In an afterword to NESTING, debut novelist Roisín O'Donnell (who has a prior well-regarded collection of short fiction) explains that the book’s origins reside in an assignment she received to write a 3,000-word piece on the topic of "Independence." Her research led to the discovery of the extent of Ireland's housing crisis and its impact on women and children. O'Donnell probably could have expanded that research and done a deep investigative dive. Fortunately, she decided to use her creative talents to pen a novel that introduces many of these issues while also making them achingly real for the characters she creates.

Ciara Fay lives in a Dublin suburb with her husband, Ryan, and their two young daughters, Sophie and Ella. We later learn that Ciara had quite an adventurous youth. Although her family is Irish, she grew up in Sheffield, England, where her mother and sister still live. As a young woman, before she met Ryan and quickly got married, she traveled around the world teaching English as a second language, which she loved doing. She also was in the process of getting her primary teaching certification when she met Ryan, who promptly convinced her to give up that ambition as soon as they got married.

"O'Donnell's novel may inspire American readers to discuss the similarities and differences between the housing crises in the US and Ireland, and to consider how Ciara's situation might have played out differently if she was in the States."

However, when readers meet Ciara, little of that vivacious young woman is left. Instead, she is isolated, lonely and fearful. Ryan gradually cuts her off from all other relationships, and he is a master manipulator, alternating between threatening her and wheedling her. He keeps a close eye on her money, accusing her of stealing if any cash goes unaccounted for, and he has unrealistic expectations about how their house and the children should be cared for. But, of course, he refuses to do any of the work himself. Ciara is constantly anxious and afraid --- and when she discovers that she's expecting another baby, she knows she needs to escape or risk never being able to do so.

Ciara had attempted to leave once previously, when Ella was a tiny baby, but Ryan managed to coax her back home again. This time, though, she is determined. And as NESTING progresses, she constantly must reassert that determination. Ryan blocks the children's passports so she can't take them to her relatives' homes in the UK. He also sends her countless text messages as he threatens to take her to court to claim full custody of their children.

Ciara has almost no money of her own, and she quickly discovers the limits of social services to help her. For better or for worse, she and the girls manage to find a placement on the floor of a Dublin hotel that's been set aside for unhoused families. Her troubles are far from over, but she does start to rediscover a social support network, not to mention the tiniest glimmers of independence, especially when she is able to get a teaching job at a language school and finally earn at least a little money of her own once again.

The novel's title is apt. Throughout O'Donnell's expertly plotted story (readers constantly will be on edge about whether Ciara can maintain her courage rather than retreat to the material comforts of Ryan's home), Ciara demonstrates not only fierce love for her children but also the equally fierce desire to create a home for them, wherever they are. One of the most touching scenes takes place at Christmas, when Ciara sneaks back into her old house to claim the holiday decorations and then uses them to create a massive display of lights and glitter throughout the fifth floor of the hotel, a "quiet, tinsel-fueled rebellion."

The book also shows the insidious techniques of the emotionally abusive partner. Seeing how Ryan's wildly inconsistent behavior and manipulations fuel Ciara's self-doubt and erode her defenses is both maddening and entirely believable. Readers will be passionately rooting for Ciara to make it, and for her little family to come through this tumultuous time stronger and more united than ever.

O'Donnell's novel may inspire American readers to discuss the similarities and differences between the housing crises in the US and Ireland, and to consider how Ciara's situation might have played out differently if she was in the States. For one thing, when one of Ciara's children develops a serious illness, she's able to take her to the hospital without any hesitation or stress about the financial toll it will take. NESTING puts a profoundly human face on an increasingly urgent issue.