Wild Ground is an emotive novel that doesn’t shy away from tackling difficult subjects and provides lots of food for thought. Danny and Neef meet when Neef moves to his Yorkshire town. They hope for a better life but are drawn into addiction and poverty like so many others they know. Neef doesn’t like her life, moves to London and changes her name to Jennifer but when Danny’s dad finds her and wants help to find his so , the past returns.

Wild Ground by Emily Usher and narrated by Natalie Gavin is a story of young love, poverty, racism, addiction in a little town in Yorkshire. The story is authentic and written with deepest integrity.

Neef and Danny were both outsiders in their town, finding solace in each other. They dreamed of being together forever, escaping their lives, but life began to weevil its way into their idyllic dreams and result in an outcome that neither could have forseen

The narration of Natalie Gavin is on point, achoing the desolation of the area and the grit, vulnerability and tenacity of the characters

Emily Usher writes with authenticy, it resonates and makes the heart ache. A tale of dreams crushed by the overarching reality of life. Heartbreaking and relatable, a compelling read

Thank you to Netgalley, Profile Books Audio | Serpent’s Tail Audio, the author Emily Usher and narrator Natalie Gavin for this ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

2.5/3

I really wanted to love this book coming, as it does, from my neck of the woods in Yorkshire. However I'm afraid the unremitting gloom eventually got me down.

I listened to the audio version which was extremely well read by Natalie Gavin. She was very clear and managed to portray Neef's helplessness but also her passions very well. I enjoyed the narration very much.

The story centres around Jennifer (Neef) and Danny whose relationship begins when Neef and her mother, Chrissy, move from Leeds to a quiet town in the countryside to become a family with Chrissy's latest boyfriend - landlord of the local pub, Barry.

Neef and Danny quickly become good friends and Danny tries to steer Neef away from her wild ways. However Danny has hurdles of his own to get over, being the only dual heritage child in the area. His home life is as fragmented as Neef's living with his grandmother, Mary. Danny's mum is dead and his father is persona non grata as far as Mary is concerned but he drifts in and out of Danny's life causing Neef to reevaluate her relationship with Danny who disappears the minute his father arrives on the scene.

The story follows a downward spiral from this point on with the odd bright spot being shortlived. Both Neef and Danny struggle to escape their chaotic upbringings that are steeped in addictive behaviours - both drugs and alcohol.

Emily Usher paints an almost totally bleak outlook for the pair. Neef seems to pin her whole happiness on Danny and few relationships could survive that pressure let alone one involving teenagers.

I think I was hoping for a more positive outcome by the end of the book (or indeed at any point). Having worked with the Children & Families Service I knew several families that could be likened to Neef or Danny's but while there were some children who were overwhelmed with helplessness there were many others who would fight not to carry on the downward spiral their parents were at the mercy of.

This book felt unnecessarily bleak at times and left a sour taste in the mouth.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Profile Books Audio for the advance review copy.

Wow. This novel was spellbinding and just completely heart-breaking at all the missed opportunities and losses. Neef/Jennifer was such a complex beautifully written character as was Danny and I will wait eagerly for whatever Emily Usher writes next.

Really tenderly focuses on Neef and Danny's friendship as it blossoms then burns out quietly. A lot of time was given to character exploration and development, so this is definitely more-so a character study than anything. However, there was also plot that held my attention. Why did Neef and Danny stop talking despite how close they were? The way I'd describe this is domestic solemnity.

My only qualm is I wish I knew more about Danny, as this is very much Neef's story. The start was also quite slow, so it took a while for my attention to catch - but when it did, I was so engaged by the story.

The audiobook narrator was fabulous and captured the story incredibly. Would definitely recommend this one for reading via audiobook.

3.5 stars! Poignant, dark and raw tale about poverty, abuse, drugs, neglect and racism that's primarily told from the perspective of Jen at 14 years of age. The story is set in northern England and the narrator did an excellent job in the telling of the story and capturing the voices of the various characters. Well written and thought out, albeit a sad and bleak story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance listener copy.