Description

‘Aches with hard-won hope and bruised tenderness’ Colin Walsh, author of Kala

‘An intoxicating debut from a compelling new voice’ Adelle Stripe, author of Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile

Neef and Danny. Danny and Neef. They were inseparable for all those years. Outsiders in their rural Yorkshire town, they clung to an imagined future achieved through Neef’s talent for storytelling and Danny’s for gardening. But as they grew older, their dreams strained against the same forces that held their families hostage: substance abuse, poverty, racism. They began to lose sight of their future and each other.

Now, Neef works in a cafe in London and calls herself Jennifer. Jennifer is sober and determined to stay anonymous, until Danny’s father shows up looking for his missing son. As the memories she once fled resurface, Neef is forced to face the decisions she’s made and the person she’s become. Heartbreaking and hopeful, Wild Ground is an achingly tender novel of first love and second chances.

Publisher Review

A glittering exploration of love’s many faces – Wild Ground aches with hard-won hope and bruised tenderness — Colin Walsh, author of Kala Written in a fresh northern vernacular tinged with romanticism and regret, Wild Ground is an intoxicating debut from a compelling new voice — Adelle Stripe, author of Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile Wild Ground is a heart-breaking tale of love and loss, and as addictive as Normal People. But, more than that: a thought-provoking examination of how Whiteness pervades and causes harm, how our histories haunt us, and how dreams grow and wither. A propulsive, gut-wrenching read — Jenna Clake, author of Disturbance It’s incredible and I couldn’t put it down … Emily Usher’s writing is extraordinary — Carmen Marcus, author of How Saints Die Emily Usher is a wonderfully restrained and unfailingly compassionate storyteller, and she has written a deep and all-around beautiful debut novel. Wild Ground is a love story that captures the realities of being young and oppressed – yet hopeful and searching. It is honest and so touching as to be heartbreaking — Beth Raymer, author of Fireworks Every Night Wild Ground is a novel for anyone who remembers the intensity and vagaries of first love or has ever fought for survival against stacked odds. Emily Usher has written an aching coming-of-age story that is heartbreaking and profound, gorgeous and unforgettable about two teenagers’ struggle to thrive in a small English town. This book shimmers with longing. It beautifully encapsulates the powerlessness of adolescence against forces of poverty, discrimination, and addiction and the ways a lost first love can haunt someone forever — Mary Lowry, author of The Roxy Letters Reading this book is like holding a heartbeat in your hands. It’s bare, melodic, and thrums with a bold and aching pulse. I couldn’t look away from Neef and Danny, the untamed and sacrificial love they share in a violent world. This is a hypnotic story of both beauty and betrayal, one that will settle beneath your skin and set fire to your soul — Amy Jo Burns, author of Mercury Usher’s prose is electric – each character, place, and location surges with a gripping urgency and vitality. Her narrative world, however chilling, feels totally honest, alive, and exacting. Usher’s pacing, too, is remarkable; each turn is unexpected and yet wholly fitting, each transition between present and past seamless and ensnaring. Both harrowing and hopeful, a generative bildungsroman from an exciting debut novelist. * Kirkus reviews *