The Braid by Helen Frost

The Braid tells the story of two sisters living in the Scottish Highlands during the 1850s, when landlords forced people off the Western Isles so they could raise sheep there. One sister travels with her family to America while the other runs away to stay with her grandmother on the Isle of Barra off the western coast. Frost uses two voices written in narrative poems to follow Jeannie and Sarah.

I enjoyed this book; it's a very quick read and Frost includes a poem to introduce each new section that ties in with the story. While most of us know about the Irish potato famine, this book tells us about a piece of history most of us probably never knew. Sarah in particular is a well-written character.