Young adult books are always filled with drama but this one is thankfully different. Young, smart girl with life or death choices in the wilderness. Glad to see this type of survivalist title after reading too many books with stupid female leads (who only have to worry about their hair and boyfriends). Refreshing and hard to put down!

Solid adventure, survivalist storytelling. Moves at a good pace. Descriptions of surroundings and daily activities should engage even reluctant readers. Despite the far-fetched circumstances, mostly believable with the exception of the over-the-top events at the end.

Sometimes a book, just resonates so with you that each breath you take is in tune with the main character. That you feel the pain, the anguish and the horror of each step. Be ready for that feeling. I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall is that kind of book.

Jess’s story is told in two parts, before and after. As the reader, you know what the incident is that causes the before and after, but like Jess you just don’t want to think about it. Jess is left alone in the wilderness. She is a city kid and lacks the knowledge to survive, but unlike other similar stories, Jess has already dealt with pain, a lot of pain in her life and she is a survivor.

To me this book is a cross between Hatchet and Where the Red Fern Grows. It brings you on a journey of surviving and hope, while allowing you to connect with the main character and her dog. Books such as this leave the reader determined and hopeful while turning each page with their heart in their throat. I would recommend this book highly to a number of students who like adventure and who can handle the content that includes death, theft, forgery and fear. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall is a wonderful, brutal, heart-wrenching young adult read that by the end held me riveted.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. The story was captivating and well written. It was a quick read, but enjoyable nonetheless. I think the author did a very good job of writing not only Jess's struggle to survive in the Canadian wilderness, but her struggle with her disability, as well. The author cuts the story up into "Before" and "After" Jess is left stranded alone in the wilderness and it adds suspense and mystery to the story that keeps the reader's attention. I'm giving this book 4 stars because while it was a good book, I felt that the ending was a bit rushed with a lot of action packed into the last part of the book.

I had a hard time getting interested in this book. The story line is interesting. I just don't like how it goes back and forth from present day to the past.

This story will draw comparisons to Gary Paulson's Hatchet, as a teen must find a way to survive alone in the wilderness, but the differences are substantial and make for a fascinating and gripping read.
Jess lost her mother in a traffic accident and was badly injured herself. After she completes most of her physical therapy while with foster parents, she then travels to Alaska to stay with a father she has had no contact with since she was 4. That trip turns out to take her deep into the Canadian wilderness with a father completely off the grid. Only a handful of people know he is there. Jess is horrified and promises only to stay until the spring. Her father attempts to teach her survival skills, but after only a short time some of the "bad friends he once made" arrive, and Jess is left alone with a burnt out cabin and Bo, her father's wolf dog.
This would be incredibly difficult for an experienced outdoorsman, but Jess has few skills and some serious physical handicaps from the accident. Add to this the expected return of the "friends" and the thrills ratchet up to overdrive. Jess is a fully-realized, very believable character surprised to realize her ability to overcome the accident make her better able to cope with this dire situation. A fast, intense read. A word of warning only to animal lovers.

I picked this book up hoping for an interesting read for my middle-schoolers. What I got was a well written, exciting, suspenseful adventure. Seventeen-year-old Sequoia Jessica Cooper - now known as Jess - survived a terrible car accident that killed her mother. When her absentee father is finally located, Jess reluctantly travels to the wilds of Alaska to live with him. She's taken by plane to her father's log cabin which turns out to be in a remote are of Canada where she learns he's been hiding from the government. Not only is she stuck without the physical therapy necessary to help her recover from her injuries, but she's forced to learn an entirely new way of life and to live with a father she barely remembers. Jess is just getting to know her Dad and entertaining the possibility of not being completely furious with him when she witnesses his death at the hands of his criminal acquaintances. She's hidden herself well enough that they don't know that she exists, but that doesn't stop them from burning down the cabin and everything in it that would have helped her survive her first Canadian winter. Now Jess is stuck in the wilds of the Canadian North with only a half-wild dog for company and has to use her wits and the skills she learned in her brief time with her father to survive until help arrives. Kate Alice Marshall did an excellent job describing the setting including the wildlife. Bo, the dog, was as much of a character as Jess. The story, especially at the beginning, was sad, but didn't wallow in it. The story moved along at a good pace and was only violent as nature and survival can be violent. Her descriptions were a little gory but stayed true to the story. I enthusiastically recommend this book to adults and teens.

For some reason I got bored pretty fast. The writing and the plot wasn't bad but I just didn't feel it.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this title.

Teens and adults who enjoy survival stories will be thrilled to get their hands on I Am Still Alive. I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC from netgalley, and this hard-to-put-down book kept me turning the pages as I followed 16-year-old Jess trying to stay alive in the northern Canadian wilderness. Jess, recovering from a horrible car crash that killed her mother, has to go live with the dad she hasn't seen in 10 years. Thinking he lives in an Alaskan town, she soon finds out he lives off the grid in the remote Canadian wilderness. Just as she's starting to get used to the idea of staying through the winter with her long-lost father, the unthinkable happens, and Jess ends up all alone, with just Bo, her dad's dog, as a companion. With no food, no cabin for shelter, just a few weapons and a change of clothes and Bo, will Jess survive until spring, and even if she does, will anyone ever come looking for her? Anyone besides the really bad men who killed her father, that is. Some violent scenes make this suitable for grades 7 and up. Strongly recommended!

Totally mesmerizing, I Am Still Alive will haunt me for a long time. I read it in one sitting, literally unable to put it down. Jess is what I would call an unlikely, reluctant heroine. She shouldn't survive, yet she does. It made me wonder how I might cope in similar circumstances. I Am Still Alive should appeal to both middle and high school students. It would make a great read aloud or literature circle selection.

I would say that this book went very dark, but honestly it started rather dark. In the tradition of Hatchet by Paulsen and Not if I Save You First by Carter, this remote wilderness survival book finds a lone child struggling to live in the harshest conditions. Personal growth, muscle growth, and mental detachment keep Jess alive long enough to meet her only goal.