I really enjoyed the audiobook version of this story. Main character Majella lives with her alcoholic mother and disappeared dad in post-Troubles Northern Ireland. She's coded as autistic and the reader roots for her small everyday victories - buying a new duvet is a huge moment worthy of celebration. While the book opens with Majella's grandmother having been murdered, and while Majella's grief is a feature of the story, the main story is Majella's interaction with the characters in her small town.. and how she learns to grow with and in spite of them. 

The book's NOT dark, but it could have been; it's funny, and VERY Northern Irish - witty, dry, sharp, and you'll learn a new word or ten if that's not your lingo. 

Similar to How to Build a Boat in how it features a character coded as autistic, but without that being a centerpiece.. but Majella's an older, wiser, more integrated character. Lovable and in a different way.