Twelve years after 16 year old Alice kills herself, her best friend, Morgan and her brother, Benji surprise both families by announcing their engagement. Things have become complicated in the twelve years since Alice’s death. Hers and Benji’s father, Nick started having an affair with his secretary before her death and now he is married to the much younger woman and the couple have a young child. Benji’s mother, Linnie is dating one of Alice’s former teachers and Morgan sheds light on his secrets at the wedding. And Peter, Morgan’s father may secretly be in love with Linnie. To make the drama even more interesting, grandma Judith who has dementia, keeps everyone on their toes with her own inappropriate questions.
While this book primarily addresses grief, the family drama in a wedding setting makes for a complex story. The characters of the parents were fairly well developed and interesting. The writing style is definitely not my favorite - the switching of timelines without introduction was confusing and the detailed side stories, while establishing context, seemed too long and somewhat unnecessary to the story. I would have liked to know more about the bride and groom and how Alice’s death impacted them as well as the story of how their relationship developed..

Overall the writing was good but I felt like I was missing things and just need more on those missing pieces.

I'm a bit undecided about my thoughts on this book. I usually enjoy stories centered around family drama. The plot revolves around Alice, who committed suicide at 16. She was Morgan's best friend and Benji's sister. Now, Morgan and Benji are getting married, and their families are reuniting for the first time since Alice's funeral. The narrative delves deeply into the lives of each family member, both before and after Alice's death. The story unfolds across several timelines: before Alice's suicide, after her death, and the wedding weekend. However, it can sometimes be confusing to keep track of which timeline we're in. Additionally, many characters are introduced at the beginning, which made it necessary for me to restart the first chapter and jot down their names.

This novel is a very sad story that is beautifully written. It is different and intriguing but difficult to categorize. The characters are flawed and full of pain but resilient and have hope. The grief over the loss of Alice makes a deep cut of pain through her family and friends’ family and the impact is still rippling through 12 years later. This is a heavy book reflecting on the heavy topic of teen suicide. The writing is the star of the show. The reader watches the unraveling of these two families, and it is difficult, messy and real. If you like well written, character driven novels reflecting the underbelly of tragedy in a family, this one is well done and has a beautiful ending.

The World After Alice is a beautifully written story of a family and a wedding weekend. The happy couple are Morgan and Benjy, the best friend and younger brother of Alice, who jumped off the George Washington Bridge 12 years prior. This book is told from many perspectives and deftly weaves together and past and present storylines. There are many characters and moving parts but the author expertly explores each one. Lauren Aliza Green is a new author to watch and this is a wonderful debut.
Thank you to Netgalley and Viking for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The World After Alice is a debut novel that tells the story of the Weil family members after the tragic death of sixteen-year-old Alice. Benji (Alice's brother) and Morgan (Alice's best friend) are getting married, which brings together family members who have drifted apart, or fallen apart, since Alice's death 12 years ago. Each family member has some personal challenges in the current timeline, while the past timeline shows who they were before the loss of Alice. The author did a great job with her expose on this family as they come to terms with loss and life. A very sad and bittersweet book that is beautifully written.

overall, I liked this. The shifting perspectives kept me interested, as did alternating timelines. I did feel like some characters were more fully realized than others. And while the aftermath of Alice’s death in this story in mainly focused on the parents, stepmom and teacher, I would have liked to get more inside Morgan and Benjis heads as they were important parts of the story too.

Thank you Viking for this complex family drama from Lauren Aliza Green. I am of two minds about this book so my review is 4 stars because there was a lot that I liked but this is also a review that focuses more on the promise of the story, and the author, than the book itself. I also want to acknowledge the cover art, it is gorgeous and part of what drove me to request this book, really lovely image that captures the themes on marriage/bubble, the offset focus bringing attention to either what looms in the past or the future depending on how you read and perceive the story...

The World After Alice tackles a range of interwoven themes related to grief and loss, family and personal secrets, and reticence about marriage/what comes next. What worked for me was the depth of the story, the genuine development of themes and the plot, the details and the intentional writing, the focus on bringing us into each character's worries and mindset. A lot of themes on poor or limited communication, of hidden worries, of a blending of happy events with past loss, it was all rather Shakespearean at times. I wanted to cheer for the couple, their marriage, and sit down each person, have them talk to each other and be honest with themselves and with loved ones about thoughts, needs, and challenges. I love a good character and family drama, a study in time and mood, and this book nails that.

