5 Books Set in Alaska

Last week I included the novel The Alaskan Laundry in the list of books I want to read in April. That reminded me of other titles on my list that are also set in our most northern state. Here are five books that were (will be) published in 2016 that show us a variety of perspectives of life in Alaska.

Adult Picks

• All the Winters After by Seré Prince Halverson: Two strangers--a woman hiding from her husband and a man still mourning his childhood losses--find themselves occupying the same remote cabin. The story takes place over the course of a year, with the Alaskan setting playing as much of a role as the characters. Despite their deep burdens, will the pair be able to find redemption, healing, and hope? (Sourcebooks Landmark) • Queen of the Heartbreak Trail: The Life and Times of Harriet Smith Pullen, Pioneering Woman by Eleanor Phillips Brackbill: The true story of a woman who traveled west in a covered wagon, survived the hardships of pioneering, and seemingly settled down in Washington after marrying and having four children. Determined to live life on her own terms, however, Pullen left her family in the late 1800s to head north to Alaska, where she relied on her entrepreneurial spirit to gain fame and fortune and a little bit of infamy too. (Two Dots)

For a Younger Audience

• The Skeleton Tree by Iain Lawrence: Two boys are the only survivors after a sailboat sinks off the coast of Alaska. Alone and lacking supplies, food, and radio, they must overcome not only an unforgiving land and dangerous wildlife but their mutual dislike and disagreements. Action-packed and affecting. (Delacorte Books for Young Readers) • The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock: Four teens face hard choices when balancing their limited opportunities in Alaska against their dreams for the future. A coming-of-age story set in 1970s that reveals the less romantic side of growing up in an Alaskan city. (Wendy Lamb Books) • Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg: Based on true events, this novel follows a family that accepts President Roosevelt's challenge to homestead Alaska and find a new start during the Great Depression. Young Trip is inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder, but her mother will need more encouragement to feel settled into their own little house in the northern wilderness. (Nancy Paulsen Books)