Awards Received
Winner of the Great Reads Award 2019, Junior Category
- Description
- Praise
- Bonus Content
- About the Author
- Reader Reviews
'He's wearing a hoodie with the hood up so I'm not sure who he thinks he is but I think it's Da. Then the front door bangs open and four big guards come charging in.'
Set in working-class Ireland with true-to-life characters and relationships, this pacy and action-focused book will get any teenage boy reading.
Kevin’s older brother Adam has turned into a bad guy since their dad died – he and his mates burn out a car they’ve stolen, trash the local community centre, and to cap it all, Kevin finds a gun under the floorboards. And then there’s Uncle Davy, just out of prison and already back to his old habits. When Kevin meets another kid who’s lost his dad, a new friendship forms – but both boys soon find themselves caught up in a seriously dangerous game.
This tightly plotted and absorbing novel follows the story of Kevin – a likeable teenager but unlikely hero – who gets caught in a web of crime and deception.
Siobhán Parkinson, publisher at Little Island Books, says: ‘We were delighted when Dangerous Games turned up in our inbox. It can be so difficult to find a truly brilliant book you can give to a teenage boy and know he will enjoy it – for its likeable hero as much as for its pace and action.’
‘An honest story of the lives of young men in a fragmented society. I loved it.’ – Senator Lynn Ruane
‘A gripping urban tale. Butler is the real deal.’ – Brian Conaghan, winner of the YA Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards and the Costa Award
‘The plot whips along and the dialogue is particularly strong … It’s a gritty, honest, compelling novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it.’ – Top Choice: Teens and Young Adults – The Irish Independent
‘If ever there was a book to encourage your young fella to abandon the X Box, this is it. Excellent.’ – Anne Cunningham, The Meath Chronicle
‘The depiction of working-class life is both welcome and nuanced.’ – The Irish Times
‘With the Irish setting an added bonus, this should surely attract and keep the interest of those in their early teens in need of good fiction … A name to watch’ – Books Ireland Magazine
‘Dangerous Games is a brilliant read… it is a heartwarming story and Butler grasps the mind of a 14 year old well. The dialogue and Irish brogue is a delight.’ – Tierney A, a 5* Goodreads review
Author James Butler speaks about the inspiration behind the book:
‘My own mother died suddenly when I was ten. So while working as a primary school teacher I was always aware of those pupils who had suffered the death of a parent or who lived in households where one parent was absent. I also saw how children and young people, without realising it, can absorb the ethos for good or bad of the environment they live in. A good role model can make a huge difference in a young person’s life and is even more important to the child suffering the loss of a significant adult.’
Description
'He's wearing a hoodie with the hood up so I'm not sure who he thinks he is but I think it's Da. Then the front door bangs open and four big guards come charging in.'
Set in working-class Ireland with true-to-life characters and relationships, this pacy and action-focused book will get any teenage boy reading.
Kevin’s older brother Adam has turned into a bad guy since their dad died – he and his mates burn out a car they’ve stolen, trash the local community centre, and to cap it all, Kevin finds a gun under the floorboards. And then there’s Uncle Davy, just out of prison and already back to his old habits. When Kevin meets another kid who’s lost his dad, a new friendship forms – but both boys soon find themselves caught up in a seriously dangerous game.
This tightly plotted and absorbing novel follows the story of Kevin – a likeable teenager but unlikely hero – who gets caught in a web of crime and deception.
Siobhán Parkinson, publisher at Little Island Books, says: ‘We were delighted when Dangerous Games turned up in our inbox. It can be so difficult to find a truly brilliant book you can give to a teenage boy and know he will enjoy it – for its likeable hero as much as for its pace and action.’
Praise
‘An honest story of the lives of young men in a fragmented society. I loved it.’ – Senator Lynn Ruane
‘A gripping urban tale. Butler is the real deal.’ – Brian Conaghan, winner of the YA Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards and the Costa Award
‘The plot whips along and the dialogue is particularly strong … It’s a gritty, honest, compelling novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it.’ – Top Choice: Teens and Young Adults – The Irish Independent
‘If ever there was a book to encourage your young fella to abandon the X Box, this is it. Excellent.’ – Anne Cunningham, The Meath Chronicle
‘The depiction of working-class life is both welcome and nuanced.’ – The Irish Times
‘With the Irish setting an added bonus, this should surely attract and keep the interest of those in their early teens in need of good fiction … A name to watch’ – Books Ireland Magazine
‘Dangerous Games is a brilliant read… it is a heartwarming story and Butler grasps the mind of a 14 year old well. The dialogue and Irish brogue is a delight.’ – Tierney A, a 5* Goodreads review
Bonus Content
Author James Butler speaks about the inspiration behind the book:
‘My own mother died suddenly when I was ten. So while working as a primary school teacher I was always aware of those pupils who had suffered the death of a parent or who lived in households where one parent was absent. I also saw how children and young people, without realising it, can absorb the ethos for good or bad of the environment they live in. A good role model can make a huge difference in a young person’s life and is even more important to the child suffering the loss of a significant adult.’