This book was a quick little thing, which I didn’t expect to make me cry quite so much. But first it made me chuckle. And then cry. And then I started the book all over, and laughed through my tears. I might need to go back and read it again in a minute.

It was surprising and funny and bleak and hopeful. But most of all, cathartic. And just what I needed.

Oddly adorable and strangely uplifting, this is a picture book for adults filled with irony and a splash of dark humour. While the text reads positive affirmations like a therapist would prescribe, all the animals are existing in the final days of earth. While they watch a huge asteroid plummeting toward the planet bound to destroy them all, they cling tight (wearily) to mindfulness and positive affirmations, the only tools they have, and tbh this feels eerily similar to right now in the middle of a pandemic with conspiracy theorists running amock and climate change killing everything and big coal/oil and wealth discrepancy and the Taliban taking over again etc. So you know. While allowing yourself a little bit of dark humour as a coping mechanism, stick to your mindfulness practices, they are all you can control. I enjoyed this little book.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book before its release date in exchange for an honest review.

This was VERY unexpected! I wish it was longer but I don’t have any complaints other than that — I loved the cute, funny drawings and I like how most of them intercepted at one point. Even when it became apparent the world was ending I didn’t want to believe it would, just because these beautiful, self-aware little creatures deserved to live! I could see myself reading this anytime I feel a little down!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Release Date: 2 November 2021
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I Will Not Die Alone is a short graphic novel which provides comfort and inspiration for things both big and small in life. I wasn't expecting much going into it but found myself enjoying every page. Dera White's words and Joe Bennett's illustrations are a perfect match and successfully create a beautiful story that can be read by people of all ages.

This graphic novel was definitely heartwarming and gave me motivation to be a better me in the long run! We follow an array of animals with their affirmations for themselves and it's definitely encouraging to read this book and think about yourself! I highly recommend reading this if you need a pick me up

This was so unexpectedly perfect.

I had to read it twice in one sitting. Don’t be impressed. It’s short. I could have read it twenty times without putting much of a dent in my day.

The first time, I was confused. I know the synopsis mentioned positive affirmations, but I thought it was going to tell a story. It DOES tell a story. I just wasn’t paying enough attention to the pictures as I read the affirmations. I wasn’t processing them for what they were. But as I approached the ending, my heart flip flopped and I knew I’d just stumbled upon a profoundly beautiful thing. So, I went back to the beginning and, through tears, really took it all in properly.

I have now preordered a physical copy for myself. I will hug it, maybe even kiss it when it arrives. I will. And I will gush over it, insisting everyone else get themselves a copy too.

I’m going to read this again and again. I’m going to remember to live life to the fullest. I’m going to remember that I have people in my life that care about me. I’m going to remember that I will not die alone.

I am immensely grateful to Forge Books for my digital review copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I Will Not Die Alone will be out November 2, 2021.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In this beautifully (and hilariously) illustrated story, we find animals being faced with the end of the world. Their statements about stopping to recognize different feelings and experiences read like affirmations, and I found them to be really heartwarming. This is a fast read, but the kind of book you leave on the table to revisit often. Love it!

I loved this book. I want to buy it physically when it gets published.

It’s full of short, meaningful and relatable quotes.
I would recommend this book if you want to have a fun, cute book at your coffee table.

This was a super cute and short graphic novel. The illustrations were fun and the daily affirmations were what regular people need to hear.

An entertaining and encouraging book about overcoming self-doubt, roadblocks and life struggles. It does have the element of sadness where the meteor is coming for the impending death of the world. I will still put it under a feel good story of how people can come together and surround each other with love even at the worst of times.
Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for giving me the opportunity to read this for my candid review.

This is not a narrative like I was expecting but a collection of inspiring affirmations. It's interesting and the art is catchy. I also enjoyed the dark and bleak undertones.

I believe I have read something similar with this book.
The illustrations are interesting. But i think it's more self-helping or self-guiding book about how we reflect ourselves and what to do to be a better self.

At first, I thought this was just a fun book with little affirmations to help get through the day, but wow was I wrong! This is a quick read, but I think it has made me look at life a little differently. We need to live more like it's our last day. And I know that's something that people say a lot, but reading this and seeing how it affects different lives, I think it adds a new dimension. This is a spectacular read and, without writing an actual story, we definitely see it via the illustrations.

This was not what I expected. The art style is simple and cute, the animals were very charming, but there isn't much of a story at all.

On the surface, This is a series of pictures involving anthropomorphic animals all going about their days business with a set of simple statements, most of which sound like they came from a motivational poster, such as "I will make time for the present", and "My voice will be heard" and that allows you to skip through the book with reasonable speed, which makes the second to last panel all the more shocking when it arrives.

This genuinely made me feel down when I saw that panel, I can't say read, because there are no words, but the impact of that panel, and the realisation of all that it added up to, brought my whole day down. There's a panel after it, but I suspect that was added to try and lighten the impact of the one before it.

Which it didn't...

And if I'm honest, this didn't need the last panel, it should have ended on that wordless page.

Make no mistake, this is not for children, this is not a happy cartoon book, and there should be a warning on the front that compares it to Watership Down and When the Wind Blows.

However...

Where this book brings you up is in all the panels prior to that one, when you go back and think about all those things, however trite, however cliched, and consider them in a different light, bearing in mind how the story ends.

I'd recommend this to anyone looking for something life affirming, but it hits hard, just remember to read it a second time, as I'll guarantee that the first time through, the message won't be half as loud or half as meaningful.

Superb

"I will not die alone." "This is a work of fiction." Hmmm – conflicting messages there, and that's before the actual numbered pages of content. And anyway, the fiction is mostly in the artwork – full cartoons per page showing an animal living as it wants – the cat on the couch, remote stuffed down what looks like a nappy; the anteater nurturing some ants as payback for past sins; the panda learning to love turmeric. That is, until the scientist amongst them finds Armageddon is coming from outer space, and we'd better bloody make peace with our lot. But as the script has been one self-help platitude per page, they're pretty much in the right mindset for doing just that.

Think of this as a pastiche self-help book, in that the bigger picture is always beyond what any kind of help can deal with, or see it as affirming (along the lines of Flaming Lips song lyrics about everyone carking it). Despite the multitude of small plots, as the animals change from Before to After, from Then to Now, all I will think of it as is one of those disposable gift books, read once and reluctantly kept on the shelf in case the gifter should make a house visit in the future. It was fine, in a way, but not something whose purchase I could honestly recommend.

Ouch. From the way this book started I didn't expect it to hurt as much as it did.
I really loved its message. I won't say more because I think it would spoil it, but it's a quick read so give it a try!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

This was such a surprising little book. I didn’t really know what to expect but I really enjoyed it. It's a pretty short book and didn’t take long to read. I loved the illustrations and affirmations! It was a great reminder to make the most of what you have and to never give up.


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

The illustrations are superb in this book! Loved the positive affirmations that went along with some of the funny scenes that all boil down to wanting to do the best you can and make the most of what you have until you simply can't anymore. There were a few scenes where I didn't quite think the words matched the illustration (The "Will you Marry Me" with I Am Not Afraid Or the It's Been Real with mean traffic and a car on fire? Also, noticing the beauty that surrounds me with traffic and military helicopters) But overall I liked it sentiments.

I Will Not Die Alone is a beautiful and unique book about embracing each day and finding joy in the ordinary. I loved the message of appreciating who we are and our limitations. Each page contains a simple statement about mindfulness, acceptance, or connecting with others along with anthropomorphized animals. I loved the playful drawings and found they really enhanced the reading experience, giving each character a unique personality.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.