I thought I would love this one. The premise sounded so up my street but instead I was really disappointed. The pacing was too slow and I didn’t find anyone particularly endearing. I ended up DNFing 42% of the way in.

We all remember that first heartbreak, be it as a kid and then as an adult, it hurts. When prejudice plays apart it more than the two of you, I loved this book it remind me of a teenage love that was not approved of by my parents. One to recommend.

When we meet Jennifer, she’s working in a London cafe, working hard to leave her past behind her; but when her past walks back into her present, we are taken back to her childhood and adolescence, to a time and place where she was known as Neef, and Neef and Danny were inseparable, until the relentless forces around them, and the weight of the trauma they carried, created a space from which there was no going back.

Usher breathes such life into her two beautifully drawn, struggling characters, drawn together through circumstances involving loss, abandonment and neglect, coping with the losses of their childhoods through their creativity. Her a storyteller and writer; him a deft and intuitive gardener, nurturing his plants and flowers. They develop a deep bond that turns from friendship to love, sharing their plans, their hopes, their dreams of making it out of their rural Yorkshire town; but both are coming from places of trauma, at times flawed in their decisions and self-destructive in their actions, sometimes coming from a place of self-preservation or a deep need to be loved, even if it’s by the people who have hurt them the most.

There is so much raw emotion in this story, exploring themes including racism and the prejudice and obstacles faced by individuals and mixed race couples, generational trauma, the destructive and cyclical nature of addiction, mental health, poverty, and allowing ourselves to move on from the trauma and mistakes of our past.

This is difficult reading at times; our narrator Neef’s story, from a childhood of yearning for a life beyond her world of neglect in the shadow of addiction, to a self-destructive adolescence when Danny cannot always be what she wants, needs him to be; and the losses, prejudice and abandonment that Danny has endured. But there is also deep friendship, love and that particular indelible joy of first love, as well as meaningful moments of resilience in the face of adversity. And I absolutely loved the ending of this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the DRC.

"Wild Ground" by Emily Usher is such a special book. Some have likened it to "Normal People" but whilst I found that and the characters trivial, "Wild Ground" really goes for the heart and once it has hold, it won't let go. Neef and Danny are such likeable characters and they have a great friendship set against the background of their troubled family. You can see the slow decline coming in both their personal lives and relationship but yet you read on clinging for that small seed of hope.

Jen(nifer) or "Neef" has had a really tough life with spells as an inpatient in a mental health unit. She has grown up in poverty with a drug addicted mother with a penchant for men who abuse her. Finally, Jen's mother meets an much older bloke who has a pub in a small town and they move there where Jen meets Danny, a mixed race boy who will change her life. Forward into the future and Jen has escaped to Brixton and is working in a cafe when Denz, Danny's father tracks her down looking for his son. Through flashbacks and events in the present the story of Neef and Danny is revealed. The story is very well written but the pace could be a little quicker in parts. It is an interesting, layered coming of age story with characters who are fleshed out so that you really can visualise them and care about them.

I liked this book. It's not my usual type of read though. I found the ending to be unsatisfactory for want of a better word - hence 3 stars. Potentially could have been a 4 star read.

Oh wow. This was a gem of a book. From the get go, I knew I’d love this. The setting is so close to where I now call home that I felt connected to the backdrop and the familiar accents and people. There’s a darkness running throughout this book, keeping you on edge and hoping and praying that the characters make the right choices. The story is something I’ve seen time and time again in people I used to know, it hits so close to home and is so real and raw.

Usher doesn’t shy away from the painful truths of poverty, racism and abuse. Despite it all, there’s so much hope and love. I absolutely adored Neef, or rather Jen’s, story. Her longing for love and acceptance was something I think everyone can relate to, and I’m so happy she got to feel that warmth eventually. Danny was so beautifully broken, in a way that’s often hard to convey in writing, but Usher manages it brilliantly. There’s an ache between these two characters, one that leaves the reader feel heartbroken for them both.

The entire book is brimming with emotion and humanity. I simply adored it, even though it was a tough read, it was done so well that I’ve come away feeling light. And I love the spotlight on the North. Simply mesmerising.

An excellent story of first love in a terrible upbringing. With clear parallels to Juno loves Legs, this is a more gritty account of abuse and drugs as two teenagers try to come to terms with loss and neglect in their childhood. I loved the characters and couldn't put this book down for wanting to find out what happens to them. Overall a sad but uplifting tale with just enough ambiguity at the end to keep you wondering...
#WildGround #NetGalley

4.5 ✨


It's one of those books, one that builds up nicely, to the point you're in too deep and you care a lot about what happened to these characters, and what will happen to them next.
The inevitable slow decline for Neef, that is horrible to read but you have to. You just have to know.
The ending left me with a tear or two in my eyes , and hope.
Incredibly good.