A vanished mother. A fractured family. A lifetime of choosing the wrong men.

When their bold, brassy mother vanishes into Ireland’s Traveller community, Shibby Magee and her twin sister, Dorah, are left behind in a family already cracking at the seams.

Under the iron rule of their rigidly bigoted grandmother, the girls grow up on opposite tracks: Dorah, sharp-edged and defiant; Shibby, bruised and unmoored.

As an adult, desperate for love, Shibby is drawn to men who wound and discard her, caught in patterns she can’t yet see. She finds a measure of stability in the chaos of a restaurant kitchen — but a question persists: is her future in the settled world, or on the open road to God only knows where?

With the steadfast support of Alice Duffy, a housekeeper turned surrogate mother; Moochie de Barra, a stand-in for an emotionally absent father; and Kitty Dooley, who embodies the fierce pride and harsh realities of Traveller life, Shibby begins to confront hard truths about cultural identity, family, and what it will take to find where she truly belongs.

Set across the roads, towns, villages, and rugged coastlines of western Ireland—from Roscommon and Galway to a remote Atlantic island, the story traces how early abandonment echoes into midlife, revealing what endures, what shifts, and how the cycle repeats until it finally breaks.

My Review

Shibby Magee is definitely one of my favourite books of the year so far. One cannot help but love Shibby and her twin sister Dorah, both such endearing characters in their own right. And so many of the others are memorable, if not always likeable, like housekeeper Alice Duffy, Traveller and best friend Kitty Dooley, father Benny, Moochie de Barra, and the spiteful, judgmental Nanny Magee.

The book follows a dual timeline. We briefly meet a pregnant Shibby, aged 45, at the beginning, then jump back to the twins as children on the day their mother, Vera Coffey, walks out and leaves them behind. We follow their lives as they attend the local Catholic school, befriend Kitty, and try to connect with Benny, who runs the bakery. Nanny Magee is horrible to them, so Alice becomes their surrogate mother. I loved the warmth and humour in this part of the book. Eventually the twins are sent to boarding school in England.

In part two, the twins are both 45. Dorah is happy to have affairs, but never settle down. Shibby still wants a husband and children. Poor Shibby just seems to attract the wrong men. Will she ever find true love? And will she finally discover what happened to her mother?

I have a real thing about Irish narrators in audiobooks (which is why I always listen to authors like Jess Kidd rather than read her books – one is even narrated by Siobhán McSweeney), and it was the same with Shibby Magee. It gives you a feel for place and characterisation, immersing you in Shibby and Dorah’s world. And much of the humour comes out in the language.

Many thanks to the author for a review copy of the book.

About the Author

Published by Penguin Random House, Carrie Kabak’s novel, Cover the Butter, was an Independent Booksellers’ Pick, won an Audiofile Magazine award, and was nominated for a Quill Award. Her essays appear in For Keeps and He Said What? (Seal Press), Exit Laughing (North Atlantic Books), Faith (Simon and Schuster), and Dumped (She Writes). Carrie’s latest novels, Shibby Magee and Every Mole and Freckle, will be released in spring and fall 2026, and Mali Morgan’s Summer in spring 2027.
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Alongside her writing, Carrie works as a book cover artist for major publishers after working for many years as a production designer at Hallmark Cards.