The Lost Child

'The Lost Child is a haunting tale of family life, identity and coming-of-age from an author who writes with a vivid sense of time and place.' * Launceston Examiner * `Debut novelist McCourt steers clear of feyness to produce an account that is notable for its freshness, vividly drawn characters and atmospheric setting...McCourt's is a name to note.' * Daily Mail * 'A wonderful first novel...gripping and at times heart wrenching...will keep you turning the pages.' -- The Big Book Club 'This book's simple-seeming title gets more complex as it becomes apparent that there is more than one candidate for the role, and that lost can mean different things...the story is set south of the Coorong and that dramatic and sometimes eerie landscape is evoked with clarity and tenderness.' * Age/Sydney Morning Herald/Canberra Times * '[The Lost Child] reminds me of the quality of Ruth Park's writing in evoking the strengths and weaknesses of a small community...and the tragedies and humour amongst the everyday...A multi-layered novel with symbolism which stays with you after the last page. A significant writer with compassion. Highly recommended for adult and YA readers.' -- Hazel Edwards 'There's a watchful intensity to McCourt's writing, a remarkable ability to discover within the most concrete details a rich and raw emotion...a novel that is at once very familiar and entirely fresh.' * Weekend Australian * 'There are echoes of Tim Winton in McCourt's coastal small-town coming-of-age/breaking of spirit/triumphing over the odds under a wide sky-style writing...plainspoken but deftly crafted, laced with both humour and searing sadness. Highly recommended.' * NZ Herald * `Suzanne McCourt has with great empathy and skill created the turmoil in the mind of a little girl...a haunting story, it also demonstrates the power of the human psyche to overcome past difficulties and find was to fully live.' * Otago Daily Times * `McCourt's writing is assured and sinuous.' -- Belle Place, Readings 'Written in beautiful, slow prose...This is a promising debut...You can't help but be keen to see what she does next.' * Adelaide Advertiser * 'The Lost Child is an assured and bittersweet coming-of-age tale with a vivid sense of time and place...The novel is a strong addition to the shelves of Australian literary fiction.' * Australian Bookseller and Publisher *