Y

"Y is a beautiful, moving book that explores what it takes to belong from a new author with a voice that is bold, surefooted and confident". (Evie Wyld, Guardian). "Compassionate and keenly observed...Celona's well-judged conclusion does indeed fill the heart to bursting". (Daily Mail). "Why" is a word that plagues Shannon, the narrator of this assured debut novel ...a sharp and compassionate exploration of the split nature of decisions". (Sunday Times). "A heartfelt first novel...Celona is compassionate toward even her most wayward characters". (New York Times). "Compulsively readable". (National Post). "Y is filled with heartbreaking loss and flawed heroes yet Celona's writing is filled with grace and compassion". (Heather O'Neill, author of Lullabies for Little Criminals). "An evocative look into what makes a family, and what makes a home, and how they are undeniably helixed together". (Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin). "While Shannon is a heartbreaking character, Y is a warming story sprinkled with humour, forming the perfect canvas to interrogate big questions". (Psychologies). 'My life begins at the Y...'
Abandoned as a newborn at the doors of the local YMCA and then bounced between foster homes, Shannon eventually finds stability in the home of Miranda, a single mother with a daughter of her own. But as Shannon grows, so do her questions. Will she ever belong? Who is her true family? And why would her parents abandon Shannon on the day she was born? The answers lie in the heartrending tale of her mother, a headstrong young woman trapped in a series of events that will change her life forever.