A child has been taken beneath the fairy hill. Something else has come home wearing his face.

When fifteen year old Mairéad Quinn is asked to collect old stories for a school folklore project in 1938 Ireland, she believes she is gathering memories before they vanish. Fairy forts, changelings, selkies, púcas, warning names, holy wells, and old women's testimony all belong safely inside copybooks and village kitchens.

Then her younger brother Aodhán disappears near the rath above Doolin's field.

He returns before morning.

His voice is the same. His face is the same. His hands are the same.

Only his eyes are wrong.

With the help of Tomás Friel, a fisherman's son who knows every cave and tide path along the coast, and Branín, a white fox púca whose honesty is never entirely safe, Mairéad must follow the old stories into the places where they are still alive. Beneath the hill waits a world shaped by forgotten bargains, stolen names, sea magic, fairy law, and the terrible memory of what humans chose to leave behind.

The Borrowed Child is an atmospheric folklore fantasy for readers who love Irish myth, changeling tales, selkies, fairy hills, brave children, haunted landscapes, and stories where old beliefs become dangerously real.

Perfect for readers who enjoy:

Irish folklore and fairy lore
Changelings, selkies, púcas, and fairy hills
Middle grade fantasy with a darker, literary edge
Historical fantasy set in Ireland
Atmospheric adventure with mystery, courage, and old magic
Folklore inspired stories rooted in real tradition