Holden Sheppard made a name for himself in the world of young adult fiction with his debut, Invisible Boys, which was recently adapted into a television series. In it, three young men from Geraldton, Western Australia, grapple with their sexuality in a hyper-masculinised environment.
Now, in his first novel written for adults, King of Dirt, one young(ish) man who has fled Geraldton after being outed by a mate, returns to rake over his choices and confront the forces that worked against him in his youth. It’s almost as if this new novel is an extension of the first, or a more wary, complex reckoning with its themes.
