Book Review - Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf

From Goodreads: Ever since Dad went off the deep end and decided he didn't need to work anymore -- insisting the Lord would provide -- Satchel O'Rye has felt stuck for life in his dying country town. A high school dropout drifting from one small carpentry job to the next, Satchel can see nothing beyond his own dreary duty to help keep the family afloat. But things start to change when he spies a strange doglike animal at a nearby mountain -- and mentions the fact to Chelsea Piper, an awkward young woman considered the local pariah. Could the animal he saw be a Tasmanian tiger, a marsupial thought to be extinct? And if they found it again, could it give them both a new chance at life?

Thoughts: One of the things I've found on my journey through Sonya Hartnett's work is her obvious growth as an author. From the beginning there was something special about her writing, a potential that was clear. The more I read of her work, the more that potential is fulfilled.
In this book, Hartnett creates believable characters, a setting you could walk into and recognise immediately and a scenario you want to believe is real. Part of her appeal for me is her economic use of words. It perfectly suits the sparse landscape she writes about. As always, after reading one of her books, I wonder why I take so long between them - looking forward to the next.

Challenges: Aussie Author Challenge