What do you think?
Rate this book
Fun and Games
THE INSTANT TOP 10 IRISH BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2025
AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVELIST OF 2025
‘A triumph … the funniest novel I've read in years’ SALLY ROONEY
'One of my favourite books of the year’ JULIA ARMFIELD
‘A funny and frank coming-of age-drama' OBSERVER
'Gorgeous … a writer of immense talent' MICHAEL MAGEE
A stunning debut novel following a teenage boy as he comes of age on the west coast of Ireland, from the author of the acclaimed story collection Pure Gold.
Seventeen-year-old John Masterson has no idea what he wants. It’s his last summer on the small island where he has grown up and he should be enjoying the weeks until his exam results come through. Instead, he’s working mind-numbing shifts at the local hotel and trying to keep his head down after his mother’s nude sext to another man was leaked to the whole island.
As John joins the local senior football team, gets caught up in fights and parties, and embarks on a tentative relationship with his slightly older co-worker Amber that he feels both proud and ashamed of, he can almost pretend that this summer will last forever. But soon John must face up to the choices before to stay or leave, to stand out or fit in, and whether to love and let himself be loved, despite or perhaps because of, the flaws that make us all human.
Fun and Games is a darkly comic, beautifully crafted debut novel that is full of feeling both harsh and tender. It takes in social class and its firm borders, manhood and its frailties, family and, of course, love.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2025
AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVELIST OF 2025
‘A triumph … the funniest novel I've read in years’ SALLY ROONEY
'One of my favourite books of the year’ JULIA ARMFIELD
‘A funny and frank coming-of age-drama' OBSERVER
'Gorgeous … a writer of immense talent' MICHAEL MAGEE
A stunning debut novel following a teenage boy as he comes of age on the west coast of Ireland, from the author of the acclaimed story collection Pure Gold.
Seventeen-year-old John Masterson has no idea what he wants. It’s his last summer on the small island where he has grown up and he should be enjoying the weeks until his exam results come through. Instead, he’s working mind-numbing shifts at the local hotel and trying to keep his head down after his mother’s nude sext to another man was leaked to the whole island.
As John joins the local senior football team, gets caught up in fights and parties, and embarks on a tentative relationship with his slightly older co-worker Amber that he feels both proud and ashamed of, he can almost pretend that this summer will last forever. But soon John must face up to the choices before to stay or leave, to stand out or fit in, and whether to love and let himself be loved, despite or perhaps because of, the flaws that make us all human.
Fun and Games is a darkly comic, beautifully crafted debut novel that is full of feeling both harsh and tender. It takes in social class and its firm borders, manhood and its frailties, family and, of course, love.
Audible Audio
Published April 24, 2025
149 people are currently reading
4930 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
Read
May 21, 2025thought this was gay, it wasnt. Idc about straight white men’s ‘problems’.
January 14, 2025
I love a coming of age novel. Fun and Games is a novel which follows John Masterson in his final year of school as he contemplates his life beyond his small island town.
Things at that age are never easy, but decidedly less so for John when his mother sends a picture of her breasts to a man which then goes viral across the island. Added to this John is trying to navigate a relationship with the slightly older Amber, study for his exams and earn a place on his football team.
This was beautifully written and was so bittersweet. Despite wanting to give John a good shake at times, you never give up wanting him to succeed and to fulfil the clear promise that he definitely has in trying circumstances. His relationship with both his parents, as well as Amber, were expertly written and real to all of us who (barely) remember their days as a young man.
I'm not sure what it is about Ireland which spawns so many brilliant writers but long may it continue.
Although a sequel is unlikely, I would genuinely to love to follow John's journey further.
Thanks to Netgalley and 4th Estate and William Collins | Fourth Estate for an ARC in exchange for an honest review
Things at that age are never easy, but decidedly less so for John when his mother sends a picture of her breasts to a man which then goes viral across the island. Added to this John is trying to navigate a relationship with the slightly older Amber, study for his exams and earn a place on his football team.
This was beautifully written and was so bittersweet. Despite wanting to give John a good shake at times, you never give up wanting him to succeed and to fulfil the clear promise that he definitely has in trying circumstances. His relationship with both his parents, as well as Amber, were expertly written and real to all of us who (barely) remember their days as a young man.
I'm not sure what it is about Ireland which spawns so many brilliant writers but long may it continue.
Although a sequel is unlikely, I would genuinely to love to follow John's journey further.
Thanks to Netgalley and 4th Estate and William Collins | Fourth Estate for an ARC in exchange for an honest review
May 16, 2025
This review might seem a bit harsh, but that's mostly because I saw so much potential in the material and was disappointed in the execution, and/or also because of how familiar the setting is to me. I've recently thought that the GAA has been under-developed in Irish fiction. But really, we didn't get much insight into what this tells us about masculinity, male friendships, or adult pressures in this book. It was just what this character was doing at this time. I feel the book could have been written 20 years ago or 20 years from now, you would just need to exchange some surrounding details. It was difficult to see the author's stamp or style on the story, it's just telling us what it is like to have been a young person at this time in this particular place.
