THE WORLD AFTER ALICE
Lauren Aliza Green

Grief stops time and to move on would be to move to a place where Alice doesn’t exist.

Morgan is Alice’s best friend. Benji is Alice’s brother. Morgan and Benji are getting married and everyone in the family is invited to the ceremony. The music and the menu are chosen, and the only thing undecided is how each of the family members feels about the upcoming wedding.

Morgan and Benji don’t know if they’re in love with each other or entranced by their respective connections to someone they mutually love. In Morgan, Alice lives on, through Benji, and their friendship endures in death.

The wedding will be bittersweet at best, sad if thought were given. We get to feel like an invited guest at the events leading up to the wedding and the day itself.

Let’s talk about it!

For the most part, I enjoyed my reading experience with THE WORLD AFTER ALICE. There were a few things that bothered me that mostly had to do with the dynamics between the characters. Unfortunately, that is this novel in a nutshell.

While reading I kept losing track of who was married to whom, and at some point, the relationships between the characters started to feel incestuous and inappropriate. However intentional that was, the effect was off-putting and influenced my enjoyment of the material.

THE WORLD AFTER ALICE is a discussion on grief, whether time actually moves on after someone you love dies, and all the beautiful ways we are connected through the people we love.

Thanks to NEtgalley, Penguin Group, and Viking for the advanced copy!

THE WORLD AFTER ALICE…⭐⭐⭐

Twelve years have passed since Alice passed away and for Benji and Morgan, things are not the same. But the couple has decided to marry, despite their families being opposed.

As guests arrive in Maine, they bring not only skepticism, but secrets of their own. Can the couple make it through the weekend and actually end up married? Or will their secrets be the end of them?


Wholly unlikeable characters batman! This book is going up there with books that contain the most unlikeable characters ever written for me. Despite being so unlikeable, the characters did have a lot of depth, which says a lot. There were a lot of characters though and I found it overwhelming and hard to get into. I also found it rather frustrating that the author chose to use rather obscure and obtuse wording in the writing. I’m not saying that overly simplistic writing needs to be used, but I shouldn’t have to break out the dictionary or google to make it through a work of fiction (and no it’s not fantasy lol). I did, however, enjoy how the author used the dual timeline to tell the story.

While this book was a win some lose some type of book for me, I see a lot of promise with this writer, and it was a solid book for a debut. I foresee great things in the author’s future.

Check this book out if you’re okay reading about characters with no redeeming qualities, and some complex language.

The World After Alice is a thought provoking debut novel by Lauren Aliza Green.

The World After Alice is about a family torn apart by tragedy. They are reunited at a wedding over a decade later and they come to realize they might not know each other as well as they thought.

The World After Alice was much darker than what I assumed. It was a heavy family drama that dealt a lot with grief. There are many trigger warnings to check before reading this book. While the story was slow, it read quickly and focused on character development. It was told through present day and many flashbacks into the backstory of the family. I thought the writing was beautiful and brought the characters emotions to life. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time. I look forward to reading what Green writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

How well do you know the people that you are close to and love? What happens when you think you know everything there is to know about your loved ones? And then the secrets come out. Hurt feelings, shock, anger, feeling like your world is going to end and disbelief are just a few of the things that you may feel. This book is a slow but heartfelt read when one families secrets come out during a time that should be joyous. Thank you to Viking and NetGalley for the digital ARC. This review is my own words.

I was honestly hoping this one would get better. I tried to get into it but it bored me from the first page. The characters were not quite likeable and I couldn't get past that. I started this in February and DNFed it rather quickly.

This book was hard to keep reading as the story didn't move very fast. I don't know that I would recommend this to anyone.

