Gabrielle Prendergast’s “The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt”: A Middle-Grade Novel Exploring Anxiety, Youth Mental Health, and Finding Your Voice

Some of the most powerful children’s books are not about superheroes, but about ordinary young people learning to navigate difficult emotions and real-life struggles. Canadian author Gabrielle Prendergast’s The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt is one such book, offering a heartfelt and thoughtful story that explores themes of anxiety, selective mutism, neurodiversity, advocacy, housing insecurity, and the many ways young people can find confidence in themselves and compassion for others. Published by Orca Book Publishers, the novel has been nominated for the Forest of Reading Silver Birch Fiction Award for grades 5–6 and has already been recognized as an important Canadian story for classrooms and families alike. The epistolary story unfolds through letters, creating an engaging and accessible reading experience for early middle-grade readers, particularly students in Grades 4-7.  Through the protagonist Sara’s moving journey and deeply personal letters, Gabrielle Prendergast creates a story that encourages readers to see strength in quiet voices. Keep reading for our exclusive interview with East Vancouver author Gabrielle Prendergast.

Parents, educators, and tutors will find The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt especially meaningful because it opens the door to important conversations about empathy, communication, homelessness, anxiety, and resilience in a way that feels accessible to middle grade readers. Sara’s experiences show children that there are many ways to express themselves and advocate for others, even when speaking aloud feels overwhelming. It also helps open the door to important conversations with youth about mental health. The in-person and online tutoring team at Teachers on Call recommends this book because it supports social-emotional learning while also encouraging literacy development through its engaging epistolary format. Sara’s letters invite readers to reflect on their own feelings while also helping them better understand the experiences of others in their communities.

Why Canadian Students Continue to Love the Forest of Reading

The Forest of Reading remains one of Canada’s most inspiring literacy programs, bringing together young readers, educators, librarians, and Canadian authors through a shared love of books. Run by the Ontario Library Association, the program celebrates outstanding Canadian literature across multiple age categories in both English and French. One of the most unique aspects of the program is that students themselves vote for the winning books, empowering children across Canada to share their opinions and shape the awards. Every spring, the excitement culminates at the Forest of Reading Festival at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre (235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8), where thousands of young readers gather to celebrate storytelling and meet their favourite Canadian authors and illustrators. At Teachers on Call, our in-home and online tutoring team loves seeing programs like this encourage reading confidence, critical thinking, and meaningful student engagement with Canadian literature.

About the Author: Gabrielle Prendergast

Canadian author Gabrielle Prendergast is an award-winning writer, teacher, and designer who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. She writes picture books, middle grade fiction, and young adult novels, as well as science fiction and fantasy under the name G.S. Prendergast. Gabrielle has earned numerous honours throughout her career, including the Monte Miller Award, the Westchester Fiction Award, and the BC Book Prize. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia (2329 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4) and has taught writing at institutions including UBC, Sydney University, and San Francisco State University. Gabrielle has also served as Writer in Residence at the Vancouver Public Library and participated in the TD Canada Children’s Book Week Tour, continuing to champion Canadian storytelling and literacy for young readers.

About the Book

The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt follows Sara, a young girl with selective mutism who is sent to stay with her half-sister Abby while her premature baby brother remains in hospital. Through a series of heartfelt letters to her brother Birdy, Sara reflects on her experiences living in a storage container home community designed to support unhoused people. Along the way, she discovers new ways to connect, communicate, and advocate for others while navigating her own anxiety. The novel explores themes of compassion, social justice, and self-expression with hope and honesty, making it a thoughtful classroom read for middle grade students. The book was also recognized by the School Library Journal as one of 42 Stellar Middle Grade & Hi-Lo Titles and was named one of The Globe and Mail’s 10 Best Kids Books of 2025.

Interview with Award-Winning Vancouver Author and Teacher Gabrielle Prendergast

The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt explores selective mutism with such care and empathy. What inspired you to tell Sara’s story, and why did this feel like an important perspective to share with young readers?

My initial inspiration was a meme. It asked you to find your literary middle grade title by using your most common emotion, your favourite game, your middle name and the seasoning you use the most. So I came up with The Anxious Scrabble of Sara Salt. I wanted to write a literary middle grade novel and I thought that title sounded cool. I changed “scrabble” to “exile” because I didn’t want to write a book about Scrabble! And exile fit. Then I had to figure out why Sara was in exile and what kind of anxiety she had. I suffer from anxiety myself, but when I was a child it made me talk A LOT, too much in fact, so much that sometimes I wished I had selective mutism. I ended up putting a lot of that anxiety into writing, even at a very young age. So when I was writing Sara I explored that. All kids have a story and kids like Sara sometimes struggle to tell them, so I wanted to share a way that worked for me.

