A GOOD ANIMAL

A sheep farmer remembers the nine months that changed his life.

“When I walk these fields, I feel generations beside me”: So begins Maurer’s pastoral debut, set in a sleepy farm town outside Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It’s the summer of 1995, and high school senior Everett Lindt is unknowingly about to embark on the most life-changing year of his life. Born into a sheep-farming family, Everett has always seen his future clearly: Stay in his hometown, inherit the farm, and build his own legacy alongside the people he’s always known. His life begins to expand when he meets Mary, the new-to-town but well-traveled Coast Guard brat who wishes for nothing more than to attend art school in California. Everett can’t stop thinking about Mary and how she might fit into his dream life: “I couldn’t make her stay. The best I could hope for was to make her a little less eager to leave.” When their sweet and simple relationship becomes complicated, they must find a way forward—and toward their diametrically opposed dreams. Maurer does a lovely job of capturing the excitement, wonder, and all-consuming nature of first love. The intricacies of farming, sheep tending, and sheep showing, though clearly well researched and important to the plot, sometimes make the novel feel bogged down in detail. These farming sections are most effective when used to explore Lindt family dynamics, especially between Everett and his sister, Katie. As Katie prepares to show her beloved sheep Fluff for the first time, Everett promises himself he’ll be honest about the animal’s future. When faced with the reality of the moment, however, he can’t bring himself to destroy Katie’s innocence. Pacing issues aside, Maurer’s prose is undeniably beautiful and evocative, especially when writing about complex family dynamics and the realities of rural farm life.

A poignant portrait of a small-town teen with small-town dreams.