The Smell of Other People's Houses

SHORTLISTED for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and the UKLA Book Award.

Love, tragedy, luck and salvation in the interweaving stories of four teenagers in this extraordinary 1970s Alaskan set debut novel.



Alaska, 1970: growing up here is like nowhere else.



Ruth wants to be remembered by her grieving mother.



Dora wishes she was invisible to her abusive father.



Alyce is staying at home to please her parents.



Hank is running away for the sake of his brothers.



Four very different lives are about to become entangled. Because if we don't save each other, how can we begin to save ourselves?



Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock's extraordinary, stunning debut is both moving, and deeply authentic. These intertwining stories of love, tragedy, wild luck, and salvation on the edge of America's Last Frontier introduce a writer of rare and wonderful talent.

'Gorgeous.'Spectator

'An exceptional coming of age novel for young adults - or indeed just adults.'Sunday Times

'Ambitious and original, this transports the reader effortlessly both in time and space.'Metro

'This book reaches through the mêlée of voices in YA; its smell, or scent, fresh and alluring.'The Independent

'Intoxicating . . . will resonate with readers of all ages.' Publishers Weekly

'Excellent.' School Library Journal

'A nice and different read.' Telegraph

'A piercing look at life lived at 40 below.'The Financial Times



Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, author of The Smell of Other People's Houses, was a long-time journalist for Alaska Public Radio and prior to this spent many years fishing commercially, raising her children on a boat. She was born in Alaska and lives there still in a yurt with moose wandering through her backyard, a yurt that was lucky to escape the wildfires of 2019.