It has been 12 years since Alice's death, a devastating loss that affect more people that her family thought. Now the families of Alice's brother Benji, and her best friend Morgan come together for their upcoming nuptials. The fractured families have not been together since the funeral 12 years ago and everyone is carrying secrets. Benji's father lost his job and has been keeping it from his wife who was once his mistress. Linnie, Benji's mother brings her boyfriend who has a hidden history with Alice that is bound to come to light sooner or later. Peter, Morgan's father has been holding out for an unrequited love, and Morgan herself even is carrying a burden that threatens her future happiness.

One weekend will bring things to light and also free people from burdens and demons they have been carrying for far too long.

My biggest problem with this novel is that it felt very pretentious ar times. The word choices in many instances made it feel like a word was switched with an obscure synonym. Other than that the story was interesting. It was just an exploration of a family and everyone around them still dealing with the death of a loved one, and how it changed their relationships and day to day lives.

Thank you Penguin Group Viking for allowing me to read and review The World After Alice on NetGalley.

Published: 07/02/24

Stars: 4

I had to remind myself several times there would not be a story if Alice didn't leave, and that meant be patient with the backstory. As the reader, I knew Alice left; and those left behind had to be shown in multiple lights. All the characters have secrets and overall frustrated me. I didn't like any of the characters and hated how little self-respect they had for themselves,

Stories that are written in parts are not my favorites. I feel like the writer is being lazy. At 70% the parts start to work. As each character is shown currently, I was further disgusted with her father -- his life certainly moved on. The epilogue tore me up.

There is profanity. The author has an expansive vocabulary (seemed forced) and the Kindle dictionary was able to accommodate me.

Overall this is a book meant to be taken in. This is a slow read. I recommend it for smart mature readers.

Thank you @vikingbooks for this gifted book.

Thank you @PRHaudio for the gifted audiobook.


THE WORLD AFTER ALICE confronts the pain, grief, heartache, and struggles of navigating life after losing a loved one.

Everyone has gathered for Benji and Morgan’s wedding. But there is a shadow that lingers among them.

Twelve years ago, Benji’s sixteen-year-old sister Alice took her own life. The story follows the ripple effect of Alice’s death on her family.

Although Alice leaves this world in the Prologue, she is still very much a character in the book. You feel her presence through flashbacks or the driving undercurrents in people’s lives.

I was very moved by this honest, raw, and thought-provoking narrative. Alice’s parents' marriage doesn’t survive the loss, and Benji feels he can’t live up to what Alice was. There were some tough conversations. The what-ifs were asked—what if Alice lived? The brutal blame game was played.

This beautiful, heartbreaking family drama shows how one life is woven into the fabric of many. It shows how grief can tear apart just as easily as it can bring together.


Thank you @vikingbooks for this gifted book.

Thank you @PRHaudio for the gifted audiobook.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Twelve years after 16 year old Alice dies, her families gather together for a surprise wedding of her brother and her best friend.

This book is sad, no way around it. The aftermath of suicide is unimaginable, not just for the family but also close friends and acquaintances. Grief, guilt, loss and many unanswered questions make it difficult for them to move on. I was intrigued by the premise, but this book feel short for me, but I believe others will enjoy it. This book is well written, but the author lost me with her focus on writing a great novel. I found myself using my dictionary so many times, that I found it hard to get back into the story. While I could fully empathize with the situation, I could not connect with any of the unlikeable characters, although you could feel Alice’s pain. There just seemed to be no depth to most of them. The timeline was very disjointed, each chapter was jumping back and forth for different characters with no warning. This was the saddest wedding ever. Even the resolution at the end left me with questions. I’ve definitely come to realize that novels that are heavily character driven, may not be for me. This was an ambitious debut novel that could have been edited better.

Thanks to Viking Books and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

I need to stop putting faith in the adjectives of a synopsis. I did not find this, as the blurb claims, gorgeous or gripping. The writing felt quite flat to me. I did not like these characters, and while I don’t generally require that in fiction, this seemed like the type of novel where I should actually care to some degree. I just didn’t. I pushed as far as I could go, but I really was not enjoying this, proving I was not the right reader for it.

I will leave it without a rating on other platforms since I did not finish it.

I am immensely grateful to Viking Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

I loved these characters. Such a raw story and everyone felt really authentic. Also really loved the epilogue.

What a beautifully written story! I highly enjoyed every minute of it. Don’t forget to pick up your copy today! You won’t be able to put it down!

I honestly tried to find my way through this novel but to no avail. What I did read was disjointed and lacked an even flow. It did not hold my interest in pursuing the story further. I am sure that others will embrace this novel.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Viking for a free ARC via Netgalley in exchange for a review. This is out now!

Contemporary Fiction. 12 years ago, the talented and mysterious Alice shocks her wealthy NYC family and friends when she tragically ends her life. In the present, Alice’s brother, Benji, and best friend/competitior, Morgan, have dated in secret for 3 years and surprise their families with their engagement. Reuniting everyone for the first time in 12 years at their wedding, everyone is still reeling from the loss in different ways. Alice’s dad, Nick, is trying to keep the loss of his job a secret from his wife, Caro (former secretary and mistress), who is desperate for another baby. Alice’s mom, Linnie, brings a strange man as her date with his own history with Alice. Peter, Morgan’s dad, has been Linnie’s support through her loss of both her daughter and her marriage and has been pining for her for 12 years. Morgan has to reckon with Linnie after an embarrassing outburst at Alice’s funeral, and Benji is trying to keep everyone together for the weekend. Over the course of the weekend, everyone grapples with their feelings of guilt, grief, and secrets they’ve been harboring for years.

For covering some pretty sad/serious/heavy themes, I’m surprised there were quite a few moments of humor sprinkled throughout. I loved the different POVs and it really helped demonstrate how people grieve differently and how many lives are affected when a loved one takes their own life. I think this would make an excellent movie adaptation (picture Julia Roberts as Linnie, Robert Downey Jr as Nick *chefs kiss*). I love a family drama and this was a solid one!

Perfect for the beach and just in time. All the elements that make it so -- many characters, all with secrets and regrets; intertwined coincidences, romance and a whiff of a thriller.

Love, loss, family drama, all the makings of a novel I hoped would be five stars. But it dragged a bit in the middle and the writing was beautiful but at times overwrought and overly complicated, which pulled me out of the story. Grief is at the center of this story, with each character’s perspectives looking back on a tragic event; so have something light and fun ready if you need a break from heavy subject matter afterward. Green did a wonderful job of developing complicated characters that were both unlikeable and hard not to root for, reminiscent in some ways of Claire Lombardo (and yes, they are also a white upper middle class family, which can feel overdone). This is definitely a character-driven story where the destination pays off but the journey takes a little too long to get there.

The death of Alice causes ramifications in both the Weil and Hensley families. The Weil family disintegrates. Alice’s parents, Nick and Lennie, divorce. Nick seeks solace with Caro, his assistant. Lennie turns to Ezra, her teacher. Alice’s brother, Benji, turns to Alice’s best and rival, Morgan. Morgan Hensley has always cared for Benji. Morgan’s father, Peter, who is a single parent, has his reservations about the relationship. Peter is also in love with Lennie. When the couple decide to marry, all these relationships come to a head at the wedding. What lies ahead for these characters, both individually and as couples, is the story in The World After Alice by Lauren Aliza Green. It is a complex and engrossing story about what happens to people when a child dies. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the eARC.

I am struggling with out to review and rate The World After Alice. The premise and the loss of Alice really hooked me, but by the end I just found myself read to be done with the book. That is a sign for me that it didn't really resonate.

Family dramas are hit or miss for me and unfortunately The World After Alice was a miss.

This is a largely character based novel that follows the people closest to Alice both before and after she commits suicide, culminating with the cast reuniting for the wedding of Alice's brother Benji and best friend Morgan.

I was expecting more suspense and even potentially salaciousness but much of the "drama" happened off page. I also didn't know or learn enough about Alice to feel anything for her or in regards to her suicide. The jumping back and forth in time didn't work for me and I didn't love any of the characters. The entire book is somber and long winded.

While the writing was fine the book was unenjoyable.

This book started with so much promise but after a short time the intertwining of the characters was just too much! I really wanted to love this book and I did finish it but never felt much emotion for any of the players in this very twisted story!!!

An interesting weaving of perspectives all unraveling on one important day- a wedding day! I enjoyed the character development and puzzle piecing, but wish more time was given to getting to know Alice instead of everyone around her. Overall, interesting read.

Anyone who has suffered through the loss of a young person sees time through a before and after. The unexpected, unexplained suicide of a daughter, sister, friend has scored that divide into the lives of the characters in THE WORLD AFTER ALICE. But this group of characters has never faced the trauma together and has now come together for a wedding, a surprise wedding of Alice's brother and Alice's best friend. It has been 12 years since Alice's death, but even the joyous couple has not faced the truths of her death and the aftermath.
The narrator of the story shares the secrets and feelings of every member of the wedding party. No one escapes the magnifying glass as Lauren Green shows us all of the pain and grief that the wedding guests thought they had buried. The story is an emotional journey taken by two families that have shared grief and joy equally that takes the readers to the center of their hearts.

Unfortunately, The World After Alice had potential but fell flat for me. I never found myself connecting with the characters or really caring about them enough to make this character driven plot work for me.

Adding one star for Jewish representation.

The World After Alice was a slow read for me. From the description and initial chapters, I was hoping this would read more like a mystery, and was disappointed that the layers pulled back in the book were not as revealing or attention grabbing in the end. I had a difficult time connecting and even remembering some of the characters throughout the story. The ending did not give me much the sense of closure around Alice's death that I had hoped for, and seemingly many of the characters were just as miserable by the end as they were in the beginning. Not for me in the end, but appreciate the chance to read this ARC!

A book filled with grief, loss, and yet, new beginnings.

Alice is 16 when she takes her own life. Her friends and family are significantly impacted by the loss of Alice. Years after this, Benji (Alice’s brother) and Morgan (her best friend) are in a secret relationship. When they get married, the family is brought back together and Alice’s memory, of course, still lingers.

The grief in this book is palpable. The story itself is slow to progress but its character driven plot and the emotional turmoil they feel is what kept me reading.