It’s 1979. Eleven-year-old Jane Kelly is being bullied at school and faces a friendless, lonely summer until Acacia Miller moves next door. The two quickly become inseparable, but not everything is as rosy as it seems. Acacia remains secretive about her home life, despite Jane’s growing concerns about her new friend.
Twenty years later, a woman – whose identity remains a mystery for most of the novel – arrives at a refuge after fleeing an abusive relationship. A chance encounter with someone from her childhood challenges her to confront her own past.
Wildflower is a book about both the intentional and inadvertent consequences of keeping secrets and maintaining silence. Monique Mulligan offers a sensitive and nuanced exploration of domestic violence alongside other more subtle and insidious forms of violence that are often excused or even condoned. The dual narrative reveals the way attitudes towards and conversations about abuse have evolved since the 1970s, while reminding us of how far we still have to go.