What works less... the writing can feel heavy and ponderous at times, a bit erudite and filled with, as my grade school grammar teacher would say, fifty cent words (big words, ones that feel as though many readers will be alienated from the text). The consistent use of big words slowed me down, I felt often as though I was caught up trying to process a sentence or phrase and being taken out of the story. I tend to struggle more when I am pulled out of a story in order to catch up with the writing, if that makes sense. I wanted to get swept up in the drama and felt more pulled away by a receding tide... unable to keep up at times.

All of this being said, I still loved the story and the overall promise of this book and the author, who I think has the potential to become a favorite.

A well written debut novel that just was not what I wanted to read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Viking for a chance to read and review.
The premise of the book sounded interesting with the promise of lots of family drama. For me it was just sad with a bunch of unlikeable characters.
The reader sees the repercussions of Alice’s suicide and some insight into what led to it. Why don’t these people just speak more honestly to each other!?
The story does bring forward the utter tragedy of suicide especially for those left behind. I had a hard time connecting with Alice and her family. What I found most disturbing was the relationships between Alice, her professor and her mother.
Overall this was a powerful well written story which just had too many triggers and unhappiness for me to say I enjoyed.
2.5 stars. I’m sure readers with the right mind set will really enjoy the book

Shifting between the past and the present, this novel weaves together themes of grief, family dynamics, and the complexities of human relationships. The story unfolds around two families brought together by an unexpected marriage, twelve years after the tragic loss of Alice, a promising young violinist whose absence has left a profound impact on everyone’s lives. The writing was outstanding, and as this is a debut, I am excited to watch what Green does next. But the story for me was too full of intertwining narratives. Although each character was fully developed, I wished there had been 2 or 3 less characters to keep up with. I also felt that it dripped with tragedy and the only two characters that retained any shred of hope were the two young people getting married. For fans of Mary Beth Keane and Dani Shapiro, this was a devastating read from an author with sharp writing skills and hopefully a long career ahead of her.

Overall, “The World After Alice” is a compelling read that delves into the aftermath of tragedy and all the ways death seeps into our world. It’s a reminder of all the ways the world changes after loss.

The World After Alice is a debut novel that immediately caught my eye with its synopsis. The story centers on Morgan and Benji, who are getting married. Their sudden announcement shocks their families since they never revealed they were dating. Morgan and Benji have known each other for years because Alice, Benji's sister, was Morgan's best friend. Tragically, Alice committed suicide, which caused their families to drift apart.

The novel is set at Morgan and Benji's wedding, the first time their families have come together since Alice's funeral. The story shows how drastically these characters' lives have changed after Alice's death, offering an impactful look at their grief and relationships. The book also includes flashbacks, which add depth to the narrative.

While the story didn't have the "ah-ha" moments I was expecting, that didn't take away from me liking the book quite a bit. I didn't connect deeply with the characters, but the overall story drew me in. Lauren Aliza Green's writing is beautiful and descriptive, with a vocabulary that sometimes had me reaching for a dictionary.

The World After Alice was different from my usual reads, but it was interesting enough to keep me hooked until the end. Green's debut is a compelling grief, love, and family dynamics story. I look forward to more from this author.

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.

Life is sometimes really hard when you’re a young adult. Sometimes so hard you see no other way out than the terminal one. Such is life for Alice. Alice decides that she’s done. We don’t know why, but we do know how. The prologue gives us that much info. The rest of the novel flips back and forth between before Alice ends her life and after. Culminating in an epilogue.

Alice’s family must go on. Linnie, her mother, goes back to school. Nick, her dad, finds himself with a new family. Benji, her brother, ends up with Alice’s best and lifelong friend, Morgan. Which is an utter and complete surprise to both Benji’s and Morgan’s families and friends. Benji and Morgan wait until the very last moment to share this with their families. In fact, they announce their relationship just before the wedding invitations are about to go out.

So the novel unfolds with the tales of all the starring players and what’s happened in the time since Alice stepped off that bridge. Each person has secrets that will be revealed during the wedding weekend. Secrets that could change life moving forward for every one of them.

What a great character study of how people treat one another while we’re alive, and how we react after they are gone. Alice is the central figure in all these stories, and she had a different affect on each of their futures. It’s a sad novel. I didn’t really feel as though anyone had the happy-wrap-things-up ending. Maybe except for Alice. It’s beautifully written and has amazing depth. A really good piece of debut fiction.

