The Gulf

"A literary star is born." Australian Women's Weekly 'He found an egg at the park so he incubated it and this tortoise hatched out.' Skye's sixteen, and her mum's got yet another new boyfriend. Trouble is, Jason's bad news. Really bad. Now mum's quit her job and they're all moving north to Port Flinders, population nobody. 'That's a Southern Right Whale. They have the largest balls of any animal in the world.' She'd do anything to keep her ten-year-old brother safe. Things she can't even say out loud. And when Jason gets violent, Skye knows she has to take control. She's got to get Ben out and their mum's useless as. The train home to Adelaide leaves first thing each morning and they both need to be on it. Everything else can wait. 'Ladybirds bleed from their knees when they're stressed.' The Gulf is an acute, moving and uplifting story from the inimitable, alchemical imagination of Anna Spargo-Ryan. MORE PRAISE FOR THE PAPER HOUSE "Magical ... In a novel singularly about loss, The Paper House dances through its subject, dealing intelligently with tragedy without becoming grim itself. Wildly imaginative." Sydney Morning Herald "Equally heartbreaking, uplifting and insightful." Sunday Herald Sun PRAISE FOR THE GULF "Anna Spargo-Ryan is a rising star." Jo Case "Just a year after her debut novel The Paper House was released to enthusiastic reviews, Anna Spargo-Ryan returns with another impressive novel that will have readers feeling every emotion experienced by the beautifully written characters." Books+Publishing, 4 STARS "The brilliance in this novel is in the humour and believability of these characters combined with the tension as their lives unravel." The Australian