The Yellow House

(Paperback)

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Winner of the 2018 The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award

'A dark, unsettling debut with chilling momentum...' SMH

Even before I knew anything about Granddad Les, Wally and me sometimes dared each other to see how close to the knackery we could get. It was way out in the bottom paddock, and Dad had banned us from going further than the dam. Wally said it was because the whole paddock was haunted. He said he could see ghosts wisping in the grass like sheets blown from the washing line. But even then I knew for sure that was a lie.

Ten-year-old Cub lives with her parents, older brother Cassie, and twin brother Wally on a lonely property bordering an abandoned cattle farm and knackery. Their lives are shadowed by the infamous actions of her Granddad Les in his yellow weatherboard house, just over the fence.

Although Les died twelve years ago, his notoriety has grown in Cub's lifetime and the local community have ostracised the whole family.

When Cub's estranged aunt Helena and cousin Tilly move next door into the yellow house, the secrets the family want to keep buried begin to bubble to the surface. And having been kept in the dark about her grandfather's crimes, Cub is now forced to come to terms with her family's murky history.

The Yellow House is a powerful novel about loyalty and betrayal; about the legacies of violence and the possibilities of redemption.

Reviews

'A spine-chilling & tightly woven story of the repercussions of horrific crimes & the way they can come to define a family and a town' - Ali Hammond, Dymocks

'Hearty congratulations to Emily O'Grady on being this year's Vogel Prize winner. Such an achievement. Emily's prose is sure and light as she delivers this compelling story about the fabulous character, Cub, and the confounding world she has been born into. A semi-rural setting, our endless fascination with the different faces of family dysfunction, a writing style that is full of light and shadow and grace, this story will be sure to leave the readers heart in their mouth.' - Suzy Wilson, Riverbend Books

'I so enjoyed reading this novel which kept me enthralled to the end. It is a taut and gripping story with emotional tension rippling through every page.' - Jenny Barry, Books Plus

Author Bio

Emily O'Grady was born in Brisbane in 1991. The Yellow House, her critically acclaimed first novel won the Australian/Vogel's Literary Award and was shortlisted for the People's Choice Prize at the Queensland Literary Awards.