State Highway One

'A journey filled with beautifully flawed characters and a landscape that truly got under my skin' - Melina Marchetta, bestselling author of LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI and A PLACE IN DALHOUSIE

'A wry, tense and moving examination of an inescapable reckoning with home and family.' - Sydney Morning Herald

'it has the makings of a contemporary classic'- R.W.R. McDonald, author of THE NANCYS

This is what I want to do. I want to go home. I want you to come with me.

'I want to go from here . . .'

Finger on Cape Reinga.

'. . . to here.'

Finger at the bottom of Stewart Island, right at the bottom of the map.

It's been years since Alex was in New Zealand, and years since he spent any one-on-one time with his twin sister, Amy. When they lose their parents in a shock accident it seems like the perfect time to reconnect as siblings. To reconnect with this country they call 'home'.

As they journey the length of State Highway One, they will scratch at wounds that have never healed - and Alex will be forced to reckon with what coming home really means.

'State Highway One is a wild ride from one end of NZ to another and inside a grieving and troubled mind. Be careful when you pick it up, because you won't put it down until you finish.' - Jon Doust, author of BOY ON A WIRE

'Terrifically drawn characters, a narrative that is both entertaining and increasingly tense, all sparkling with a gorgeous sense of humour.' - Nigel Featherstone, author of BODIES OF MEN

“This book made me feel things. Like wanting to be driving the length of New Zealand, even in the rain, and the urge to roll a cigarette, and shock and regret and peace in the quiet moments of beauty. A big evocative road novel and messy family drama that sucks you in and holds you. - Kate Mildenhall, author of The Mother Faulta very very impressive first work of fiction - ABC Radio National, The Bookshelfit's a cracker - NZ HeraldColey masterfully crafts Alex's distress and reveals just enough history to make the narrative both believable and utterly compelling. The book is, at its heart, about repressed grief, trauma, and the ties that bind us.Humorous, insightful, and ultimately affecting, State Highway One unpicks the uneasy nature of family and the difficulty of escaping your past. - Australian Book Review”

This book made me feel things. Like wanting to be driving the length of New Zealand, even in the rain, and the urge to roll a cigarette, and shock and regret and peace in the quiet moments of beauty. A big evocative road novel and messy family drama that sucks you in and holds you. - Kate Mildenhall, author of The Mother Fault

a very very impressive first work of fiction - ABC Radio National, The Bookshelf

it's a cracker - NZ Herald

A wry, tense and moving examination of an inescapable reckoning with home and family. - Sydney Morning Herald

Sam Coley's two favourite things in the world are taking photos and dancing. Most nights, however, he can be found at his desk with a pen and a legal pad and a bottle of wine. He has called New Zealand, Australia and the UK all home at some point, and probably still would. His debut novel, State Highway One, was the winner of the 2017 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers.

'A journey filled with beautifully flawed characters and a landscape that truly got under my skin' - Melina Marchetta, bestselling author of LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI and A PLACE IN DALHOUSIE 'it has the makings of a contemporary classic'- R.W.R. McDonald, author of THE NANCYS This is what I want to do. I want to go home. I want you to come with me. 'I want to go from here . . .' Finger on Cape Reinga. '. . . to here.' Finger at the bottom of Stewart Island, right at the bottom of the map. It's been years since Alex was in New Zealand, and years since he spent any one-on-one time with his twin sister, Amy. When they lose their parents in a shock accident it seems like the perfect time to reconnect as siblings. To reconnect with this country they call 'home'.As they journey the length of State Highway One, they will scratch at wounds that have never healed - and Alex will be forced to reckon with what coming home really means. 'State Highway One is a wild ride from one end of NZ to another and inside a grieving and troubled mind. Be careful when you pick it up, because you won't put it down until you finish.' - Jon Doust, author of BOY ON A WIRE 'Terrifically drawn characters, a narrative that is both entertaining and increasingly tense, all sparkling with a gorgeous sense of humour.' - Nigel Featherstone, author of BODIES OF MEN

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