Hester's voice is original and pels us to see our familiar world as new and intriguing - no small feat.

* Guardian on One Foot Wrong * An extraordinary achievement. * Australian Bookseller and Publisher * Laguna's child narrator both emphasises and conceals, through simple yet articulate images, the complicated extent of suffering and release. Sofie’s second novel for adults, ‘ The Eye of the Sheep’ shortlisted for the Stella Prize won the 2015 Miles Franklin Award. A dark and terrible tale told in lyrical, poetic language and stark imagery.

* Adelaide Advertiser * A book that intrigues and affects every essence of your humanity. ‘By turns lyrical and brutal’ Irish Times Justine Lee was born breech, entering the world on her knees. Longlisted in 2009 for her debut adult novel, One Foot Wrong, Laguna took top honours this year for her story of a family struggling to cope with their young son who has learning difficulties. Laguna's great skill is in conveying the contradictory human depths in all her characters. Description Described as raw and powerful by The Guardian, The Choke is a coming of age story about triumphing over violence and poverty through friendship, resilience and strength. * Sydney Morning Herald * Jimmy is a tour de force of a character, brilliantly maintained. Laguna has vividly brought to life what it must be like to be a different child and the effect his condition can have on a family. Emily Macguire * Canberra Times * A beautiful, sombre style, relieved by occasional happy-go-lucky moments and strangely surprising resilience. Unique, forceful and absolutely hypnotic. Louise Swinn * The Weekend Australian * Harrowing, beautifully written, insightful and absorbing. Laguna is an author proving the novel is a crucial document of the times. It is quite a feat to write characters with such nuance. * Irish Times * A book that crosses the boundaries of adult and YA fiction.

As a 'domestic' novel, it could be cliched, but Laguna, through Jimmy's wonderful eyes, makes every sentence, every word, sing and soar. It is outrageous that someone as young, beautiful and - goddamit - as happy looking as Sofie Laguna has written this wee beauty of a novel.

The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna