"Told from Katie’s witty, quirky perspective and filled with unforgettable characters, this moving, immersive and very funny study of sisterhood takes a keen-eyed look at the delights and complexities of female friendship, the corrosive power of jealousy and guilt, and the people and places that shape us. Compellingly readable and effortlessly sharp, fizzing with the voices of rural Ireland, this is an unmissable novel from a dazzling new talent."
Really looking forward to reading.

A well written book that was very easy to consume and read quickly. The characters were great and you find aspects of yourself in the characters from when you were the same age, but the overall story was lacking!

I love Irish coming of age books and hoped that this would make it into my favourites, but there was nothing special of unique about this book. The author has some lovely ways of writing, but the book lacked substance compared to others in this genre.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book even though I did not finish this book.

You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here is a wonderful coming of age story of friendship, community, and what it is like when the world you know suddenly doesn’t fit any more.

The story centres around Katie and her two friends Maeve and Evelyn. In this trio of friends Evelyn is the alpha and Katie follows behind desperate to keep her onside. Her whole world revolves around Evelyn - decisions are made by whether or not Evelyn will react well or cause drama. Even life decisions are made with Evelyn's feelings at the forefront. When those feelings of loyalty aren't returned Katie starts to outgrow the friendship. However, leaving your childhood friends behind is never that easy.

You Have To Make Your Own Fun Around Here is a wonderful reflection on how friendships, no matter how deep rooted, can become insidious and how sometimes growing up does mean growing apart.

You Have To Make Your Own Fun Around Here by Frances Macken is available now.

For more information regarding Frances Macken (@francesmacken) please visit www.francesmacken.com.

For more information regarding Oneworld Publications (@OneworldNews) please visit www.oneworld-publications.com.

I will always read a book about Ireland - this one definitely did not disappoint! The friendship between Katie (the narrator), Maeve and Evelyn is perfectly described and made me think back to my time in high school and how female friendships are complex and sometimes forced due to circumstances. I also want to note that the narrator was very honest, which I appreciated, while she explored her friendship with Maeve and Evelyn. Female friendships are often a part of YA and Adult fiction; however, I do not believe they are always truthful and realistic - Macken handled this friendship very well. I would recommend to any of my friends who enjoy character-driven fiction.

I have to say, the characters in this book were everything I hated about middle school. Girls who were friends but also didn't like each other and were quick to both assert the bonds of their friendship while simultaneously cutting each other down. Usually in real life, these girls grow out of this stage. Sadly, in this story they didn't. The pettiness continued through the entire book. Add to that a story line that is never resolved! (Which I won't explain because that would be a spoiler.) I enjoy books where there aren't tidy endings, but major issues in the story need to come to some type of conclusion. Isn't that the point of the book? And yes in non-fiction there might not be an actual resolution, but this is fiction. If you can't have the girls grow and become better people, at least you can resolve the outstanding question.

This was a read with a strong sense of place. The relationships were sharply drawn. I think I may have read too many novels with Irish families in recently so this was just another and as such, I’m not sure I’m doing it justice.

The author captures the insecurities many of us in small towns feel when someone that seems more exciting moves in. The feeling of wanting something more out of life is relatable and the author captures it beautifully in her writing.

This lovely little book. I'll be thinking about it for awhile

You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here reminded me a bit of Circle of Friends. Female friendship, complicated friendships, being the first in the family to go to University.....It's all just a comfort. I want to re-read this in the fall, wrapped in a blanket.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Narrated by Katie, this is a coming of age story about three friends- Katie, Evelyn, and Maeve- who live in a small town in Ireland. Katie's the one who leaves who struggles with it. Evelyn is the mean girl and Maeve is the quiet one but there's more to her than anyone realizes. And what happened to Pamela, who was new to town when she disappeared. This is the sort of novel that reminds you of how toxic teens can be to one another (and themselves). Macken also offers an insightful view of what it feels like to move away -and what it feels like when you come back, however briefly. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Meh. I got all hyped up for the mystery after slogging through the childhood memories beginning,,,and was let down. Bit of a mess all around. None of the characters worked for me.

The setting and plot blurb sounded good but the book turned into a big disappointment.

This was unfortunately archived before I got the chance to read it so I wont be writing a full review on it unless I could have it send to me in the meantime.

You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here is a nostalgic coming of age story told through the eyes of Katie, a girl who grew up in a rural Irish town with her small group of friends. ⁠
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Throughout the book, we see Katie turn into a witty protagonist as her voice changes from primary school through high school until college, and how her relationship with her friends - especially bitchy Evelyn and clumsy Maeve - transforms as the years pass. We read about the jealousy, the loyalty, the competition and the love between young girls who don't quite know who they are yet but feel, nonetheless, the need to stick together.⁠
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⁠When Katie finally leaves her hometown and her friends to go to Dublin to study cinema, things don't work out as she hoped they would, and it's the first time we see her struggle after choosing a path of her own, instead of following her friends' footsteps.⁠
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This is a character-driven book about the complex dynamics of friendship, finding one's identity and going after your dreams. It’s a book about growing up and growing out, of both people and places.⁠
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Overall, it was a lovely coming of age story, and I could see a lot of myself in Katie. I loved the evolution of the characters from children to young adults, and the beautiful portrait of rural Ireland. It also gave me some much-appreciated Derry Girls vibes - the quirky conversations, the way they thought about boys, and the whole process of figuring themselves out.⁠
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If you love nostalgic summer reads, then this one is definitely for you.