This lack of insight was mainly down to how the world around him wasn't developed enough. The teammates and even friends were stereotypes, assuming that you knew them and their type based on rudimentary characteristics. I found it unbelievable that he wouldn't know at least some important details about players on the senior team, presuming he actually wanted to make the team. He would have heard stories about their exploits at whatever age group he was playing with, heard or even seen their great achievements during the season. The manager and the assistant also represent key figures in the GAA and potentially the character's life. How did he not pay attention to a single team talk before Championship? This was a prime opportunity. The manager could have been a character that might have failed or struggled in life but has found a new calling in being the man to lead a team of men towards victory. Also, if you had no experience of this atmosphere before, I am not sure what these situations would teach you about the character or even about playing football, other than the details of what happens at training and what goes through your head in a game.
Maybe this book suffered from an abundance of suggestions as there was way too much to balance - moving up to the seniors, the Leaving Cert, beefs with your friends, what are you gonna do when the summer is over, but more importantly will you get into the club at the weekend, what about this girl at the hotel you work at, do you like her or not, oh your mother has sent a picture of her breasts to someone else on the island, and now the dad has left the house, the house with all the paintings of elves the mother drew by the way, the same dad that used to play senior and oh no the sister's wedding is also this summer, will the groom's sister forgive her and attend the wedding?
Perhaps due to all these competing storylines and aims of the book, the style is too unbalanced. It has identified a lucrative moment for reflection and change - the summer after the Leaving - but the moment is not interesting in and of itself, the style needs to reflect it too. He seems to capture "child" language with these concepts and nouns that we hear as children but do not question, and uses them without articles - Championship, not drinking directly from the water bottle because 'germs', no point driving because 'too near'. Or, when a joke lands describing it as an airport. However, this was overused to the point it was jarring. I think it was jarring because of how poorly it blended with the "man" language.* It felt at times like the author was trying to make clear to us that he doesn't use the words himself, so when words like "inscrutable" come along it takes you completely out of the moment because its not like the book is written from a distance. The writing is at its strongest when in the midst of an event, emotional or intense.
But these moments did not lead to any reflection afterwards that might lead us to think what the character thought of it. The actions and the change that is indicated at the end could have actually been the exact opposite and it would not have been a surprise. This takes me to my next point where there is actually no adult-like reflection on anything. He is starting to be exposed to adult events. For example, the only major interaction with the sister was one "close" conversation at the wedding, where she makes a broad statement about happiness. Even at this late stage, the character doesn't have any major reflection on anything - what he wants to do, what does he think make him happy, who does he think about when he hears this, what does he want to do right there and then. His behaviour is pretty consistently reprehensible throughout the book. Is this just saying adults are just children doing "adult" things and he will go about behaving the way he was in this book with no consequences? I don't even think the character would think that, but who knows because he never reflects on anything. Is adulthood just a series of talking about different things than when you were younger? But that wouldn't add up either because your childhood isn't just talking about the same stuff for years. We get descriptions of his actions and what he is thinking in the moment that leads to them. But afterwards, that's when the real insight should come. Let us in, John, let us in.
(As an aside, I thought he also misused the word 'sound'. I always thought of that as describing someone else as 'sound', like their whole person, but here it seemed to be used as if you could or could not be 'sound' right now depending on how you were feeling. After getting sick, his friend says 'ah, you're sound' and he replies 'I don't think I am sound actually'. Felt off to me)
This lack of insight was mainly down to how the world around him wasn't developed enough. The teammates and even friends were stereotypes, assuming that you knew them and their type based on rudimentary characteristics. I found it unbelievable that he wouldn't know at least some important details about players on the senior team, presuming he actually wanted to make the team. He would have heard stories about their exploits at whatever age group he was playing with, heard or even seen their great achievements during the season. The manager and the assistant also represent key figures in the GAA and potentially the character's life. How did he not pay attention to a single team talk before Championship? This was a prime opportunity. The manager could have been a character that might have failed or struggled in life but has found a new calling in being the man to lead a team of men towards victory. Also, if you had no experience of this atmosphere before, I am not sure what these situations would teach you about the character or even about playing football, other than the details of what happens at training and what goes through your head in a game.
Maybe this book suffered from an abundance of suggestions as there was way too much to balance - moving up to the seniors, the Leaving Cert, beefs with your friends, what are you gonna do when the summer is over, but more importantly will you get into the club at the weekend, what about this girl at the hotel you work at, do you like her or not, oh your mother has sent a picture of her breasts to someone else on the island, and now the dad has left the house, the house with all the paintings of elves the mother drew by the way, the same dad that used to play senior and oh no the sister's wedding is also this summer, will the groom's sister forgive her and attend the wedding?