This debut was definitly an interesting read. I picked it up due to the synopsis and found it to have far more depth than I expected. The way that suicide was addressed and the aftermath impact on a family was well done. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

⭐️⭐️/5. The World After Alice by Lauren Eliza Green. Two families reunite in Maine for a wedding. A tragic past joins them together though. Twelve years before the wedding, the groom’s sister Alice took her own life. The bride was her best friend. The family has been grieving ever since. Marriages ended; new relationships formed. Benji (the groom) and Morgan (the bride) hid their relationship as they feared it was cause angst. This book featured so much angst and whining. I need someone to like when I read a novel. This book offered not one likable character. They were all self-absorbed and rude. The author certainly knows how to write and she showed off frequently with her impressive vocabulary. That also fell flat for me. I say skip this one. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC. #whatiread #skipthisone #bookstagram #netgalley #bookgram #bookworm #books #reading #goodreads #libbyapp

Some authors operate under the misguided notion that using an impossibly complex word (possibly to impress?), when a simpler one will suffice, adds something to the story. Actually, what it does is stifle the flow of the narrative, since the reader has to use a dictionary to ascertain the author's intent. Unfortunately, Ms. Green is that kind of writer. Words like concupiscent, plangent, equipoise, and gracile are just a few examples of the words chosen. Is she saying, "look at me, I've got a great vocabulary"? Or is there a thesaurus sitting right next to her as she writes?

To be fair, at times the writing borders on the beautiful. But too much stopping and starting has harmed the reading of the story for me. And actually the story is quite a compelling one. How does a family deal with the loss of a child? How does the mother and father deal with it? And how does the sibling who is now left to emotionally fend for himself, when the parents, whose marriage is falling apart, are not there for him?

This novel could have been a really good one. But, in the end, I simply can't recommend it.

I was invited to read this by the publisher, and decided to do so per the synopsis. I am a melancholy soul and gravitate towards poignant plots in books. This book centers upon a sixteen year old girl named Alice who commit suicide twelve years ago. The story's pendulum swings back and forth, slowly revealing events leading up to this tragedy and all the changes that occurred after Alice's death. Alice's parents divorced and her father married the younger woman he had been cheating with. Alice's younger brother Benji is now set to marry her best friend Morgan, a shocking revelation as they kept their relationship secret until the wedding was practically upon them. Morgan's father Peter has the hots for Alice's mother, while Alice's mother is in an intimate relationship with a younger man Ezra- who just so happened to have been Alice's controversial teacher.

When I first picked up the book I had to read slowly and sometimes re-read back a few sentences to grasp the interwoven families scarred by Alice's suicide, now reunited at Morgan and Benji's impromptu wedding, and experience the slow fallout of all these tricky relationships. I do find that the setting of a family wedding is an interesting focal point for emotional drama. The story kept my interest with the web of grief and mystery that held the promise of unfolding. However, there weren't any mind-blowing revelations at the end, and it just was a sort of pleasant, quiet read exploring how life can be messy, complicated, and tragic.

Thank you to the publisher Penguin Group / Viking for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

I tried to get into this book. The story was interesting, but I just didn’t like any of the characters. It would start to get better, but then would drip again. Even the Epilogue didn’t help. Usually it does. I don’t like giving bad reviews, but I really tried to like this book. At times I thought it was getting interesting, but then would go off again. I think it was partly because none of the characters were really likable. Not one that made you care about them. Thank you Net Galley for chance to read this pre release for honest review.

2.75, rounded up

This is a nice story, and for a debut its very good. The conceit, for the most part, is a good one, but the execution feels like it leaves much to be desired. There are whole chapters that feel like they're just taking up space. Realistically, they're painting a picture of the character, but the picture is unnecessary.

The impetus of this story is two-fold: alice's suicide and the wedding her best friend and brother spring on their family 10+ years later. The latter really makes no sense in the grand scheme of things. Because there is no real window into either alice, or the friend (morgan) or the brother (benji) we really can't know or understand why their reunion years later and subsequent romance would be such a big deal.

None of the characters, with a few exceptions, are given enough depth for us to care about their strife or feelings, though Green wants us to care very much about all of them.

I think there's a strong writer here, but this is just a so-so beginning.