I really wanted to love this book. On the surface it has everything I love; a group of friends, it explores female friendships and how toxic they can be, there's a mystery of sorts and it's a coming of age novel, but somehow it felt a little flat. I think I am very much in the minority and the problem lies with me rather than the book, especially as I found aspects of it well-written; the relationship between Evelyn and Katie in particular but it seemed to skim the surface of some issues.

My thanks for the advanced copy.

There's something about novels from Irish authors which always gets to me; I find, as far as their sense of humour goes, that I'm on the same wavelength.

Glenbruff is a very small town in Ireland; very little happens and the youth have to make their own entertainment until most of them up and leave for the bright lights on offer elsewhere. Katie, Evelyn and Maeve are close knit friends who stick together through thick and thin .. and then Pamela Cooney from Dublin comes into Glenbruff and life is never the same again . . .

This is a very astute debut; it demonstrates the desperation of teenagers to get out of what they regard as their dead-end home town and make a life for themselves in the big, wide world. The characters are well-drawn and the humour runs throughout but this is no whitewash; this is an author who tells the story warts and all. The thing about country living is that everyone not only knows all about you but thinks they retain the right to have an opinion about your decisions and Frances Macken nails it. With a bit of mystery waiting to be revealed, this is a very enjoyable read. Certainly an author to watch out for in future and I'm very happy to give this first novel 4*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

The writing was wonderful, it flowed quickly, the characters are well developed but the story itself failed. It was nothing special that hadn't been written before. A coming of age story that was set in Ireland, of three girls into adulthood and then parting for separate lives. Rather boring..

Katie, Evelyn, and Maeve- best friends who are united by their childhood games and longing to escape the tiny Irish town of Glenbruff. Evelyn is very much the leader of the trio, until Pamela Cooney arrives from Dublin and changes Glenbruff forever. Katie is our narrator, who aspires to be just like Evelyn and follow in her footsteps through everything. This fantastic debut from Frances Macken brings us the realities of small town life, and the yearning for something much bigger. I really identified with Katie and her realisation of having to grow on her own, and having to leave those we don’t want to behind. Its the pushing to get to our dreams before life erodes them away. Nostalgic, funny, and at times exhilarating. I really enjoyed this read and I’m looking forward to what this author brings us next!

Although I enjoyed most of Macken's "You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here", ultimately it felt a little disappointing, as there were many unresolved aspects of the plot.

A good, interesting novel about three girls growing up in a small community in rural Ireland. It is the sort of community where everybody knows everyone else. The book follows Katie through her teens into her early twenties, she has aspirations to escape, what she sees as a boring community, to a more exciting lifestyle in the film industry. She is from a poor background and is influenced by Evelyn, who is the strongest personality in the group, she is self absorbed and conceited, and comes from a wealthier background and wants a future in the arts world. The third member of the group is Maeve, an adopted child who is trying to fit in. The novel explores the dynamics of the group, how they perceive each other and how their views and characters change over the years.
I highly recommend this novel of friendship, jealousy and rivalry.

Since their childhood, Katie, Maeve and Evelyn have been friends and it was never a question who was the leader of their gang. Admired by the other two girls, Evelyn decided on what and who to like or dislike. When a new girl moves to their small Irish community, she immediately knows that Pamela is arrogant and stupid. Due to her mother’s interference, Katie is prone to become Pamela’s friend, but before they could really get to know each other, the girl vanishes and is never to be seen again. Rumours go from her being killed by one of the trio’s friends, over being abducted to her having run away. When school is over, Katie and Evelyn plan to move to Dublin together, but when her friend is not accepted at university, Katie for the first time is on her own and cannot rely on her friend anymore.

What a great beginning of a novel. I totally adored to careless and adventurous kids who then developed into typical teenagers. Unfortunately, the novel lost a bit of its spirit when the three separate. Even though this is necessary for Katie’s development, from this point on I struggled a bit with the reading, first and foremost because I found it hard to endure Katie’s naivety and her inability to become an independent person, to develop her own ideas and tastes, she is totally dependent on others and their opinion, thus just bounces somehow in her life without goal. Her return to her small hometown is a logic consequence which even makes things worse for her.

In my opinion, the protagonist is well developed and throughout her life, the decisions made are well motivated by her personality and point of view, yet, she is certainly not a character to sympathise with or to take as a role model. In spite of that, I found it quite realistic to see how she struggles with her future, not having really developed but play but only a mere vague dream, she cannot succeed and must end up being totally disappointed. Similarly, her blindness when it comes to her friend Evelyn is well portrayed, she ignores all warnings and other views and is thus left to learn it the hard way.

A wonderful first part and some great aspects, nevertheless, I was a bit disappointed in the end, as I think the author could have made more of her plot and character.