O'Shaughnessey: The Fairy Circle

Title: O'Shaughnessey: The Fairy Circle

Author: Jeremy McGuire

Reading level: YA

Hardback: 306 pages

ISBN #: 9781432745370

Received From: Author

Publisher: Outskirts Press Inc.

Group Genre: Fantasy/Fairytale

Cover: A+

Overall: A-

"The Five-senses-world is a small island in a vast ocean of all we do not knowand cannot see; in that ocean, there may be faeries.This second story about theintrepid leprechaun, O’Shaughnessey, takes up where the first left off, that is, with Bobby Mahoney grown and with children of his own. Having lost the ability to see leprechauns, as it happens to the best of us as we grow up,he takes a trip to Ireland with his daughter, to study folklore and get back something that he knows he’s lost if only he could put his finger on what that was. Twelve year old Margaret McNeil Mahoney will have none of it. She is, after all “the brightest pupil at the La Madeliene Academy for (Exceptional) young Ladies and has no room in her life for such silliness as leprechauns and faeries.O’Shaughnessey has persuaded a reclusive Shenache (storyteller) named Moira McCarthy to take the visitors in, hoping that Bobby may eventually be able to see him again. Moira McCarthy is “old-school,” as the jarvy who drives the pair to the hilltop farm describes her. “You won’t find a drop of petrol on her farm… says it stinks of death and nothing that comes from that far in the bowels of the earth can be good for the Gentry. The Gentry, that’s what we used to call the faeries, and Moira McCarthy has kept with it.”Moira McCarthy is, in addition to being a Shenache, a guardian of the Invisible World. Many there are who want to have commerce with the faeries and it is she who either allows it or sends them on their way depending on what their motivesare. She is suspicious of the visitors…until, that is, she is introduced to Margaret. She recognizes in the young girl a kindred spirit with a latent Sight that is greater even than her father’s, for once having given up the Second Sight, it never comes back entirely. But Margaret, the “little skeptic” Margaret, she has possibilities."

I really enjoyed O'Shaughnessey as a light, whimsical read. The author truly has a knack for storytelling (I think he himself is a Shenache) and really paints the picture of a modern fairytale. Set in rural Ireland far away from the TV, Radio, and distracting Video Games, our heroine Margaret has no choice but to listen to the stories and take in her surroundings. And these stories are what breathe life into the fairytale (or is it just the faerie world).

This book has all the components of what make a story great and I was intrigued almost immediately by the beautiful cover. Their is the paranormal element of faeries, leprechauns, nymphs and much more which in itself is exciting! But also there is the thought of just believing in something makes it real and I really like that! Also for those of you still not convinced there is an amazing twist to the story at the end (that brings the novel full circle) which I was surprised and delighted in!

I think this is a perfect book for just about everyone adults and kids alike. And it is so perfectly timed as St. Patrticks Day and all things Irish are right around the corner! Hey you might even see your very own leprechaun if....you believe!

LOL=Lots Of Love