A Good Animal - by Sara Maurer (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"A stunning, unforgettable, and deeply American novel." -- Julia Phillips, author of Bear and National Book Award finalist Disappearing Earth

A heart-wrenching coming-of-age debut novel by a stunning new voice in fiction, for readers of Barbara Kingsolver and Ann Patchett.

In the farm country outside Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan--a border town where life moves slow and dreams run fast--most kids want out. Not Everett Lindt. He's set on staying put, rebuilding his family's sheep farm, and carving a future from the land he loves.

Then he meets Mary, a new girl in town with restless energy and bigger plans. When she discovers she's pregnant, Everett sees a life together; Mary, however, is desperate to find a way out. Together, they make an impulsive choice--one that could change everything.

Tense, lyrical, and deeply felt, Sara Maurer's unforgettable debut breathtakingly captures the ache of first love, the beauty and brutality of rural life, and how one decision can echo through generations and shape who we become.

Review Quotes

"An aching, exquisite story of young love, curtailed by a country where our freedoms have to be bought, A Good Animal is a stunning, unforgettable, and deeply American novel. It is about sex and strength and hard, satisfying work; about dreams and opportunities and what we lose, have lost, are still losing. It's about where we come from, where we're going, and who breaks our hearts along the way." --Julia Phillips, author of Bear and National Book Award finalist Disappearing Earth

"A gorgeous waltz of a novel, written with great tenderness for the rural ways of life and insight into the human condition." --Jung Yun, author of O Beautiful and Shelter

"From the first sentence of her debut novel, Sara Maurer transports us to picturesque Sault Ste. Marie, where the rural way of life feels frozen in time. Everett Lindt is certain of his future there, even after he meets a new girl in town with big dreams. With pitch perfect prose, Maurer captures the intensity of Everett's first love, and the haunting mistakes he makes despite his good intentions." --Tracey Lange, New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans

"Debut author Sara Maurer storms out of the literary gates with a deeply felt story that explores how we come to learn what love is. This soul-stirring, elegiac novel reads like a classic and builds to a conclusion that will leave the reader breathless." --Christina Clancy, bestselling author of The Snowbirds

"A nostalgic and poignant coming-of-age novel that takes place in rural Michigan, A Good Animal will hook you the moment you read the haunting prologue. Maurer juxtaposes a teen's yearning to grow up against not being fully ready for adult responsibilities--along with the contrast of beauty and joy against the sometimes harsh realities of life and death on a farm--and bottles it up into a story of all the ways love shapes us that you won't want to put down." --Kristin Koval, author of Penitence

"A Good Animal is a wonderful debut novel filled with tremendous heart and an authentic appreciation for place and the natural world...You won't be able to stop reading this deeply affecting story of star-crossed love and hometown heartbreak." --Nickolas Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs and A Forty Year Kiss

"Sara Maurer's beautifully written novel is humane, frank, and informed by a strong sense of place. It is a quiet, honest story about human needs, desires, and choices written with nuance, kindness, and grit. Reading A Good Animal is an immersive experience; this reader emerged caring for a widened circle of fellow travelers on the earth." --Ellen Airgood, author of Tin Camp Road and South of Superior

About the Author

SARA MAURER lives with her family in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She earned her bachelor's degree from Albion College and master's from Eastern Michigan University. She honed her creative writing craft while completing Stanford's Continuing Studies Novel Writing Certificate program. Her short fiction can be found in Dunes Review, Hominum Journal, and The Twin Bill. A Good Animal is her first novel.