Sugartown

Looking for a new start, Saoirse finds herself lost in a place that was once home. Flawed as she is, she has stayed with me! – Bryony 

An Irish Sunday Independent Book of the Year Pick for 2025!Shortlisted for The New Adult Book Prize 2026!’Caragh Maxwell is a writer to watch.’  A remarkable new Irish debut about growing up and moving backwardsWhat do you do when you’ve ruined your life? You go home to your mother, if you’re lucky enough still to have one. Saoirse Maher wouldn’t recommend it. Leaving home wasn’t supposed to be temporary. When she moved to London, Saoirse was leaving Ireland behind for good, and with it her messy, broken family.

But it turns out that starting again isn’t as easy as she imagined, and when her five-year relationship goes south, Saoirse finds herself out of options. And so here she is, trudging back to her mother Máire’s house up a side road on the outskirts of Irish civilisation. Except the world she comes back to is nothing like the one she left behind. Her mother has a new family, and everyone else seems to be moving on.

But between the drinking, drugs, and an entirely healthy, not-problematic-at-all-thanks relationship with Charlie, there’s plenty to distract her. Don’t look too closely, and everything’s fine. Saoirse is just fine. ‘This is such an absorbing read; shocking and brutal at times, but incredibly tender at others.

Fans of Megan Nolan or Niamh Mulvey will love it.’ NIAMH HARGAN

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