The World After Alice was a difficult read for me; I loathed every single one of the characters (is it okay to admit that even includes the deceased Alice?) and it made me annoyed with the book almost the entire time.

This is a family drama. Alice committed suicide. Her family is still reeling from it years later. Things come to a head when her younger brother Benji brings his family together with that of Alice’s best friend/archnemesis, Morgan, who he is going to marry. The story moves back and forth between the past and present day, with a larger portion focused on present day. We get insight into Benji and Morgan’s parents, their griefs, loves, and relationships. The moral fiber of each of them is flawed. And that just makes them so ugly to read about: adults acting like petulant high schoolers. Maybe that’s the point? It’s hard for me to understand why so many people love this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. And this time, my honest review is not recommended.

I find it very hard not to like books. I just did not like this, and I was just overall, well, bored.

#readmorebooks
#readmorebooksbywomen
@netgalley
#netgalley
#netgalleyreader
#netgalleyreviewer
#netgalleyarc
#bookish
#mybookishlife
#wearebookish
#readersofinstagram
#bookstagram
#bookstagrammer
#lovereading
#alwaysreading
#readinggoals
#2024reads
#goodreads
#theworldafteralice

I was hopeful about this book. It had many of the elements I love in a novel: multiple perspectives, different timelines, mysterious connections between characters. Yet… it fell flat. It left me wanting more. There wasn’t a depth to any of the characters that had me connecting and understanding their experience in a meaningful way.

I will not be sharing this review. This was so painful to read! Not because of the subject, but how the author must have sat with a thesaurus next to her to find the most difficult word to describe everything!!! I’m no idiot but this made me feel like one. Such a good premise but clunky writing. I did finish it though which is saying something for it since I normally quit when I don’t like a book.

One thing about me is that I love books about weddings, and I love family sagas. Needless to say, THE WORLD AFTER ALICE was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and I was thrilled to receive an ARC! The story centers around the Maine wedding of Benji and Morgan, the titular Alice's brother and best friend respectively. This is the first time their families are reuniting in twelve years, since Alice's funeral after her tragic death as a teenager. While meant to be a happy occasion, the wedding weekend digs up long-buried secrets and old wounds, threatening Benji and Morgan's—and their families'—path to healing, and forcing everyone to question how well they truly know the people they love most.

This was such an absorbing debut! Lauren Aliza Green's writing style is gorgeous and poetic, and even though she covers some heavy subject matter, the storytelling is so well-done that it's difficult to put the book down. Despite finding many of the characters unlikable, I was so invested in their respective journeys because of the amazing job that Green does in crafting these characters and drawing readers in. The novel truly shines in its honest, complex, and emotional depiction of family life and the difficult issues many people face. However, having such high hopes for this book, there were a couple of things I was a little disappointed about. I felt like the pacing of the story was a little off at times—it jumps between past and present throughout the narrative, which I thought was a good touch, but I wished some of the transitions were smoother, as I sometimes found myself getting confused about where we were situated within the story. I also thought some of the word choices were almost too flowery at times, which took me out of the story a little bit. Still, I really enjoyed this one overall, and am interested to see what Lauren Aliza Green writes next! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

What a talented writer. I love books set in Maine. I love rich family stories that are full of complex characters. The perfect book to get lost in. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book started off strong for me, but by mid-way through, I felt bored with it. It was slow moving and I actually had to look up words in the dictionary which impeded the flow. I skimmed the second half and after reading the last few chapters, I didn’t regret DNFing it. I hope others like it more than I did!

Thank you very much to Penguin Group Viking for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The World After Alice is a heart wrenching story with a highly dysfunctional family dealing with the death of their daughter, Alice. Fast forward to the marriage of Benji & Morgan where all the characters gather for the big event.
This story hits deep, so be prepared for deep feelings, love, hate and surreptitious behavior.
Ms. Green's writing style is poetic and flows nicely, even with this difficult subject matter.

Thank you Net Galley for this wonderful story. Alice will be with me for awhile.

You have to accept this is straight up a sad story. My heart broke for the characters in different ways yet I found them so infuriating. I think Morgan and Benji were the only ones I genuinely liked at the end. The writing style was beautiful but sometimes thought unnecessary words or sentences could've been cut out. These were elaborate words that you wouldn't use in daily conversation so it just didn't feel necessary to implement in the story.

