This book grabbed me from the first few pages unfortunately then it lost me . This book was just too much going on all at once . I love a good character driven plot but I felt like the reader is almost given too much info about too many characters and it doesn’t really connect back to make it all work . I thought the ending was interesting though .

This was beautifully written. A tragic event has stunted two families emotionally but they all come together for a surprise wedding that forces them to rethink how they have lived life since the death of Alice.
Haunting in places, frustrating in others. The words flowed smoothly and deliciously over the pages. Sometimes the story was lost in the cleverness of the prose.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I was drawn to this beautiful cover and concept of this family novel. This is a really sad book. After Alice takes her life in high school, everyone she touched is impacted. I felt the most for her brother, Benji and close friend, Morgan, but everyone else I low key hated in this book. The adults were incredibly selfish and self-destructive and it's amazing that Benji turned out as normal as he did.

3.5 stars but rounding down

Thank you to Netgalley & PENGUIN GROUP Viking | Viking for the advanced reader copy.

The World After Alice tells the story of several people whose lives were affected by the death of Alice, who made the irreversible decision at age 16. The viewpoints are varied and center around two major events, the wedding of Alice’s brother and her best friend, in a current day telling and the day of Alice’s funeral. My favorite part about this kind of storytelling is that as the reader, we experience the narrative through different sets of eyes.

I really enjoyed the character development of each and while not all of them were likeable, they were all compelling and complicated. As the reader, we see Alice through the eyes of others but never her voice, until the epilogue. This was an effective way to show her story as well as the others. I recommend this novel to readers who prefer character-driven literature.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Viking for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

The World After Alice by Lauren Aliza Green was a 2-star read for me. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. While Part Two was gripping, I struggled with the first part and found the writing style confusing and unclear. The plot was interesting once it was revealed, but it took too long to get there.

Trigger warning: suicide.

The Prologue introduces the reader to 16 year old Alice Weil as she commits suicide by plunging from a bridge to her death. In spite of Alice’s death, she remains the central character of this story. The story opens as Alice’s brother Benji and Alice’s best friend Morgan, who have secretly been dating for three years, have decided to be married. This comes as a complete surprise to both Benji’s and Morgan’s families. As the families convened for the wedding in Maine the effects of Alice’s death on all of the characters come to light in a dual time line. As in most stories the characters in this story are flawed but unlike other stories it’s hard to find redeeming qualities in the majority of the adults. I have a better than average vocabulary but unfortunately I was forced to continually look up the definitions of far too many words which dramatically slowed the flow and pace of the book. For that reason I’ve given this book three stars. I won’t be recommending this one to my friends and family

This ARC was provided by Penguin Random House via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good read. I would recommend to others interested in literary fiction, good story line and character build.

Somewhere after I started reading this, I thought: This is going to be messy! I love messy, so I was intrigued. What I was not prepared for was the level of this messiness!

This story takes you for a ride. It centers around Benji and Morgan’s wedding weekend in Maine. We learn early on about the loss of Alice, Benji’s sister and Morgan’s best friend, to suicide. How has that loss affected the families? And what secrets do they keep?

Read this if you like complicated family dynamics and how people deal with the loss of a loved one.

TW: Suicide

“What I do know if that in times like these, we must come together as a community to support those who are hurting. To keep their joy safely tucked away in our own cupboards until there’s room again on their shelves.”

The synopsis of this story reveals that 16-year-old Alice has taken her own life. Twelve years later, Alice’s brother Benji is getting married to Alice’s best friend Morgan. They have been secretly dating for three years and both families are quite surprised to receive a wedding invitation from them. The World After Alice tells of the aftermath involving her parents, her brother, and her best friend. The main character of the story is Alice even though she is deceased. How her death affects those in her life is detailed throughout the story. How does one go on with one’s life after the death of a child? What signs were missed? Her parents question what they did wrong or could have done differently.
The story grabbed me immediately, however, for me, it seemed to drag after that and I was glad when it was over. I don’t think this is the author for me. I read for enjoyment and while the author has written a beautifully crafted novel, the vocabulary used stopped me a multitude of times. It is hard to continue reading at a pace that I am comfortable with when I needed to constantly be looking up the definitions of words that I was so unfamiliar with.
The story has two different time lines, past and present. It is a very character driven novel with each person offering their own unique perspective on Alice.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Published on July 2, 2024.