Perhaps due to all these competing storylines and aims of the book, the style is too unbalanced. It has identified a lucrative moment for reflection and change - the summer after the Leaving - but the moment is not interesting in and of itself, the style needs to reflect it too. He seems to capture "child" language with these concepts and nouns that we hear as children but do not question, and uses them without articles - Championship, not drinking directly from the water bottle because 'germs', no point driving because 'too near'. Or, when a joke lands describing it as an airport. However, this was overused to the point it was jarring. I think it was jarring because of how poorly it blended with the "man" language.* It felt at times like the author was trying to make clear to us that he doesn't use the words himself, so when words like "inscrutable" come along it takes you completely out of the moment because its not like the book is written from a distance. The writing is at its strongest when in the midst of an event, emotional or intense.
But these moments did not lead to any reflection afterwards that might lead us to think what the character thought of it. The actions and the change that is indicated at the end could have actually been the exact opposite and it would not have been a surprise. This takes me to my next point where there is actually no adult-like reflection on anything. He is starting to be exposed to adult events. For example, the only major interaction with the sister was one "close" conversation at the wedding, where she makes a broad statement about happiness. Even at this late stage, the character doesn't have any major reflection on anything - what he wants to do, what does he think make him happy, who does he think about when he hears this, what does he want to do right there and then. His behaviour is pretty consistently reprehensible throughout the book. Is this just saying adults are just children doing "adult" things and he will go about behaving the way he was in this book with no consequences? I don't even think the character would think that, but who knows because he never reflects on anything. Is adulthood just a series of talking about different things than when you were younger? But that wouldn't add up either because your childhood isn't just talking about the same stuff for years. We get descriptions of his actions and what he is thinking in the moment that leads to them. But afterwards, that's when the real insight should come. Let us in, John, let us in.
(As an aside, I thought he also misused the word 'sound'. I always thought of that as describing someone else as 'sound', like their whole person, but here it seemed to be used as if you could or could not be 'sound' right now depending on how you were feeling. After getting sick, his friend says 'ah, you're sound' and he replies 'I don't think I am sound actually'. Felt off to me)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2025
This book confirmed that teenage boys are just horrible. I cannot understand the praise for this book. I found the whole thing shallow, and trite, and confirmed my worst suspicions about how teenage boys view the world - and women.
February 22, 2025
This coming of age story is set on an island off the west coast of Ireland. John Masterson in 17 and at that great crossroads in life. It's his last summer at home before he embarks on the adventure of university. But he's got problems to deal with. His father has moved out of the house after discovering his mother had sent a nude picture to another man. This has earned John the unfortunate nickname of Tits, much to the hilarity of his friends. He's also in a situationship with an older co-worker called Amber and hugely confused about how to navigate it. And he's on the verge of breaking into the local football team, along with all of the pressure that goes with it. It's a turbulent time, no doubt - mistakes will be made and hearts will be broken, but John will come out the other side all the wiser.
I enjoyed John Patrick McHugh's collection of short stories, Pure Gold, so I was excited to read his first novel. And I thought it was fine. As a chronicle of Irish country life it certainly succeeds. A small community where everybody helps out but also knows your business, the prominence of the local GAA club, the general lack of things to do - I appreciated all of these rural attributes and more (I come from the back of beyond in County Galway myself). And I thought that it did a good job of the depicting that awkward journey into adulthood, including the general puzzlement and uncertainty that comes with it. But I'm afraid I didn't find John all that interesting a character, or any of the supporting cast if I'm honest. Maybe it's because I recognized all of these people so well, coming from a similar background - they don't hold any particular intrigue for me. I also felt like McHugh was retreading a lot of the same ground as his previous work. I would like to see him spread his wings and tackle something other than life on a small Irish island, as his talent is in no doubt.
I enjoyed John Patrick McHugh's collection of short stories, Pure Gold, so I was excited to read his first novel. And I thought it was fine. As a chronicle of Irish country life it certainly succeeds. A small community where everybody helps out but also knows your business, the prominence of the local GAA club, the general lack of things to do - I appreciated all of these rural attributes and more (I come from the back of beyond in County Galway myself). And I thought that it did a good job of the depicting that awkward journey into adulthood, including the general puzzlement and uncertainty that comes with it. But I'm afraid I didn't find John all that interesting a character, or any of the supporting cast if I'm honest. Maybe it's because I recognized all of these people so well, coming from a similar background - they don't hold any particular intrigue for me. I also felt like McHugh was retreading a lot of the same ground as his previous work. I would like to see him spread his wings and tackle something other than life on a small Irish island, as his talent is in no doubt.
