Sprigs

Two boys' schools meet for the college rugby championship on a Saturday afternoon, and Priya, fifteen and never quite fitting in, watches from the touchline. That night the team throws a party, her friends disappear and she is unsure what to do. What happens to her is a sexual assault by members of the team, and the book follows the weeks afterwards through a large cast: the boys and their justifications, Priya and the people around her, parents, teachers and a school administration that tries to manage the damage without admitting to a cover-up. When rumours turn into confrontation, wealth and privilege close ranks. The novel examines violence, racism, toxic masculinity, power and privilege.

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About the book

Form

Novel

Set in

New Zealand

First published

2020

Author's age

37 when first published

ISBN

9780473526382 (Lawrence & Gibson, New Zealand)