The World After Alice
by Lauren Aliza Green
Pub Date: July 2, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
“The World After Alice is a lovely debut novel that glimmers with fine writing and notes of human insight."
For readers of Seating Arrangements and The Most Fun We Ever Had, a gorgeous and gripping story of two families brought together to celebrate an unexpected marriage, twelve years after a devastating tragedy upended their lives.
The wedding is the first time the family will be together since Alice’s funeral. This is a very sad story that is very beautifully written.

Through love and loss, we see a family coming together in their grief for Alice and their love for the bride and groom. It’s an amazing debut novel and I’ll be watching for other books by this author.
I would not recommend this for someone who is triggered by suicide.

A family drama dressed up like a thriller, I loved The World After Alice, which focuses on the union of two individuals who share the loss of an important person in their younger years, and the fallout that comes from their union within their family. This was the perfect quick and suspenseful read without being scary or creepy.

In reading The World After Alice, I kept thinking that this writing style reminds me of Ann Napolitano's writing. (The style and the twisted family dynamics similar to that of Hello Beautiful).

If suicide is a trigger for you, you probably want to avoid The World After Alice. If you are contemplating suicide, maybe you should read The World After Alice. Know that you will leave all those around you shattered for decades. Please reconsider, things are really not that bad. Reach out to Suicide and Crisis lifelines at 988.

Everyone in The World After Alice is haunted by a secret; this book is a web of them. This book will stick with me for quite a while. Definitely different than most reads. I'm glad that I took the time to read it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC for approving my request to read the advance read copy of The World After Alice in exchange for an honest review. publication date is Jul 02, 2024. Approx 320 pages.

At age 16 Alice committed suicide, and life was never the same after that for her family and friends. Her brother, Benji and her friend Morgan, connected when they were younger and as the years go by, the bond between them deepen. Neither one of them told their family that they were dating and falling in love, until they announce through a wedding invitation that they are getting married in Maine, and they were invited.
When everyone arrived, we read about all the things that has happened since Alice died.
As the weekend unfolds, each one of them is faced with the past, and the things that has happened since then. They start to see some things differently, and when the weekend is over, who will each one be, and what will happen. It is a weekend that they each face what happened and what it has done to them.
I received an ARC from Viking through NetGalley.

This a a slow-paced, character-driven novel of families dealing with a teenaged suicide, depression, infidelity, and forgiveness. Nearly every character is a “main” character and all are sufficiently developed so their actions and emotions feel real. The epilogue is especially poignant. The author certainly knows how to use the English language as her phrases, similes, and descriptions are amazing. I admit to having to look up the meanings of several words I’d not seen before (I.e. telos, gracile, concupiscent, gustatory, etc.) so besides enjoying a good story, I learned new words!

Thanks to NetGalley and Viking/Penguin Random House for the ARC to read and review.

The novel's topic is similar to Anna Quindlen's "After Annie," a story about how a woman's death affected her husband, children and best friend. But while "After Annie" was beautifully written and brought me to tears, "The World After Alice" is more chaotic and unsettling. The narrative roamed quite a bit and I had a hard time concentrating on the straying content. I would have liked to know more of Alice’s life and reason for death. I was left with quite a few questions about her life and death as well as, her associations with each of the characters.

An emotional roller coaster of two family’s lives after the death of one family’s daughter, Alice. Twelve years has passed and now they’ve come together for a wedding. But all must face what has happened in that time with different consequences to their lives.
A slow-paced read but one that cannot be rushed given the content.
I enjoyed the story once I got into it and figured out how everyone fit together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Press for my eARC.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking for the copy of The World After Alice by Lauren Aliza Green. I was completely lost in the first part of this book, but Part Two was gripping and got me interested in the story. I didn’t warm up to the writing style and it felt like it was trying too hard and became confusing and unclear at times. This could have been an emotional blockbuster but the characters’ feelings never rang true for me. Still, I liked the idea of the story and the plot was good when it was finally revealed.