Exciting Times

When you leave Ireland aged 22 to spend your parents' money, it's called a gap year. When Ava leaves Ireland aged 22 to make her own money, she's not sure what to call it, but it involves:

- a badly-paid job in Hong Kong, teaching English grammar to rich children;
- Julian, who likes to spend money on Ava and lets her move into his guest room;
- Edith, who Ava meets while Julian is out of town and actually listens to her when she talks;
- money, love, cynicism, unspoken feelings and unlikely connections.
Exciting times ensue.

On winning Blackwell's Debut Book of the Year Naoise said: "I love Blackwell's and even edited parts of Exciting Times in the Broad Street cafe during my time at Oxford, so this is a huge honour. Thank you so much to the booksellers for voting for me! The support means a lot."