“From The Top, Sally Flynn” is a wonderful tale set in Dublin, with powerful themes of confidence, grief, being true to yourself and finding your people. The poignant story follows Sally Flynn, a dramatic teen, intent on becoming Broadway famous, while battling the lingering grief of the death of her mother some years before.
Straight away, the reader is introduced to a colourful array of characters especially Sally herself, her school friends Ethan and Niall and her father. Then she applies for a prestigious drama camp in the Lir theatre and dives into the world of “theatre kids” with many blunders and triumphs along the way.
My favourite part was when Naomi Lewis, Sally’s nemesis (who is also my favourite character because of her kindness and understanding), writes a glowing review of Sally’s school showcase performance, showing Sally that Naomi wasn’t as bad as she thought, even though she ran off stage in the middle of her own one woman musical that she wrote herself.
My least favourite part was when Sally returns home and finds her dad having dinner with his new girlfriend that she didn’t know about. I could really feel the tension in the room.
All in all, this was a brilliant book full of real-life adventure and modern social life. I would highly recommend this book to ages 9-14. I give it a 8/10
By Tess, age 11, 5th Class
“From the Top, Sally Flynn” by Méabh Collins, published by O’ Brien Press, will be on sale from April 2026 for €11.99 (P/B).
Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher, O’ Brien Press, free of charge to Seomra Ranga for the purposes of this review.
