Wild Ground

Emily Usher grew up in West Yorkshire, and lived in Salford, Sheffield, and London before relocating to Australia. She was a winner of the Grieve Writing Competition (Hunters Writing Centre, NSW) for her short story 'Heartbeat'. Wild Ground is her first novel.

A glittering exploration of love's many faces - Wild Ground aches with hard-won hope and bruised tenderness
Written in a fresh northern vernacular tinged with romanticism and regret, Wild Ground is an intoxicating debut from a compelling new voice
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
It's incredible and I couldn't put it down ... Emily Usher's writing is extraordinary
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
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
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