This was a heartwarming story about moving on after an unspeakable tragedy and learning how to love again.

Alice was only a teenager when she unexpectedly took her life. This story shows how it affected her parents, her brother, her best friend, and many others who knew her.

I thought the writing of this story was so beautifully written and it really brought the characters emotions to light. I thought moving through all the characters and their emotions helped balance the sadness a bit more.

The author did a beautiful job exploring the touchy subjects like suicide, grief, depression, infidelity, etc in a tasteful and beautiful way.

The epilogue was just beautiful. A little sad but I thought it was a beautiful end to a tragic story. This is a wonderful debut and will be definitely be reading more from Lauren Aliza Green.

This character driven novel explores what happens to the family and friends in the aftermath of a teenage suicide. Alice is sixteen when she is seen jumping off a bridge into the Hudson River, leaving behind her shocked mother Linnie, father Nick, brother Benji and her best friend Morgan. The novel centres around the wedding of Benji and Morgan, twelve years after Alice’s death, with flash backs to the past gradually filling in what they each knew about Alice and how her death changed their world. At the wedding are also Morgan’s father Peter, Nick’s new wife Caro and Linnie’s date Ezra. All of them have secrets and carry some guilt for what happened to Alice and how none of them really saw her for who she was.

This is a good debut literary novel exploring the often messy relationships between flawed, but believable characters, none of whom, with the exception of Benji and Morgan, are particularly likeable, but are very human. I would have liked to hear from Alice’s point of view, but it’s clear they all let her down, caring only about their own agendas and not the lovely girl in front of them. The wedding acts well as a focus for those involved in Alice’s life to all come together and for secrets and lies to be revealed. While the pacing is a little slow in places, it does well to portray the grief and sadness felt by all and makes for an interesting, if poignant, read. The epilogue set a few years after the wedding was particularly well done bringing a sense of healing and closure for all involved.

Intricately woven family dynamics and a picturesque coastal setting come together in ‘The World After Alice.’ Green’s prose captures the essence of love, loss, and secrets, painting a vivid portrait of interconnected lives. While not quite a five-star read, this novel offers a compelling exploration of human relationships and the enduring impact of tragedy.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the synopsis, I really wanted to like this book but it was so difficult to get interested in that finishing it was a chore.

Alice was a teenage suicide. No one saw this coming, mainly because they were so embroiled in their own sagas. It was hard to connect with any of these flawed characters. This dark and sad story concentrates on loss, lies and infidelity.
I had a problem with the writing style of this book. Why does an author use obscure and archaic words repeatedly in a story? How can a good editor allow such folly? For the reader, these speed bumps halt the storyline while they scramble to find the meaning. These disruptions can be a turnoff for many. I plowed through these because I felt obligated to give this book an honest review, rather than a DNF.
Sadly, this book was not for me.

A story of two families being brought together after 16years of tragedy. It’s a beautifully written debut. Told from the third person, which is helpful with the changes between voices. This story has a lot of promise, but for me unfortunately it moved a bit slow. It’s a strong character driven novel, which I enjoy. But in this case, I couldn’t really connect with the story.

Overall I believe there will be many who love it and recommend giving it a read.
Thank you Netgalley and Viking books for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

While I found the story to be okay, the book itself was overly burdened with unnecessary vocabulary - my husband's words - since I would occasionally question him if he knew what a word meant. I tired of having to highlight words to have my kindle app tell me what the words meant. For those who enjoy literary fiction, maybe you will find it a more felicitous read. I used a thesaurus for that word!

📚 PUBLICATION DAY BOOK REVIEW 📚

The World After Alice
By Lauren Aliza Green
Publication Date: July 2, 2024 (Today!🎉)
Publisher: Penguin Group | Viking

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded up to 5⭐)

📚MY REVIEW:

This debut novel, from Lauren Aliza Green, is a character-driven story written with beautifully masterful language about the human experience. This is a book about a family completely torn apart by grief -- at times the grief within the pages was so palpable, I was certain I could feel the wetness of the tears falling from its pages.

