'This atmospheric debut looks like a rural Irish coming-of-age novel, but it’s cleverer, darker, more unreliable.' Daily Mail AN IRISH INDEPENDENT BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR AN IRISH INDEPENDENT CRITICS CHOICE FOR CHRISTMAS WINNER OF THE BERYL BAINBRIDGE BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD, 2020/2021 AN IRISH TIMES, IRISH INDEPENDENT and SUNDAY INDEPENDENT 'TITLE TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2020' Katie, Maeve and Evelyn have been friends forever. Outspoken, unpredictable and intoxicating, Evelyn is the undisputed leader of the trio. But Katie’s dream of escaping their tiny rural town for a new life in Dublin confronts her with a choice: to hold onto a friendship that has made her who she is, or risk leaving her best friend behind. 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.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • “A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory.” —Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe In this “rich, complex family saga” (USA Today) full of long-buried family secrets, Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. By 2016, they have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest. Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator turned stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects. With the unexpected arrival of young Jonah Bendt—a child placed for adoption by one of the daughters fifteen years before—the Sorensons will be forced to reckon with the rich and varied tapestry of their past. As they grapple with years marred by adolescent angst, infidelity, and resentment, they also find the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile.

'This atmospheric debut looks like a rural Irish coming-of-age novel, but it’s cleverer, darker, more unreliable.' Daily Mail AN IRISH INDEPENDENT BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR AN IRISH INDEPENDENT CRITICS CHOICE FOR CHRISTMAS A FINALIST FOR THE 2020 PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE AN IRISH TIMES, IRISH INDEPENDENT and SUNDAY INDEPENDENT 'TITLE TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2020' Katie, Maeve and Evelyn – friends forever, united by their childhood games and their dreams of escaping the tiny Irish town of Glenbruff. Outspoken, unpredictable and intoxicating, Evelyn is the undisputed leader of the trio. That is, until the beautiful, bold Pamela Cooney arrives from Dublin and changes Glenbruff forever... Told from Katie's witty, quirky perspective, Frances Macken's debut beautifully captures life in a small town and the power of yearning for something bigger. Filled with unforgettable characters and crackling dialogue, You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here takes a keen-eyed look at the complexities of female friendship, the corrosive power of jealousy and guilt, and the way that life can quietly erode our dreams unless we're willing to fight for them.

"Index to the Sociological papers and reports of the American Sociological Society, 1906-1930;" v. 25, p. 226-258.