April 23, 2025
Reading is friction. Watching short videos on your phone is easier than reading a novel. But reading has a payoff that I've yet to get from any other medium: those little epiphanies you experience when you read a sentence or a paragraph that expresses something you've always known at a gut-level but have yet to see put into words. These are the moments during which reading feels frictionless. Raw insight, straight through your eyeballs and directly into your brain. Therefore, I propose a new metric to use when judging the quality of a novel: Epiphanies-Per-Page (EPP). Fun and Games scores higher for EPP than any novel I can remember. John's excruciating self-awareness, his entrapment by the hierarchies of young manhood, the drudgery of a summer job, the liminal space of post-Leaving Cert but pre-college, loving and hating your family at the same time; all are rendered beautifully by McHugh's vivid prose, multiple times on every page. Read it now.
May 20, 2025
Sally Rooney-esque. I think I’m fine with not reading about teenage boys for a long long time
September 29, 2025
I thought this would be gay based on the cover, but this was about an awful straight teenage boy exploring his sexuality. I feel deceived...
April 14, 2025
3,5
'Fun and Games' is set on a small Irish island during the summer before college starts. It’s about friendship, football, first love and sex, and all the insecurities that go with it. John is 17 years old. He's not a child anymore but clearly he's not an adult either. There are many books about growing up from a female point of view, but this is one from a male point of view, and I think it's pretty well done. I would have liked to have seen more ‘show’ instead of ‘tell’ though. A pretty good coming of age debut novel all the same.
Thanks you Fourth Estate and Netgalley UK for the ARC.
'Fun and Games' is set on a small Irish island during the summer before college starts. It’s about friendship, football, first love and sex, and all the insecurities that go with it. John is 17 years old. He's not a child anymore but clearly he's not an adult either. There are many books about growing up from a female point of view, but this is one from a male point of view, and I think it's pretty well done. I would have liked to have seen more ‘show’ instead of ‘tell’ though. A pretty good coming of age debut novel all the same.
Thanks you Fourth Estate and Netgalley UK for the ARC.
May 14, 2025
Brilliantly incisive writing that vividly articulates its protagonist’s inarticulacy. Found it rough being in John’s head for all the second guessing, self awareness and indecision that comes with being a teenage boy, and felt for him despite his often frustrating, though entirely believable decisions. Full body flashbacks for some scenes, particularly the house party and John’s hilariously dramatic reaction to the taxis arriving.
February 16, 2025
A gorgeous coming of age story that is laced with nostalgia and emotion. Another irish lit banger!
September 14, 2025
honestly, i found this frustrating, repetitive, and ultimately bland. while i love football, even that couldn’t save the story from feeling monotonous. the protagonist’s summer of awkward encounters, small-town drama, and tentative romance just didn’t capture me.
i probably should have taken the hint from sally rooney’s blurb on the cover.
i probably should have taken the hint from sally rooney’s blurb on the cover.
February 12, 2025
“John had concluded that life was stuff that happened without your consent, your control […] Life careened into you and there was nothing you could do about it and so what was the point?” There’s much to enjoy in John Patrick McHugh’s debut novel Fun and Games: it’s well-written, in prose that rarely strays from being purposeful, sharp. Protagonist John feels very believable (though perhaps too much so — more on that shortly), and many of the other characters that round out the story feel just as fleshed-out as the lead, maybe more. Interestingly it’s mostly the women characters who feel the most nuanced, such as Amber (what we now might call John’s “situationship”), Kay (John’s sister), and above all Yvonne (John’s mother), who holds her head high in the face of judgement, and the endless disrespect of her own son. This leads me to my gripes: the men, however true-to-life this may or may not make them, largely have a flatness that makes them frustrating to read about, none more so than John himself. In fact I can’t think of the last time I had such disdain for a protagonist as John, who yes is a fallible 17 year old caught in a culture of misogyny and idiocy, but Christ alive is he pathetic about it all. I typically like unlikeable protagonists, but for me there has to be some facet that redeems them: I struggled to see it for John. And this made it a stultifying read, because it’s all about the life of someone I didn’t care about in the slightest. Maybe I’m not the right audience for a novel about a teenage Irish-football-playing straight lad who disrespects everyone and everything in his life and mostly just swings from whinging to raging. Maybe I’m secretly a moralist who needed to see John gain some meaningful self-awareness or comeuppance or something transformative…? But I liked McHugh’s writing, his use of John to probe questions of the end of youth and familial obligations, and I found myself — despite my sports apathy — quite enthralled by some of the passages about John’s games and practices. Out in April — thanks to 4th Estate for the proof!
abandoned
June 6, 2025I tend to avoid books written from a male pov because the male mind is a frightening place I have little interest in and I should’ve stuck with that. I read the first chapter and it was…strange. Reading 12% and it was about fingering, his mother’s tits and GAA. From reading other reviews it seems the other 98% is not too different. So quite a quick DNF.
I also am Irish and though this book is set in the west of Ireland (something I had to double check because there’s some phrases used where I was a bit confused. Eg a girl is going away and the MC replies “Sham”. Sham the infamous Irish pint man? Huh?) If someone like me could be left confused I can’t imagine how this book will fare in other cultures.