In addition to its tangible grief, the book also evokes reminders of the triumph of the human spirit. Green's writing highlighted the ways in which our grief can illuminate our resiliencies as we strive to redefine ourselves...and expose our deepest flaws and ugliest parts to those we love the most. It was impossible not to share in the heartache, the hope, the sorrow, and the rebirths of the family's personal stories.

If you've been touched by grief in your life, I believe this book will resonate with you in the same heartbreakingly beautiful way it resonated with me. This book is a poignant reminder of how grief's tentacles can feel like an unending and permeating suffocation in every fiber of your being... And how you can emerge on the other side of that grief with grace and a loving acceptance of the person you've now become.

This book absolutely touched my heart. I really felt the characters' pain and emotions, and there were MANY times I cried real tears as I turned these pages. I can't say enough about the ways this book gave me all the feels - some big feels. I was honored to be gifted an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Penguin Group | Viking in exchange for my honest review. What a brilliant and triumphant debut novel - don't miss this one!

#TheWorldAfterAlice #LaurenAlizaGreen #NetGalley #ARC #NetGalleyReviews #debutnovels #bookreviews #fictionbooks #bookrecommendations #booklovers #bookaddicts #bookcommunity

I was very intrigued by the premise of The World After Alice when I read the blurb for this book. It centers around 16-year old Alice who committed suicide when she was just sixteen years old.

Fast-forward 12 years and we are now in Maine for the wedding of Benji, Alice's brother, and her best friend, Morgan, a relationship that the two kept from their families for quite some time. The wedding has brought together all of the people from Alice's life who haven't been together in quite some time, or in some cases have never been in the same place at the same time. The story slowly reveals details of what happened with different members of the family, including Alice and Benji's parents who divorced, and then their father, who married the assistant he had been having an affair with. Morgan's father, Peter, reveals he wants a relationship with Alice and Benji's mother, while their mother is actually dating Ezra, who was one of Alice's teachers.

All of the revelations that begin to occur create havoc for a weekend that is supposed to be a celebration. Morgan and Benji had talked about eloping, but they both knew that having a wedding with their families, was what needed to happen, regardless the fallout. I have to say, while I was "in" this story the whole way, I expected there to be a bigger catalyst as to the "why" of Alice's choice. It just felt like it was very ho-hum in terms of revelations as we got to the high point of the book. While I appreciate that it explored dealing with family dynamics while navigating complicated, messy and tragic events, I guess I thought there might have been more.

Overall, I enjoyed this read, however it didn't live up to the expectations I had of it when I started.

There is nothing like a wedding to bring out the best and the worst and the deepest, darkest secrets we hold carefully from the ones we love and know us best. This is exactly the premise of THE WORLD AFTER ALICE by Lauren, Aliza Green. Deft prose and deep, flawed and wonderful characterization made this a fascinating, gripping story where I had no idea what would happen when two families are gathered for the first time since the tragic death of beloved Alice to celebrate the marriage of her brother and her best friend. Told in the voices of the richly developed characters, the story felt all too relatable and reminded me of weddings I have attended. It makes a fantastic addition to my bookshelf as well as recommendations to my bookclub and friends. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

“The World After Alice,” by Lauren Aliza Green, Viking, 320 pages, July 2, 2024.

When Morgan Hensley and Benjamin Weil surprise their families with a wedding invitation to Maine, they’re aware the news of their relationship will come as a shock. Twelve years have passed since Alice, 16, jumped off a bridge. Alice was Benji’s sister and Morgan’s best friend.

The wedding will be the first time their families will reunite since Alice’s funeral. Benji’s parents, Nicholas and Linnie, have since divorced. Peter, Morgan’s father, thinks the wedding is too hasty. Nick’s new wife, Caro, doesn’t know he is having financial trouble. Linnie is dating Ezra.

The characters here are all haunted by Alice and the question of why she jumped and could they have done something to prevent it. Linnie and Nick get the most coverage in the book. There are a lot of flashbacks. Most of the characters are unlikeable. The family is dysfunctional.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.