Rating: 
Summary: A Magical Ghost Story Brimming With Life!
Review: Forgive the pun, but Lisa Carey's "In The Country Of The Young" is a hauntingly, poignant ghost story. It is a novel that often enchants and provides a compelling read throughout. There are actually three tales interwoven here. Aislin's story: a melancholy tale of girl-child born out of wedlock to a woman of the lower-classes in Ireland, in the early 1840s - just before the potato blight. She is unwanted, unloved and lives a solitary existence, ostracized by all except her older brother, Darragh. There is Oison's story, along with that of his twin sister Nieve, beginning in the 1960s in Boston. They are the children of an Irish couple who do not love each other, and the tragedy of their dysfunctional family has an enormous impact on the two. And lastly, cohering all, is the story of Aislin and Oison in the present day on the island of Tiranogue, just off the Maine coast.
The novel opens in 1848, when an Irish "coffin ship" carrying starving immigrants, including Aislin and Darragh, crashes off the coast of Maine. One-hundred-fifty souls are rescued, one hundred are children. Aislin is one of them. However, more are lost at sea, including Darragh. The survivors are taken to the nearby island of Tir na nOg, which is Gaelic for "Country of the Young." There young Aislin, a beautiful, sensitive child, dies, calling out her brother's name.
Over a century later, the wee ghost of the girl-child Aislin makes her way to the home of artist Oison McDara. He lives as a recluse on Tiranogue, haunted by his twin sister's memory. Every year, for the last 30 years, on the night of the full moon equinox, (Halloween), Oison leaves a candle lit in his window and the door open for Nieve, his dead twin - in case she wants to come home. Aislin is drawn to the light, and perhaps, to Oislon's longing. As a boy, Oison had the gift of "sight." When Nieve died, during their teen years, he lost this ability - but now he sees Aislin, clear as day.
"In The Country Of The Young" is much more than a ghost story. It is primarily about the living, and though very sad at times, the narrative rings with life and color. Aislin has an opportunity, though brief, to live some of the life she lost when she was so young. Oison, emotionally dead for such a long time, also has another shot at life. And those whose lives they touch, are much richer for the experience.
Ms Carey's prose is lyrical, rich, often just beautiful, as is her imagery. What really makes the novel special, however, are her characters, their depth, complexity and growth. She illuminates them all. They have remained with me well after completing the book.
I highly recommend this magical, uplifting novel.
JANA
Rating:
Summary: Engaging and different
Review: I bought this book in a clearance sale because of its title and was forever hooked on Lisa Carey. I loved the historical flashbacks that tied in with the island's current traditions; adaptations of the old ways of Ireland and many of the old Pagan holidays.This book is both charming and shocking at the same time. I've read a lot of ghost stories, but none so creative as this. I couldn't wait to get to the ending which, I must say, did not disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and haunting
Review: I just finished this book. I had never read anything by Lisa Carey and was completely unfamiliar with any of her books, I happened to find this book by chance. After reading it, I can't wait to find all other books this writer has written. I can't tell you how gorgeous this book was, I never wanted it to end.
It is filled with tragedy and hope. Rarely have I read a book that moved me to tears like this one did.
Rating:
Summary: Its on my "favourate books" shelf!!
Review: I loved this book, it's magical and awesome! Its so easy to get swallowed up in the emotions of the characters and to get lost completely in the story. To sympathise with Aisling and her longing for something real and too easy to grieve along with Oisin for his sister. You live in their world, experience what they do and even shed a tear or two. Definitely a heart warming and unforgettable book.
Rating: 
Summary: In the Country of the Young
Review: My first book by Lisa Carey. I did enjoy it, but I have to say I was disappointed in the ghost story turning Romance. I'm not against a good romance novel by any means, but that was not what I was looking for this in this book. I was deeply moved by the history of the two characters though and I liked the ending.
Rating:
Summary: In the Country of the Young
Review: My first book by Lisa Carey. I did enjoy it, but I have to say I was disappointed in the ghost story turning Romance. I'm not against a good romance novel by any means, but that was not what I was looking for this in this book. I was deeply moved by the history of the two characters though and I liked the ending.
Rating:
Summary: A sensual ghost story with the feel of legend
Review: Oisin is a lonely artist who has cared for no one since the death of his sister, when they were both teenagers. Aisling is the ghost of a child who died on one of the Irish coffin ships--died despite her firce will to live. It is her will to live that gives her the power to come back; she returns to the earthly plane, and one day Oisin finds a little girl in his cottage and begins to care for her. Then the little girl starts to grow up, seeming to age years in a matter of weeks. And one day she is a teenager, looking like a beautiful grown woman, and Oisin is disturbed by his new feelings for her. Intertwined with the story of Oisin and Aisling in the present, we also have the story of Oisin and his sister Nieve as seen through Oisin's memory, and the story of Aisling's dysfunctional family in Ireland during the time of the famine and the epidemic. While the story irritated me at times--generally when Oisin was acting obnoxiously hormonal--but there was a reason for it--he was getting his youth back. And the relationship between Oisin and Aisling was dealt with in a way that made it romantic rather than sleazy. All in all, _In the Country of the Young_ was a sensual and entrancing novel, complete with echoes of Irish legend. I recommend it to those who like a good story and don't mind sex scenes.
Rating:
Summary: What an amazing young writer!
Review: This book is an exquisite, rare treat. Her writing is described as lyrical and that word barely does her justice. I've read all of her books and they just keep getting better. She has the ability to touch you way down deep, primally deep, until you find yourself sobbing out loud. Long after the book is finished I find myself thinking of her characters and pondering her themes. I will be eagerly following the career of this talented artist.
Rating:
Summary: Oh my
Review: This book is awesome! I have never read anything like it. The characters were interesting and well written, the plot was unlike anything I had ever read, and the details were fascinating. I feel like I am gushing, but the book left me with such a feeling of peace when I was done reading it. The story is completely fictional, but I could "see" the characters and "hear" their voices. The idea that there are people out there to help those who have died along their way is something that has interested me, even though I don't totally buy into the theory. The parts of the story with the young Oisin and his twin Nieve countered with those of Aisling and her brother are heart rending. The novel is one of a reawakening and a realization that one can overcome the losses faced in your youth. Through Aisling, Oisin is able to absolve himself of his guilt for the death of his twin, and Aisling is able to achieve the one thing she was denied while she was alive. This is a wonderful book, and I would heartily recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: I can't recommend this book highly enough!
Review: This gorgeous, compelling, heartfelt story is everything a novel should be. On Halloween Eve, Oisin, a middle-age recluse living on an island off the coast of Maine, finds a child ghost in his house who, at his touch, is given life. Aisling had died as a child on the shores of the island, a victim of a shipwreck and a debilitating voyage to escape the potato famine in Ireland. She awakens in Oisin his own longing for his long-dead twin sister Nieve. As Aisling grows up at a frantic rate, the two must face their pasts and origins, who they were and are, as well as the special relationship between them. If the plot sounds maudlin, the novel is anything but. In Carey's capable hands, readers are guided through the intricacies of these two lives without sentimentality or melodrama. The lyrical prose is infused with the ache of longing, and the story finds the perfect balance between the past and the present, with a fully realized nineteenth century Ireland contrasting with a contemporary Maine. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Of all the books I've read this year, this one has lingered longest in my heart.
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