This book begins with two families coming together for the surprise wedding of their children Benji and Morgan. This was a relationship that they kept hidden from their families. Alice, the namesake of the book, is the groom’s sister. Alice committed suicide 12 years earlier. She was Benji’s sister and the bride, Morgan's best friend.
The World After Alice is a character driven book that keeps us on our toes. Just when you think you understand where each person stands in relation to one another author Lauren Green drops another little bomb. It is almost incestuous the way every character has a connection with one another or with Alice. They are tightly interwoven together to make the strong fabric of this book. Perhaps it is a bit of overkill? Linnie, Alice’s mother, brings her boyfriend to the wedding. He happens to be Alice’s old high school teacher and perhaps something more? A bit coincidental.
We learn everyone has their secrets and we slowly become privy to each. Why did Benji and Morgan keep their relationship secret? Why did Alice kill herself? Can Nick find a way out of the mess he is in? Many other questions arise as the book continues. I loved learning the backstory of each flawed person. Some of these characters, like Linnie, I hated to say goodbye to. In her I felt the heartbreak and guilt of a mother who has lost a child. Excellent.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advance copy of this book. These opinions and review is my own.

<i>”Understanding is beyond man. When God wishes it so, the truth can be so powerful, it would kill us even to look it in the eye”</i>

<b> — 2.5 ⭐️</b>
Truth be told, I couldn’t acknowledged whether I like or dislike the book. The social issues this book brought is totally remarkable. But, the pace of the storyline and the third person writing is confusing and frustrating. Maybe this is the type of this kind of genre. However, I just couldn’t place how this book should be. It took me long enough to finish this book and I am trying so hard, I really am.

The storyline is exactly as the title goes, the world after Alice. How people closest to her react and grief on their own way with her disappearance. The story also divides into 5 categories. Each categories represents the time frame of the setting of time and place focusing on “Alice” and how her disappearance affecting each characters. However, the other main theme of this book is “Marriage”. Whether it is between the parents and the children. In addition, the main focus of the span of the storyline is the wedding of Benji and Morgan. Nevertheless , the hidden truth behind everything especially about “Alice” what makes this book more exciting

<b><u>Social Issues on the book:</u></b>
💍 Every parents problems, they wanted their children to reach the dream they never could reach
💍 Cruelty of a company for the loyalist party employee
💍 Defence mechanism and grievances on every individual is different
💍 Maintaining children’s well being after the divorce is hard, no matter how hard you tried
💍 Turning noises into music/ art sometimes is a result of depression
💍 Build the strong foundation for your marriage, love is never enough
💍 The result of broken families affecting the children
💍 How the play victim characters blame everything surrounding them
💍 Somehow, woman always think that “fixing a broken man” is their job
💍 The insecurity of a man when their masculinity shattered
💍 The jealousy of a child with their friends because of the mother figure they never have
💍 Having a man over cheating not guaranteeing that the man wouldn’t go behind your back again (what goes around comes around)
💍 Racism of the different skin color and heritage
💍 Identity crisis of a man who seek comfort with the younger
💍 Universe always give you sign
💍 Siblings care has its own way to reach each other
💍 Suicidal person, somehow, always always give a hidden sign and clues somewhere

<b>To Conclude,</b> this book is great in some aspect especially the social issues they point out of the grieving. However, the writing and how the storyline goes did not fit into my likes. Maybe, just maybe it is for someone out there. The only thing I personally hold dear and keep me reading is “the broken families” and the truth of Alice disappearance. Even though it was not revealed in the end for my liking.

<i>Thank you Netgalley for giving me privilege to read the book before its publication day! </i>

Life is messy. That is painfully obvious as family and friends gather for the wedding of Benji and Morgan. They’ve known each other since childhood but have been reluctant to reveal their relationship to their families. There’s a lot of history there, primarily the death of Benji’s sister and Morgan’s best friend, Alice. Twelve years earlier, Alice jumped from a bridge and no body was ever found. The stories of the characters are disclosed gradually and reveal the impact of this horrific loss. Morgan’s father, Peter, sums it up in saying to her, “What you do is your prerogative but there are more people involved in a marriage than just you and him. There’re families to consider. Histories.”. Indeed. Grief, loss, love, deception, and loneliness are exposed and explored in The World After Alice. You see how Alice weaves through the relationships and how her specter is present at the gathering. It is smartly written though the pace was a little slow at times. This is a great effort for a debut outing. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance review copy.

