Alaska

Saliba has written an elegiac, wise and moving novel.

Cameron Woodhead, The Saturday Age

Alaska is a gorgeous, gorgeous book. It's breathless and aching and it completely captures that swirl of coming-of-age emotions. The fear and hope and vulnerability we all feel. The fleeting moments of deep happiness pitched against the uncertainties of the world and your place in it ... this book is brave and true and full of heart and soul ... I completely loved Alaska.

Nomes, inkcrush

There are books imbued with a certain kind of magic. There are books we read and then, then, there are books that invite complete immersion. A gift from an Author to a reader, to give words that have texture and fluidity, richness and depth, a narrative that invites participation and hides the world around us behind a veil of enchantment ... Alaska ... is such a book.

The Book Gryffin

Evoked clearly and brilliantly even through third person is Mia's voice. Her tone is quietly intense, sometimes almost melancholy, and full of wonder ... Everything about this book is completely gorgeous. The prose, the story, the message; even the design ... Alaska is a quietly powerful story that could teach anyone lessons about appreciating the world and the people around us. A definite must-read.

Skye Handley

After I first saw and heard of Alaska, I couldn't wait to read it ... it seemed to be such a different book, so beautiful and intriguing ... and I wasn't let down, but lifted up - it was very different from the brief description's I'd read, there is so much more to it and I loved it! ... I adored how Sue brought across the conservation side of the story and it made it a truly amazing read ...

Romi, Where The Writer Comes To Write

I loved how atmospheric the prose was - it leaps and bounds, free from the restraints of capital letters and rules. There is also this quiet intensity about it that invites you into Mia's world, into Alaska.

Cass, Words on Paper

Alaska is a dazzling novel. It's poignant, heart wrenching and encapsulates the emotions and vulnerability of a young girl as she finds her place in her world.

Cassandra Hole

Some books shout from the page, strident and bold, demanding to be heard. Other books whisper in your ear. Almost as if to say: 'Come closer. I have something to tell you.' So you lean in, sink into the words, and let yourself be submerged. Alaska is one of the latter. It is a quiet, seemingly simple story, with great emotional depth beneath the plot ... There is something almost dream-like about the experience of reading this book – the lyrical flow, the delicate handling of the dialogue, the beauty of the language ... Absolutely beautiful.

Reynje, Melbourne

Effortless and beautiful, with really spare and graceful writing. One of those wonderful YA books that really captures the pain and loneliness of adolescence (late teens, I'm assuming). Didn't think I'd like it, and it really resonated with me. Not a single excess word or unneeded scene. Really gorgeous.

Suzanne, Perth

I fell in love with it instantly.

Launceston Examiner

I honestly have not read a more beautiful book in a long time ... It's one of those books that reminds you, if you ever forget, why reading is amazing.

Megan Burke, Literary Life

Saliba creates a haunting picture of an Australian girl's struggle with loneliness and uncertainty, set on the edge of the remote Alaskan wilderness. Evocative imagery of forest, snow and wildlife strengthen the fabric of a superbly told story, in which the central character finds a way ... to embrace the complexity of human experience and take responsibility for what she has left behind.

Judges' Report, Prime Minister's Literary Awards, 2012