Anchor Point by Alice Robinson

When her mother disappears into the bush,ten-year-old Laura makes an impulsive decision that will haunt her for decades. Despite her anger and grief, she sets about running the house, taking care of her younger sister, and helping her father clear their wild acreage to carve out a farm. But gradually they realise that while they may own the land, they cannot tame it – nor can they escape their past.

Anchor Point is an eloquent and arresting Australian novel no reader will easily forget.