I also am Irish and though this book is set in the west of Ireland (something I had to double check because there’s some phrases used where I was a bit confused. Eg a girl is going away and the MC replies “Sham”. Sham the infamous Irish pint man? Huh?) If someone like me could be left confused I can’t imagine how this book will fare in other cultures.
May 22, 2025
culchie gaa men are actually beyond saving.... what if your characters didnt develop and just stayed cowardly melts....
July 7, 2025
Unfortunately, nothing can compel me to care about Gaelic football. I do, however, appreciate the realism of how hard John fumbled Amber.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
October 22, 2025reikėjo prisijaukinti šitą knygą, iš pradžių atrodė tokia triviali, ką ten tas septyniolikmetis airis, tik žaidžia futbolą ir laksto paskui mergų. bet vėliau pradėjo žavėti specifinė rašymo maniera ir net visas nejautraus berniuko coming of age (dažniausiai juk būna arba mergaitės, arba jautrūs vyrukai). tie pasirinkimai, nesusivokimai, persigalvojimai, paprastumas, mažas pasaulis. fun and games, nors tu ką.
patiks: kam buvo įdomus connellio iš normal people personažas
nepatiks: kam neįdomūs baltų bernaičių vargai ir godos
patiks: kam buvo įdomus connellio iš normal people personažas
nepatiks: kam neįdomūs baltų bernaičių vargai ir godos
May 6, 2025
3.75⭐️
I really loved the writing style, and the story overall was right up my street. I adore a coming of age novel and Fun & Games nailed all the awkward parts of adolescence, the things I said and how important that last summer before adulthood feels.
I wish we got more insight into Amber. Unfortunately I felt as the book went on her characters purpose was less clear. I also have no interest in GAA so those chapters were a bit of a slog for me personally, but other than that this was a great read, especially for anyone who grew up in Ireland. A brilliant debut
I really loved the writing style, and the story overall was right up my street. I adore a coming of age novel and Fun & Games nailed all the awkward parts of adolescence, the things I said and how important that last summer before adulthood feels.
I wish we got more insight into Amber. Unfortunately I felt as the book went on her characters purpose was less clear. I also have no interest in GAA so those chapters were a bit of a slog for me personally, but other than that this was a great read, especially for anyone who grew up in Ireland. A brilliant debut
July 10, 2025
A hilariously accurate portrayal of a 17 year old Irish boy’s inner thoughts. But, almost by definition, a bit pointless.
February 17, 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💬 “‘It's fine,' John said. 'It's grand. I'm not even really crying.' He dabbed his eyes with the tissue some more. He cried some more. 'I know you're not,' Peter told him. ‘But if you were, that's alright, too.'”
💭 Contemporary Irish fiction seems to have a hold on me at the moment, and FUN AND GAMES John Patrick McHugh was no exception.
Set during that strange, in-between summer after exams but before the next chapter of life begins, FUN AND GAMES follows 17-year-old John as he works at a local hotel, finds excitement in his co-worker Amber, and plays for the local senior football team alongside his school friends. Meanwhile, his sister is planning a wedding, and his parents are separating after his mother’s nude - sent to someone other than his father - gets circulated around the island, earning John the unfortunate nickname ‘Tits’
I’ve never been, and thank God will never be, a 17-year-old boy. But there was something so familiar and nostalgic about John and his friends; the way they talk, the way they act - a lot of the time terribly, but always believably. This was a fun perspective to read though, even though it was incredibly frustrating at points (!!!), because while I’ve read plenty of books about the messiness of teenage years and growing up from a girl’s point of view, I’ve read less from a boy’s.
What really stood out to me, though, was the novel’s tenderness in exploring masculinity. It reminded me of Michael Magee’s CLOSE TO HOME, another book I adored, which explores similar themes with equal honesty and care.
Raw, heartfelt, and utterly engaging, FUN AND GAMES is a coming-of-age story that’s easy to connect with and hard to put down. I really recommend this one.
💬 “‘It's fine,' John said. 'It's grand. I'm not even really crying.' He dabbed his eyes with the tissue some more. He cried some more. 'I know you're not,' Peter told him. ‘But if you were, that's alright, too.'”
💭 Contemporary Irish fiction seems to have a hold on me at the moment, and FUN AND GAMES John Patrick McHugh was no exception.
Set during that strange, in-between summer after exams but before the next chapter of life begins, FUN AND GAMES follows 17-year-old John as he works at a local hotel, finds excitement in his co-worker Amber, and plays for the local senior football team alongside his school friends. Meanwhile, his sister is planning a wedding, and his parents are separating after his mother’s nude - sent to someone other than his father - gets circulated around the island, earning John the unfortunate nickname ‘Tits’
I’ve never been, and thank God will never be, a 17-year-old boy. But there was something so familiar and nostalgic about John and his friends; the way they talk, the way they act - a lot of the time terribly, but always believably. This was a fun perspective to read though, even though it was incredibly frustrating at points (!!!), because while I’ve read plenty of books about the messiness of teenage years and growing up from a girl’s point of view, I’ve read less from a boy’s.