The World After Alice by Lauren Aliza Green

Poor Alice, she's lost in this story. It's been twelve years ago since sixteen year old Alice committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. Now Alice's friend (best friend, frenemy?), Morgan is marrying Alice's brother, Peter, four years younger than Morgan and Alice. The couple kept their relationship a secret until long after they had been living together, years, actually. Once you meet Alice's family you will understand why they did that. What I don't understand is why they didn't just elope and continue to keep their distance.

Present day, everyone is together for the wedding. There is Alice's mom and her lover (an former teacher of Alice who knew her more than he should have known her), her dad with his ex-mistress/now wife, Morgan's dad (mom is off living in a commune or something like that), and various odds and ends people. It really felt like a lot more people to keep track of, now I'm surprised these few were taking up so much space in the story, but then it's all about them, especially Alice's mom and dad. What a selfish couple, not worth spending time on, their story is not as important as they think they deserve.

The writing is oh so intellectual, big words galore. I do not mind looking up words when I'm reading fiction but this book is chock full of words that are rarely used, rarely needed, and as pretentious as Alice's parents and that's saying a lot. Oh, and don't get into a discussion with Alice's ex professor. What a pompous cad that man is and he's actually happy with himself and his ability to be better than and above all (in his head). Being in the head of almost all these characters is work and that fact smothered the story for me. Why make a story so hard to enjoy? Why need a dictionary and thesaurus to enjoy fiction?

A story is here and others enjoyed it more than I did so be sure to read other reviews. I was just glad the story was over. Alice's mom should feel guilty for how she pushed Alice and Alice's dad should feel guilty for not being there for her. The signs were there and they needed to be heeded but both parents were too wrapped up in their own wants and needs. The story was depressing in more than one way.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Viking | Viking and NetGalley for this ARC.

“How had you not noticed? How had you failed at the only job you had?” Terrifying words spoken by Alice’s mother, Linnie to herself at her daughter’s funeral.

Having a child commit suicide has to be one of the most difficult, things in life to live with. The World After Alice is about how everyone close to Alice survived after her death. This was a steady, even paced, decent read, very realistic.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a exquisitely written debut from Lauren Aliza Green that explores a set of flawed characters and the emotional impact and rippling repercussions of the tragic death of 16 year old Alice 12 years previously. Benji Weil is Alice's younger brother, and Morgan Helmsley was her best friend, who have been in a below the radar relationship and have sprung their surprise wedding in Maine on their families. In a story that goes back and forth in time, the mystery of Alice's death and what happened leading up to it, is untangled, along with followed afterwards.

Distraught, and haunted by the pain of grief, guilt, and loss that is inescapable, damaged by the past, there are secrets, bitterness, spite, and other agendas that simmer beneath the surface of what should be a celebratory occasion, but over which Alice's ghost hangs so heavily. Alice's parents, Nicholas and Linnie, went on to separate and get divorced, with Nicholas going on to marry the woman he had been having an affair with. Linnie is in a relationship with a younger man, Ezra, a man with his own connections with Alice. Will the darkness of the past blight Benji and Morgan's wedding?

The author does a wonderfully skilful job in the creation of the wide range of characters and their developments, at the heart of this emotional drama, and provides a fascinating insightful glimpse into what happened when sadly, Alice died. There are shards of light in what otherwise would have been a bleak and dark novel. This will likely appeal to all those readers drawn to complex, chaotic, character driven novels. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

The World After Alice is a closeup look at a family after suicide. Alice is 16 when she jumps off a bridge and her parents and younger brother, Benji, are all devastated but we come to understand that the marriage had it's problems before her death and those became worse and divorce soon followed.

About 12 years later, all are reunited when Benji is about to marry Alice's best friend from school, Morgan. The wedding weekend in Maine is anything but low stress. All the main characters are dealing with their secrets including Ezra, the new boyfriend of Alice's mother and a former teacher of Alice's.

The whole story is very character driven but I didn't really bond with any of them. Maybe because they are all still grieving plus they are pretty much all very selfish. The book is a good first novel it just wasn't fulfilling for me. I also felt like the author enjoyed her SAT words a little too much!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.