Hope Farm (novel)

Hope Farm is a 2015 novel by Australian author Peggy Frew.^[1] The novel follows a 13-year-old girl named Silver who moves to a rural commune, Hope Farm, after her mother Ishtar falls in love with its leader.^[2] The novel was shortlisted for the 2016 Miles Franklin Award and the 2016 Stella Prize.^[3][4]

Hope Farm received generally positive reviews. In a review in The Guardian, Meredith Jaffe wrote that the novel effectively portrayed the complexity and pain of the relationship between Silver and her mother.^[5] Reviewing the book in The Sydney Morning Herald, Thuy On praised Frew's ability to explore a wide spectrum of human relationships, from the maternal to the platonic to the sexual.^[6] Patrick Allington wrote in a review in Australian Book Review that the middle portion of the novel was less compelling, but that the novel had a strong climax and that the relationship between Silver and Ishtar was absorbing.^[7]