A long and moving novel about the process of grieving and the many different emotions that surface at such a time. Lara's mother has died of cancer. The beginning of the book explains much about Lara's close relationship with her vibrant and sometimes feckless mother and her worries that if her father ('the man' in the mum's terminology) cannot be found she will have to go to a home. Larry, 'the man', is found in the area of Australia known as the Wallingat; he is a farmer with a wife and four children - a loving father, who is delighted to find Lara once again. His wife, Gladwyn, is considerably less so, and she and older daughter Pearl make life difficult for Lara at Willy Nilly Farm. Conditions are rough on the homestead, and life is so difficult that Lara escapes as often as possible to the hill behind and a wild dingo dog whom she has befriended - Thunderwith. A particularly nasty bully adds to Lara's troubles, and her well-loved mum seems further away than ever. The country of Australia almost becomes a character in its own right with wonderful descriptions of the farm, fierce storms and the family's basic homestead, but when tragedy intervenes, Lara learns more about her stepmother and come to realise this is where she belongs. The theme of bereavement and how Lara comes to terms with the loss of her mother runs throughout the book. Superb.