What really stood out to me, though, was the novel’s tenderness in exploring masculinity. It reminded me of Michael Magee’s CLOSE TO HOME, another book I adored, which explores similar themes with equal honesty and care.
Raw, heartfelt, and utterly engaging, FUN AND GAMES is a coming-of-age story that’s easy to connect with and hard to put down. I really recommend this one.
December 30, 2025
Fun and Games by John Patrick McHugh, read by Ian O'Reilly, is a beautifully written rural coming-of-age story and, truthfully, one of the best debuts I’ve read this year.
John Masterson lives in a small town in the west of Ireland. At 17, he wanted to spend his last summer before college working in a bar, saving money and cementing his status as a local GAA star. He didn't, however, anticipate dealing with his mother's nudes getting leaked, his parents’ subsequent split, or ending up in a secret situationship with his older co-worker Amber.
As John grapples with the messy realities of adulthood; relationships and friendships, accountability and responsibility, he begins to come to terms with the fact that he may be starting to outgrow his small town and the people in it, leaving him to contemplate who exactly he is if no longer defined by his peers.
It’s mighty impressive that this book bypassed the newcomer category at the recent An Post Irish Book Awards and landed in the top prize Novel of the Year category alongside the likes of Joseph O’Connor and John Banville. McHugh brings such a clear voice and fresh perspective for the Irish teenager-to-young-adult pipeline, especially as it’s told through the eyes of a young fella rather than the female characters we usually see. I really loved this on audio and the library has it on BorrowBox.
John Masterson lives in a small town in the west of Ireland. At 17, he wanted to spend his last summer before college working in a bar, saving money and cementing his status as a local GAA star. He didn't, however, anticipate dealing with his mother's nudes getting leaked, his parents’ subsequent split, or ending up in a secret situationship with his older co-worker Amber.
As John grapples with the messy realities of adulthood; relationships and friendships, accountability and responsibility, he begins to come to terms with the fact that he may be starting to outgrow his small town and the people in it, leaving him to contemplate who exactly he is if no longer defined by his peers.
It’s mighty impressive that this book bypassed the newcomer category at the recent An Post Irish Book Awards and landed in the top prize Novel of the Year category alongside the likes of Joseph O’Connor and John Banville. McHugh brings such a clear voice and fresh perspective for the Irish teenager-to-young-adult pipeline, especially as it’s told through the eyes of a young fella rather than the female characters we usually see. I really loved this on audio and the library has it on BorrowBox.
June 12, 2025
Beautifully written, felt like I was inside the mind of a 17 year old boy, a truly terrifying place!
July 2, 2025
3.5 - kinda normal people vibes but a little bit too much football focus for me
May 25, 2025
DNF - really really struggling with this book for a new book club I’m in - got 50% through and I just didn’t get it. John is not a likeable character (perhaps that’s the point?) and it didn’t have me wanting to pick the book up at all. Maybe I didn’t get it because I’m not Irish?
I hate to admit defeat but it’s really threatening my yearly reading goal as it’s taken me almost a month to try and finish it 😂
I hate to admit defeat but it’s really threatening my yearly reading goal as it’s taken me almost a month to try and finish it 😂
Read
December 15, 20253.5⭐️
July 29, 2025
This had so much potential but there was literally zero character development.
September 4, 2025
okay sorry I did NOT like this book very much. I think that it had some lovely insights and that the author could really have made some interesting and emotional commentaries, but for me this really missed the mark. it basically follows a 17 year old irish boy through the summer after his leaving cert while he’s dating a girl he knows from work.
I personally found no deep revelations about boyhood or growing up in rural ireland or i would STRONGLY disagree that this book “takes in social class .. manhood and its frailties” as the blurb suggests. I think that it’s extremely gratuitous to call a sex and disrespectful and degrading obsession with women and girls “taking on the fragilities of manhood” when the book offers ZERO depth or insight on these?? Like anyone can ramble and write about the hypothetical mind of a young man but i personally enjoy those ramblings when there’s a layer of nuance, or when it feels like the author is making a commentary about said? But I found there to be absolutely no commentary bar the glaringly obvious ones.. eg. “she’s so easy and a slut”… he is saying this because his friends said it! like.. okay??? that’s the insight into manhood you’re giving us.. OKAAAAY. like literally no other nuance or substance. okay.
oh and let’s not even talk about how his mother could have been SOOO much more developed and her story was actually more interesting than his.. i will write that off as the author skimmed over it in an attempt to showcase to us that John (pathetic protagonist) doesn’t care about his mother.
HOWEVER the book is written in the third person??? Sooooo does that not entitle the author to have an overarching commentary on the book? whereas if it was first person then fair enough John never thinks about his mother so we never delve deeper into her character. fair. If i was his editor i would say if you’re going to do this the POV of the book should be restructured to make it work. BECAUSE john clearly has no knowledge or understanding of himself (slay fair enough) but i LIKE in a book when you’re dealing with a character such as this that the author seems to have some handle on what’s happening and offers some like commentary on their own characters? and although the characters don’t know themselves we are offered an insight into them through the author? If that makes sense. See Fiona Scarlett’s writing.