Sara discovers that there are many ways to communicate, advocate, and connect with others. What do you hope children learn about finding their voice, even when speaking out loud feels difficult?

A lot of anxious and shy people feel like they can’t connect with people because they don’t like parties or crowds or small talk. But there are so many ways to connect with people now, online mainly but also through writing letters or just quietly being with another shy, quiet person. I had pen-pals when I was a kid and even though we’re trying to keep kids offline, having an e-mail or text friend is healthy and good. Kids can also write to local politicians, newspapers or even their favourite authors. Sometimes you’ll get a reply!

The letters Sara writes to Birdy create such a heartfelt layer in the story. Why did you choose letter-writing as such an important part of how Sara expresses herself?

I’ve always wanted to write an epistolary book (written in letters) because several of my favourite books have taken this form. Everything from Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley! My first thought was that Sara would write to her favourite teacher but then the idea of her writing to her baby brother came to me and that made so much sense, because it would justify why Sara wanted to explain things to him. This gave me a way of helping young readers to understand some of the more complicated ideas and information in the book.

This novel touches on important issues like housing insecurity and community advocacy. How can teachers and parents use Sara’s experiences to start age-appropriate conversations about empathy, homelessness, and social justice?

Novels and other storybooks are a great resource for helping kids develop empathy. A study published in The Journal of Applied Social Psychology showed that kids who read and discussed fictional passages on themes of injustice from Harry Potter books showed increased empathy towards immigrants and other marginalized groups. Fiction allows young readers to feel close to characters and experiences that might be very different from their lives, whether that’s characters who are a different race or culture, different religion, have different bodies or ways of thinking, or even come from a different world or time. Without meeting these characters in fiction, similar people in the real world might seem like strangers, but reading fiction makes them familiar, and more like friends.

Educators are always looking for books that support social-emotional learning. How might Sara’s story help students build compassion for others while also reflecting on their own challenges with anxiety or self-expression?

I would love to see teachers use the book in a letter writing unit. Writing skills are so important, and writing letters—actual letters that you send to someone—makes a lot of the theoretical learning about writing more concrete. It’s a way of applying new writing skills in a way that feels real. Persuasive writing? Write a letter to city hall about the need for a new playground. Descriptive writing? Write to your grandmother about a field trip you went on. And so on. I have also used the meme that was my inspiration for this book in classrooms and the kids loved coming up with their own titles and making their own book covers. I think just being asked about their own emotions is something kids rarely get. I certainly never thought of myself as an anxious child until I looked back from adulthood.

You have written across so many genres, from contemporary fiction to fantasy and science fiction. What draws you to writing realistic stories like Sara’s alongside your other imaginative worlds?

I go where the muse takes me. One of the reasons I wrote this book is because the Canada Council for the Arts gave me a grant. Contemporary middle grade books don’t often make much money, and writing is my job so I have to think about that. But with a grant, I was able to write this story without having to worry.

You live in East Vancouver. Is there a favourite local place where you like to write, reflect, or find inspiration for your stories?

I only write at home. I need quiet and no distractions to write. But I get inspired everywhere. I like to walk around Trout Lake (3360 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, BC V5N 4M4) and think while I get my exercise. I also like to go for a drive with an iced coffee and music playing and just think.

What can we expect next from Gabrielle Prendergast?

I have a picture book coming in 2027 from Orca Book Publishers. It’s about a little girl who is having one of those days where she struggles with her behavior and emotions. It’s kind of a combination of Where the Wild Things Are and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Then in 2028 I have a young adult book coming from Penguin I’m calling a “romcomantasy”. It’s about a teen who saves the life of a faerie boy and then messes up every wish he grants her as thanks.

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Canadian stories like The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt remind young readers that their voices matter, even when expressing themselves feels difficult. Gabrielle Prendergast’s thoughtful and compassionate novel encourages empathy, resilience, and advocacy while helping children see that communication can take many forms. Through programs like the Forest of Reading, Canadian students are introduced to books that not only strengthen literacy skills but also spark important conversations about kindness, inclusion, and community. At Teachers on Call, we are always excited to celebrate Canadian authors whose stories inspire students to read, reflect, and connect with the world around them. For additional enrichment, teachers and families can explore the accompanying study guide featuring discussion questions, activities, and classroom extension ideas here.

Looking for more Canadian middle grade reads featured in our Hooked on Books series? Check out our interviews with fellow Forest of Reading Silver Birch Fiction nominees, including Bea Mullins Takes a Shot by scientist and debut author Emily Deibert, The City of Lost Cats by Vancouver-based writer Tanya Lloyd Kyi, The Last Hope School for Magical Delinquents by Bradford, Ontario author Nicki Pau Preto, and Death by Whoopee Cushion by Nova Scotia writer Vicki Grant.