this book, and I’m so glad that it was all laid out for me in such a spectacular way.

Admittedly, you’ll need to suspend disbelief to really appreciate this story. It reads much like the fairy tales of old, where good things happen to good people and true villains are as human as the rest of us. It reads in an almost magical mannner, blurring that line between the real world and the fairy tale one that lurks underneath. I thought it was a perfect way to tell this sometimes tragic and sometimes hopeful tale. I ended with a full heart, and that’s pretty much the best explanation I can give you as to why you need to read this book.

If you’re looking for something historically based, that will enchant you and make you cry, this is your book. show less

Absolutely STUNNING. I went into this only mildly interested because of a youtuber recommendation, not really expecting much, but I was blown away.

The author created such incredibly vibrant characters that seemed real with stories that are, unfortunately, the realities of so many people like them today.

This book did get off to a slow start, but I quickly found myself dying to know what happens next to Deena and in her family's history.

Throughout this book, I found myself almost crying at the horrors that the characters suffered, especially since so much of it actually happened, and continues to happen.

I don't want to say too much, but this is absolutely a must read.

I really liked almost all of this book--the history, the time jumps in the narrative that showed the lives of different generations of women, the queer relationship portrayal. I was simply left scratching my head by the ending. I still don't really think I get what the protagonist was initially trying to accomplish with how she handled things, and my head spun a little at the switch from magic to "oops, not magic" and back to "maybe magic?" and on and on. But the rest of the book made up for that, in my opinion.

Four and a half stars—it’s not a perfect book, but it is close. The story is an emotional roller coaster in the best way. It’s angry, desperate, and triumphant by turns, and very very feminist throughout. Also, banshees have never been so terrifying. Read it at night under the covers for maximum effect.

IT WAS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN!!!!

Like for real!! It’s been a while that a book had consumed me as much as this one did. I have no idea why I kept putting it off but a huge thank you to ChapterOne bookstores for this rec.

A funeral of a mysteriously dead person but her youngest sister believes otherwise because of a letter that is left behind.

A curse haunting the family for generations that can only be broken at the end of the world.

A hunt for the letters left behind with stories detailing the lives of their cursed ancestors.

There are several other mysteries to be discovered as we go on the journey with Deena and her companions as they set out to search for Mandy. A very beautifully written and highly show more required novel that dwells into the misogyny and suppression that women went through since the beginning of times and which continues to date, All the bad apples is a must read.

I am going to repeat it again, I WAS INCAPACITATED. I simply could not stop reading. show less

A Dublin teenager, Deena, on the precipice of her 17th birthday accidentally outself herself to her much older sister Rachel and her conservative father. Her other, wilder sister Mandy (Rachel's twin) goes missing, and when her car is found by some cliffs on the other side of Ireland, she is presumed dead by everyone but Deena.

Instead, Deena goes on a road trip with her best friend, a mixed-race bisexual boy named Finn, and meets a previously unknown niece and an attractive young woman along the way. They pick up clues in the form of letters from Mandy about the troubled history of women in Deena's family going back centuries which includes forced pregnancy, rape, ostracization, accusations of witchcraft, abortion, and imprisonment in show more the notorious Magdelen laundries. The whole time they are pursued by three banshees adding an element of magical realism.

This movie ties together a story of contemporary sexism, homophobia, and discrimination in Ireland with folklore and history. But does it with very little subtlety. My mind wandered a lot during this book but let's chalk that up to reader error. I'm sure this is a perfectly good book for young adults who want stories of adventure and family history with positive female and LGBT characters. show less