THE WILD GRASS

A debut novel offers a fantasy set on a sheep farm on Australia’s Kangaroo Island.

Eighth grader Samantha Carter, the daughter of sheep farmers, is on the precipice of life-altering changes. But right now, her biggest concern is qualifying for a netball playoff. That and the upper-grade bullies Sam must contend with daily. Meanwhile, this season’s recently birthed lambs are being carefully tended in preparation for their ill-fated destinies. Readers meet these happy babies as they munch contentedly on savory grass under the watchful eyes of their mothers, who “lived with the certainty of loss and the acute anxiety caused by the uncertainty of its timing.” Readers, unlike the humans in Brasher’s dark, inventive tale, are privy to the flock’s conversations. Indeed, almost all of the animals—the koala, kangaroos, and a variety of birds—speak, sharing the wisdom of their ancient ancestors and philosophizing about the future. Unlike the sheep, which were introduced to the island by humans, the Indigenous animals lace their dialogue with Kaurna, Aboriginal terminology. Fortunately, the author provides a helpful glossary. Parallel dramas among the humans and the sheep propel the disturbing and poignant narrative. Sam, who develops a relationship with one of the lambs, and her older brother, Peter, herald the future transformation of the Carter farm. Twin lambs Spring and Hope make separate breaks to explore the mysterious world beyond the fences. And Wartu, the crusty old koala with the wisdom of an elder, becomes a major secondary character when he ventures near the humans for the first time, knowing he must leave the safety of home and head west in search of food. “Well, go I must,” he tells the dark-winged birds who see all that is happening. “Most of the trees here have been eaten bare by my brethren and many of the others hacked down by the two-ups” (humans). Brasher’s ominous prologue is realized in a heartbreaking slaughterhouse episode likely to create some vegetarians.

Well-developed winged and four-legged characters star in an imaginative, haunting farm tale.