MAYBE there is an audience who wants to read about an irritating and shallow 17 year old boy who literally has no regard for anyone and is gross towards women only in the sense that he has no critical thinking skills and wants to be liked by his peers, and maybe this audience also likes excruciatingly detailed play by plays of football matches and training sessions that further the plot NONE. but i am not that audience. I actually hope this book is a disservice to 17 year old boys everywhere or I fear for the future of the world.
I personally found no deep revelations about boyhood or growing up in rural ireland or i would STRONGLY disagree that this book “takes in social class .. manhood and its frailties” as the blurb suggests. I think that it’s extremely gratuitous to call a sex and disrespectful and degrading obsession with women and girls “taking on the fragilities of manhood” when the book offers ZERO depth or insight on these?? Like anyone can ramble and write about the hypothetical mind of a young man but i personally enjoy those ramblings when there’s a layer of nuance, or when it feels like the author is making a commentary about said? But I found there to be absolutely no commentary bar the glaringly obvious ones.. eg. “she’s so easy and a slut”… he is saying this because his friends said it! like.. okay??? that’s the insight into manhood you’re giving us.. OKAAAAY. like literally no other nuance or substance. okay.
oh and let’s not even talk about how his mother could have been SOOO much more developed and her story was actually more interesting than his.. i will write that off as the author skimmed over it in an attempt to showcase to us that John (pathetic protagonist) doesn’t care about his mother.
HOWEVER the book is written in the third person??? Sooooo does that not entitle the author to have an overarching commentary on the book? whereas if it was first person then fair enough John never thinks about his mother so we never delve deeper into her character. fair. If i was his editor i would say if you’re going to do this the POV of the book should be restructured to make it work. BECAUSE john clearly has no knowledge or understanding of himself (slay fair enough) but i LIKE in a book when you’re dealing with a character such as this that the author seems to have some handle on what’s happening and offers some like commentary on their own characters? and although the characters don’t know themselves we are offered an insight into them through the author? If that makes sense. See Fiona Scarlett’s writing.
MAYBE there is an audience who wants to read about an irritating and shallow 17 year old boy who literally has no regard for anyone and is gross towards women only in the sense that he has no critical thinking skills and wants to be liked by his peers, and maybe this audience also likes excruciatingly detailed play by plays of football matches and training sessions that further the plot NONE. but i am not that audience. I actually hope this book is a disservice to 17 year old boys everywhere or I fear for the future of the world.
April 25, 2025
#gifted
Fun and Games follows 17-year-old John Masterson as he finishes school and faces a long, listless summer on a small island off Ireland’s west coast.
With the Leaving Cert behind him, the holidays stretch ahead, full of possibility but not much direction. John’s focused on making his mark on the GAA pitch if only he could land a spot in the big match of the summer. Keeping up with the lads is everything.
The older, more experienced Amber, working alongside him at the hotel, holds sway, too. It’s only a bit of craic, nothing serious like. At least, that’s what he tries tell himself.
At home, things are tense: his sister Kay’s wedding looms, and the fallout from those photos of his mam still lingers—his parents are now apart, and the whole town had a gawp. No one talks about it, but it burbles beneath the surface.
As the summer rolls on, McHugh captures with great sharpness and dark humour the messiness of teenage life, especially the awkward lurch from boyhood to manhood. The bravado, the bluster, the constant undercurrent of self-doubt; the moments of crackling banter, followed by flashes of cruelty and the scraps of honesty between lads when their guard slips.
From the sweat and swagger of football to tedious hotel shifts, awkward flirtations, the slagging and utter fear of not getting ‘it’ right amongst him and his mates, alongside that tight pull of home, it’s raw, real, and painfully familiar. John oscillates between apathy and anger as life, it seems, happens to him rather than because of him.
Beneath the laughs and the rough edges, there’s real tenderness, with quiet moments of connection, honesty, and the kind of emotional strength that sneaks up on you.
McHugh has a brilliant ear for dialogue and emotional nuance. This read, which, in its most basic summation, is about how men relate to men and how they, in turn, relate to women, is darkly funny, heartfelt, and, well, pitch-perfect.
Fun and Games is a great read altogether; highly recommended!
Thanks to 4th Estate for kindly sending me an advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.
Fun and Games follows 17-year-old John Masterson as he finishes school and faces a long, listless summer on a small island off Ireland’s west coast.
With the Leaving Cert behind him, the holidays stretch ahead, full of possibility but not much direction. John’s focused on making his mark on the GAA pitch if only he could land a spot in the big match of the summer. Keeping up with the lads is everything.
