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Sensitively and beautifully written, The Eye of the Sheep by Sophie Laguna is a heartfelt tale of loss and the pain of love.

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About the Book

In many ways Jimmy Flick is just like any other boy—he loves his mum, has a vivid imagination and his father doesn’t understand him. But Jimmy is different in ways the world struggles to understand. When his exuberance causes an accident with the lawnmower, badly injuring his father, the cracks in this struggling suburban family begin to show. Yet his father’s frustration and hard fists are not what tear this family apart. Can Jimmy find his way through grief and peril to bring this family back together?

My Thoughts

Told through the unique perspective of Jimmy Flick—a boy who understands too little and too much—it’s easy to see why The Eye of the Sheep won the 2015 Miles Franklin award. Laguna is an experienced writer and her skill is evident in the subtle portrayal of Flick family life and the rich subtext that gives readers so much scope for understanding. This is the kind of novel that deepens on every read (I’ve read it three times). Laguna gets us right inside Jimmy’s head. At first I found it hard to believe that a six year old, even one as special as Jimmy, could be so eloquent about particles and cells, but I soon got used to his way of seeing the world. There are some events that I found harrowing, not least because Jimmy is so accepting and emotionless, that at times I had to set the book aside. None of this detracts from the impact of this book, which stayed with me long after I’d finished, and had me picking it up again a few weeks later.

The Eye of the Sheep is the first Sophie Laguna novel I’ve read and I look forward to sourcing more of her impressive backlist.

About the Author

Sofie Laguna originally studied to be a lawyer at the University of New South Wales, but after deciding law was not for her, she moved to Melbourne to train as an actor. Sofie worked for a number of years as an actor at the same time as completing a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Sofie is now an author and playright writing for both adults and children.

Her many books for young people have been named Honour Books and Notable Books in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards and have been shortlisted in the Queensland Premier’s Awards. She has been published in the US and the UK and in translation throughout Europe and Asia.

Her picture book, On Our Way to the Beach, was included in the White Raven 2005 annual selection of outstanding international children’s books by the International Youth Library (Associated Project if UNESCO)

In 2008 Sofie released her first novel for adults, One Foot Wrong, to international acclaim. It was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and long-listed for the Miles Franklin Award. Screen rights for the book have been optioned and Sofie has recently completed the screenplay.

Sofie continues to write for a wide readership, from picture books for very young children, to series for older readers, to novels for adults.

Sofie lives in Melbourne with her partner and their young son.