BookBrowse Reviews Flannery by Lisa Moore

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Real-life love is far more potent than any love potion could ever be.

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Maintaining good relationships is difficult. It's especially tough, though, when you are a teenager. Lisa Moore, in her smart and harrowing YA novel Flannery, examines how much work and perseverance it can take to love and to be loved in return.

Flannery, the titularly-named protagonist, is an exceptionally responsible, smart, and mature sixteen-year-old girl living in Newfoundland. She attends Holy Heart High School, and things are not going well for her. Amber, her best friend since childhood, is slowly falling from her life. Amber is out of control, chasing a boy who lives a dangerous life. At home, her mother, Miranda, is more concerned with environmental and social awareness than with raising her kids. Even worse, Miranda is completely irresponsible, buying remote-controlled helicopters for Felix, her younger brother, instead of paying bills or buying a textbook that Flannery needs for her biology class. Felix is also spiraling toward a potentially hazardous fate. Flannery's father isn't in the picture. Things are really a mess. The only good thing in Flannery's life, as she sees it, is that she is "horribly in love" with Tyrone O'Rourke, but even that relationship has its flaws.

Tyrone is – well – Tyrone is the kind of person who sporadically shows up to school "wearing socks with marijuana leaves on them and army boots spray-painted gold." He was once a nerdy kid, but he's grown into "an artist," "a graffiti artist," and "an outlaw artist."

Flannery and Tyrone get paired together for a project in their entrepreneurship class. The goal: they must create a project that can generate income and excitement. Tyrone suggests to Flannery, "I think we should make potions," and he continues, "Like when we were kids. Remember, we used to make potions in your backyard. These will be a gimmick, like canned fog or pet rocks. People will go crazy for it. Just one sip and bang, you're done." With the idea being brought to life by Tyrone, Flannery sets out to try to make their love potion plan a hit.

The rest of the story follows Flannery's many ups and downs as she tries to figure out a way to make the love potions, while also trying to reach out to the so many disconnected people in her life.

Up until the potion project is set into motion, Flannery seems like it'll be another novel about misdirected teenage love, but then Moore shifts her seemingly light novel in a surprising direction. Instead of focusing on how Flannery can get Tyrone to love her, Moore shapes Flannery into someone who is strong and independent; someone who is bold and wonderful. Flannery takes control of her own life. She refuses to fall into the same traps that those around her have found themselves. She even goes so far as to try to correct the problematic paths her mother, brother and friends are on.

Moore builds a strong relationship between readers and Flannery. We, living alongside the young protagonist, feel the same embarrassment and irritation that Flannery feels over her mother's behavior. We get angry with Amber for continuing to disregard much needed advice about staying away from her destructive boyfriend. We, too, grow unamused by Tyrone's unwillingness to grow up. We root for Flannery because she is the goodness that those around her so desperately need.

Moore's handling of dialogue is simple, yet effective. These are real voices, speaking in situations that are purely authentic. Young readers, especially those who struggle to remain above the fray in their own relationships, will find comfort in the quiet successes found within the pages of Flannery.

Flannery says about herself, "I am a person who likes to feel awe." So am I, and I felt it when I finished Moore's wonderfully moving novel.

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in June 2016, and has been updated for the June 2019 edition. Click here to go to this issue.