The older, more experienced Amber, working alongside him at the hotel, holds sway, too. It’s only a bit of craic, nothing serious like. At least, that’s what he tries tell himself.
At home, things are tense: his sister Kay’s wedding looms, and the fallout from those photos of his mam still lingers—his parents are now apart, and the whole town had a gawp. No one talks about it, but it burbles beneath the surface.
As the summer rolls on, McHugh captures with great sharpness and dark humour the messiness of teenage life, especially the awkward lurch from boyhood to manhood. The bravado, the bluster, the constant undercurrent of self-doubt; the moments of crackling banter, followed by flashes of cruelty and the scraps of honesty between lads when their guard slips.
From the sweat and swagger of football to tedious hotel shifts, awkward flirtations, the slagging and utter fear of not getting ‘it’ right amongst him and his mates, alongside that tight pull of home, it’s raw, real, and painfully familiar. John oscillates between apathy and anger as life, it seems, happens to him rather than because of him.
Beneath the laughs and the rough edges, there’s real tenderness, with quiet moments of connection, honesty, and the kind of emotional strength that sneaks up on you.
McHugh has a brilliant ear for dialogue and emotional nuance. This read, which, in its most basic summation, is about how men relate to men and how they, in turn, relate to women, is darkly funny, heartfelt, and, well, pitch-perfect.
Fun and Games is a great read altogether; highly recommended!
Thanks to 4th Estate for kindly sending me an advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.
May 9, 2025
Fun And Games / John Patrick McHugh
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
~ He despised his body and his face and his hair and he was starting to recall that he was starting to dislike his own personality a fair amount too… ~
A seriously fresh take on the coming-of-age novel. Set on an island off the coast of Mayo, John is spending his Leaving Cert summer caught between work, GAA, and first-ish love. And it’s all packed into one wild, emotional ride. I couldn’t put it down.
From the get-go, it leans into the cringe in the best way—his ma has a nude leaked, his parents aren’t really together, and his friendships are on shaky ground. It’s messy, awkward, emotional, and totally gripping.
Amber’s a character I really wanted more from. She’s more than just the girl John’s casually shifting, and honestly, she got done dirty.
But the heart of it is John and his mates, especially through the GAA. It nails the highs and lows of teenage male friendship, all while the pressure of results day looms in the background. Like a mate of mine said, it’s not a girl-goes-to-Trinity story…but it has that same sharp tone, just with more grit and freshness.
Also, I might be biased because I grew up there, but any book that name-drops Louisburgh gets a bonus point…even if the island beat them.
Funny, honest, and full of feeling - a great read. Well done JPMH.
Audiobook Length: 9hrs, 53mins
Narrator: Ian O’Reilly
🎧 Listened to on @borrowbox 🎧
Read: 06/05/25 - 09/05/25
Release Date: 24/04/25
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
~ He despised his body and his face and his hair and he was starting to recall that he was starting to dislike his own personality a fair amount too… ~
A seriously fresh take on the coming-of-age novel. Set on an island off the coast of Mayo, John is spending his Leaving Cert summer caught between work, GAA, and first-ish love. And it’s all packed into one wild, emotional ride. I couldn’t put it down.
From the get-go, it leans into the cringe in the best way—his ma has a nude leaked, his parents aren’t really together, and his friendships are on shaky ground. It’s messy, awkward, emotional, and totally gripping.
Amber’s a character I really wanted more from. She’s more than just the girl John’s casually shifting, and honestly, she got done dirty.
But the heart of it is John and his mates, especially through the GAA. It nails the highs and lows of teenage male friendship, all while the pressure of results day looms in the background. Like a mate of mine said, it’s not a girl-goes-to-Trinity story…but it has that same sharp tone, just with more grit and freshness.
Also, I might be biased because I grew up there, but any book that name-drops Louisburgh gets a bonus point…even if the island beat them.
Funny, honest, and full of feeling - a great read. Well done JPMH.
Audiobook Length: 9hrs, 53mins
Narrator: Ian O’Reilly
🎧 Listened to on @borrowbox 🎧
Read: 06/05/25 - 09/05/25
Release Date: 24/04/25
April 24, 2025
We spend the summer with our protagonist John on the West Coast of Ireland as he plays on his parish Gaelic Football team (different sport than soccer), spends time with his friends, tries to plan for the future, and has a very confusing and messy relationship. There are undoubtably some similarities between this book and the books of Sally Rooney - both follow young Irish people and both deal with young love. Although this book feels distinctly male - there are long sequences describing Gaelic Football game play a la Friday Night Lights and the point of view of 17 year old John when it comes to his romantic relationship is brutal to read. I view it as a positive that I was cringing so hard while reading about John's relationship - I think McHugh did an excellent job putting the reader in that headspace but that being said it's not really a headspace where I'd like to be. I would love to read a book from his older sister or romantic partner's point of view. I think this book is super readable and fun for a lover of Ireland (me!) and something that would be fun for a beach vacation sort of vibe.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews