Shibby Magee by Carrie Kabak
Sibling Relationships, 326 pages
Published February 20, 2026 by CORBYN
☘️ A character-driven Irish tragicomedy threaded with wit, heartbreak, and bittersweet redemption.
Echoing the tones of the TV series Fleabag, Shibby Magee is wry and wickedly irreverent, while reflecting the sharp, dark dynamics of The Banshees of Inisherin. For readers of Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, and Donal Ryan’s The Queen of Dirt Island, Shibby Magee offers a warmer—but no less incisive—portrait of a woman shaped by childhood abandonment and social prejudice, following her across two defining life stages as she struggles toward dignity, love, and self-possession.
When their mother, Vera Coffey, disappears after announcing she's a Traveller/Mincéir, Shibby and her twin sister, Dorah, are abandoned to a settled family already cracking at the seams. Under the iron rule of their viciously prejudiced grandmother, the two girls grow up on opposite tracks: Dorah, arrogant and bold; Shibby, bruised and quietly resilient.
As Shibby stumbles into adulthood, she's drawn to men who either abuse or dump her. She finds fleeting stability in the fast-paced chaos of a restaurant kitchen—but a question gnaws at her: is her future in the rooted life of the settled or on the open road to God only knows where? With the fierce support of a chosen few—Alice Duffy, housekeeper turned surrogate mother; Moochie de Barra, an affectionate stand-in for an emotionally absent father; and Kitty Dooley, a Traveller whose loyalty never wavers—Shibby begins to uncover hard truths about identity, family, and what she desperately needs to find where she truly belongs.
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My thoughts about Shibby Magee~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)
First line—"While it's freezing outside, the Gubbeen's kitchen is like a little corner of hell. A pit of ceaseless clamor and blistering heat."
I didn't know what to expect when I started reading Shibby Magee. The cover definitely intrigued me. And then I was drawn into the life of Shibby and her twin sister, Dorah. What a tragic life they lived, with their mother leaving them at such an early age and being left with an abusive father and questionable, loving grandmother.
The story of Shibby is told in two timelines—one when she and her sister are young and just trying to survive life, and then later in their lives when they are supposed to have it all figured out. I felt very connected to Shibby, not that I lived the same kind of life, but rather because I felt all that she was going through and empathized with her and her rough life. This was a story that opened my eyes to the life of the underprivileged and how the struggle to find happiness and peace is real for everyone.
I thoroughly enjoyed Shibby Magee and look forward to reading more by this author.
I received a copy of Shibby Magee from the author and this is my honest opinion.
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Praise for Shibby Magee
“Carrie Kabak follows the indelible, indefatigable Shibby Magee during two crucial years in her life, one in girlhood and then another at midlife womanhood, as she struggles against prejudice, cruelty, and abandonment in her search to find her true place in an increasingly confounding world, be it in a bustling restaurant or on the road as an Irish Traveller—an extraordinary, wily community I’d never heard of before and was delighted to encounter. Warm, wise, with dashes of wit, Kabak’s novel is just magnificent.”—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You, With or Without You, and Days of Wonder
“In this captivating and insightful novel, Carrie Kabak introduces the unforgettable Shibby Magee, who navigates adulthood in search of love and stability while grappling with the enduring shadows of childhood abandonment. Filled with multi-dimensional characters and evocative imagery, this is a heartfelt and poignant story that lingers long after the final page.”—Holly Kennedy, Edgar Award Nominee and Giller Prize Longlisted author of The Sideways Life of D
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About the author
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Published by Penguin Random House, Carrie Kabak's novel, Cover the Butter, was an Independent Booksellers' Pick, won an Audiofile Magazine award, and was nominated for a Quills Award. Her essays appear in For Keeps and He Said What? (Seal Press), Exit Laughing (North Atlantic Books), Faith (Simon and Schuster), and Dumped (She Writes). Carrie's latest novels, Shibby Magee and Every Mole and Freckle, will be released in spring and fall 2026, and Mali Morgan's Summer in spring 2027.
Alongside her writing, Carrie works as a book cover artist for major publishers after working for many years as a production designer at Hallmark Cards. ~ Goodreads
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