I was looking forward to The World After Alice but was a big disappointed. I liked the writing and subject matter. But the characters were difficult for me to relate to or sympathize with. There seemed to be a lot of good material to work with, but it mostly fell flat for me. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Years after Alice's passing, her brother Benji and her best friend Morgan, bring their families together when they get married.

This book is very depressing and all the characters are unlikable. The is also too many points of view (technically 9) and over half them I would describe as being narcissistic. Unfortunately this book is not for me.
2.75 stars

Thanks netgalley and the publisher for opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

Morgan and Benji, family friends for years, announce to their families one day that they are getting married. The book takes place over the course of the few days leading up to their wedding in Maine, with flashbacks to their younger days interspersed. There is gorgeous writing here and some deep insights to the grieving process and grief itself, but I didn’t connect with or care about any of the characters. Despite the beautiful writing something was off and I found myself the second half of the book just so I could finish.

This is the story of a family and the aftermath after their daughter, Alice, commits suicide. It’s 12 years later and Alice’s brother, Benji, and best friend, Morgan, are set to marry. The whole family converges in Maine, for the wedding, for the first time since Alice’s death.

I found the story to be very odd in the way it was told. It was choppy and seemed to go back in time at strange places in the tale. I did not like any of the characters, and I think for that reason I found myself not really reaching for this book. It was a struggle for me to get through, honestly.

What I deem to be the most unusual part, is the author’s continual use of obscure words throughout the story. It felt forced. I wish I would have made a list of all the words. I generally do not want to have to look up tons of words when reading a general fiction book.

Overall this book was a disappointment to me. I had been looking forward to reading it after reading the summary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

THE WORLD AFTER ALICE is an honest portrait of family life, and I loved how realistic this novel was. The novel dealt with heavy themes, but never felt too hard to read. The author deftly moves between present day and the past, weaving the two together with impressive ability for a debut author!

Wow this book made me so emotional! The novel delves into the intricate relationships within a family following the tragic suicide of a teenage girl named Alice. The wedding announcement of Morgan and Benji, who had kept their relationship hidden, shocks their families. The story unfolds with the mystery surrounding Alice's death, her parents' divorce, and the new relationships that have formed since. The narrative explores themes of guilt, blame, confusion, and love, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding among the main characters. Despite their flaws, the characters are portrayed sympathetically, highlighting the complexities of life and the pursuit of happiness. The poignant tale captures the pain, regret, and hope that accompany loss, leaving a lasting impact on the reader.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

This family relationship denouement is long on drama and emotion but short on reader empathy. The author's writing is over-styled, occasionally drifting into distraction. While the alternating narrators helped progress the novel in interesting ways, even this failed to keep my attention long enough to finish the book.

The World After Alice by Lauren Eliza Green
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Penguin Publishing Group and Net Galley for the advanced reader’s copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A wedding is the setting of intertwined, complicated relationships within this broken family. Morgan and Benji are long in love but hid their relationship from their families because of the death of Alice,Benji’s sister and Morgan’s best friend, twelve years ago. Morgan’s mother has not been a part of her or her father, Peter’s, lives. Benji’s mother and father are divorced and each have new relationships. All have their secrets and guilt related to Alice. The reader learns, in sections or eras of time, about each character’s inner turmoil and, in turn, how this affects each of their relationships with one another.
Eventually, we learn about their growth, forgiveness, and reconciliation within themselves and with others.

What I liked: The relationship between Benji and Morgan. They stick together and they are honest with one another. I love a wedding! It was wonderful to see they each family member finally find resolution.

What I didn’t like: 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.
#NetGalley
#TheWorldAfterAlice

Woah. My heart broke in many different ways for the characters. It’s a straight up sad story. However I didn’t enjoy the characters very much.

A beautifully written novel a story of a wedding of two families coming together after a death .This is emotional moving heart wrenching.I was drawn in from the first pages.#netgalley #viking

I received an ARC of this debut novel through NetGalley.

This book is set at a wedding weekend in Maine. The groom (Benji) is the younger brother of Alice, who committed suicide on the first pages of the book. The bride (Morgan) was Alice’s best friend. Their parents are no longer married to each other and are accompanied by their new love interests.

The writing in this book is beautiful, with the author demonstrating an expansive vocabulary. This is a series of character studies and it takes a while to keep track of who’s who with all the characters being studied. The structure of the book is also a bit confusing, as it jumps around amongst the characters and flashes back frequently to Alice’s life and funeral service.

The overall tone of these stories is quite melancholy. But the issues these people are coping with are quite real and the characters seem genuine.