A Greyhound of a Girl

Four generations of women set off on a car journey. One is dead, one is dying – and one is a twelve-year-old girl preparing to say a last goodbye. Mary O’Hara’s beloved, joke-cracking grandmother is near the end of her life. Letting go is hard… until a mysterious young woman appears at Mary’s door. She is the ghost of Granny’s long-dead Mammy, on a mission to help her dying daughter take leave of the ones she loves. But first, she needs someone to drive them all to the old family farm for a visit to the past… From one of Ireland’s greatest writers, Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle, this quirky ghost story is tender, funny and totally unique.

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Recent reviews

  • liked it

    I would recommend this book to ppl

    7 March 2014

  • loved it

    it really touched me i would recommend this book to anyone who loves mystery and trajeck loss

    8 September 2013

  • liked it

    I kind of did not understand it,but I got the hang of it somehow.A great read.

    4 March 2013

  • loved it

    A sentimental story of a girl whose best friend has just moved away, and her grandmother is dying. Roddy Doyle has a lovely gentle writing style and it is a joy to read.

    7 March 2012

  • This book captured the Irish culture perfectly. Roddy Doyle is one of the truly great writers of this generation.

    Aysha, age 12

    Having enjoyed ‘The Giggler Treatment’ by Roddy Doyle, I was really looking forward to reading this book. It’s a story exploring the relationships between four generations of women in an Irish family. Mary is the youngest of them and her granny Emer is in hospital. I liked the way that some of the chapters went back to different characters’ memories of the past. The story was sometimes funny and sometimes sad.

    I found this book intriguing because it had a ghost in it. I could imagine how Mary felt because my grannie was in hospital too as I was reading the last few chapters.

    I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading stories about families and the past.

    Lettie, age 11

    5 September 2011

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Authors

  • Photo of Roddy Doyle

    Roddy Doyle

    Roddy Doyle is the author of many acclaimed and bestselling novels: including A Star Called Henry, The Commitments and The Van. This is his third book for children published by Scholastic.

    Awards

    Roddy Doyle won the Booker Prize for his adult novel Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha in 1993.

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