⛧Annie LeBlanc is Not Dead Yet by Molly Morris - I actually really enjoyed this. It had a romcom vibe with a touch of supernatural/magic on top of a YA backdrop. I was actually shocked at how normal the story was for it being about bringing a dead person back to life for 30 days.

This audiobook is narrated by Georgina Sadler

•Thank you to @wednesdaybooks & @macmillan.audio

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. I liked it! I would categorize this as a coming of age, sprinkled with fantasy and some romance. The ending could have gone a few different ways, I was happy with the way Ms. Morris wrapped the story up.

This was cute! I liked the premise of Annie getting to bring 1 person back from the dead but only for 30 days. And the person she picks is her former bff... mysterious! An enjoyable coming-of-age story with a unique plot, self-discovery, with a great narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, Wednesday Books, Molly Morris, and Georgina Sadler (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet in exchange for an honest review.

Lennon, California: a secretive town that hosts an annual drawing. The winner gets to bring one person back from the dead, but only for 30 days. Those outside of the Lennon community do not know, cannot know of this secret. Wilson (Wil) enters this contest to bring back her friend, Annie, not expecting to win, and even though Annie kind of ghosted Wil for the last year of her life. Wil still cares enough to choose Annie to bring back, despite their prior distance. But friends move on and find other friends; that doesn't mean one still can't remain friends too.

With only 30 days to have Annie back, Wil looks to rekindle the best friendship they once had, get Annie to be friendly with her other friend, Ryan, and make the most of the time she has for the 30 days. But when Wil learns of someone who wasn't called back after the 30 days, someone who was able to remain in their second life and not return to death, Wil seeks the loophole that kept that person alive to then keep Annie alive as well.

Between juggling friendships, exploring her sexuaIity, finding romance, and seeking the key to keeping Annie alive beyond the 30 days, Wil certainly has some choices to make with a limited amount of time.

The premise of this book stumped me a bit at first. I continued to question the science behind bringing someone back to life temporarily, then acknowledge that it is magic realism and who knows? There could be a town out there with a ritual just like this and no one would be the wiser. Once I got passed the "how," I thoroughly enjoyed the premise and found it an interesting concept. Who would you bring back if you could and it was only for 30 days? And like Wil, what person wouldn't try to keep they resurrected loved one permanently?

With a lot of interesting questions of morality along with a nice blend of high school shenanigans, this novel makes for a step above your average story. This novel is for those who have lost, those who hope, and those who can see how death is a key aspect of life. A great young adult novel with many lessons within that any teen reader can enjoy.

I wanted to fully sink into this book. But there was just something missing that kept me from fully amercing myself into it. It might have been a me issue, or a book issue. but there was just a disconnect.

This was delightful and kickstarted my YA binge. The premise is unique and the story is entertaining while also being heartwrenching. Was not prepared to enjoy it was much as I did.

Annie LeBlanc is Not Dead Yet is a heartwarming and enchanting listen that beautifully blends the whimsical with the profound. It was narrated with a perfect blend of humor and emotional depth, this audiobook transports listeners to the quirky town of Lennon, California, where the impossible becomes possible every ten years.

Wilson Moss’s journey to bring back her ex-best friend Annie is both captivating and deeply emotional. The story starts with an intriguing premise: a town contest allowing one person to return from the dead for thirty days. Wilson’s determination to revive Annie, despite the bitterness of their past, sets the stage for a story filled with wonder, friendship, and unexpected revelations.

The charm of this story lies not only in its unique plot but also in its fascinating characters. Wilson’s earnest efforts to reconnect with Annie, and the hope of possibly extending her stay, pull at the heartstrings. The narrative is further enriched by the complex dynamics with Ryan, their third best friend. It was truly heartwarming to see Ryan and Wilson find their way back to each other. Their beautiful reconciliation is a highlight of the story, offering a touching portrayal of friendship and love rekindled after misunderstandings and time apart.

The audiobook’s narration captures the essence of the story beautifully, bringing out the quirks of Lennon, the urgency of Wilson trying to fix her friendships, and the delicate balance between past grievances and present hopes. The voice acting adds a delightful layer to the already engaging narrative, making it easy to get lost in the tale.

What makes Annie LeBlanc is Not Dead Yet particularly special is its ability to intertwine lighthearted moments with deeper reflections on life, death, and what it means to truly be alive. The cute and funny interactions among the characters are a joy to listen to, and the unfolding mystery about Annie's past will keep you hooked until the very end.

I would’ve have loved for the story to give us more details about Annie during her time away during junior year. I did love the very ending of the book when Annie finally fulfills her dream to see the rainforest.

Overall, the audio was such a touching experience to listen to. A true testament to the power of friendship and the lengths one will go to keep our loved ones close.

This was a strange book. The idea was really cool but I don't feel like it was used to its full potential. I liked this overall but I felt like I just kept waiting for more. I felt like it could have pushed the boundaries just a bit more.

When I first started this book, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but it quickly grew on me. I attempted to read it through the eyes of a young adult and took it more as a coming of age story, that’s when I started to really enjoy it.

This tiny town has a tradition that every 10 years someone gets to bring someone back from the dead for 30 days. Only those in the town can see the person for who they were and everyone else sees them as a whole new person. Wilson, the main character, chooses her childhood best friend who she was no longer friends with. She works to get the friend group back together but it proves to be quite the challenge.

There were moments that Wilson annoyed me to no end and but then I remembered that all 17 year olds can be annoying LOL! I loved the growth and change in every single character throughout this book. They all had to learn coming of age lessons and even the adults had to face adult problems and actually address them.

I loved that the queer people in this book just existed and it was just part of the story. It was normal and it wasn’t just a character placed in a book to say there was diversity in it. I thought it was well written and it was an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend to any of my friends or young adults that are interested in a clever, confusing, wonderful, and memorable story.

I received this ARC from MacMillan audio in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

This was a fun story. It was funny and just overall good. I really liked it a lot. The narrator was on point. In a strange town every year someone different is chosen to come back from the dead. I highly recommend this in audio form, you won’t be disappointed.

3.5 would be rating

I enjoyed the narration of this one. I think that it would really resonate with young people and I thought the story was fun and cute. It was a little hard to stomach all of the self deprication from Wilson but I imagine that would really speak to the YA audience. Thank you for the advance copy, Macmillan Audio!

Wilson has entered the Welcome Back contest, and she's stunned to find out when she wins she gets the opportunity to bring her best friend, Annie LeBlanc back from the dead for 30 days. When she hears about the possibility that might allow Annie to stay alive longer than that, she jumps at the chance to reunite Annie and her friend Ryan.

This book has such a cool premise, but it just didn't work for me. The major problem I had from the get go was that I did not like Wilson. Since we spend the entire book in her head, this quickly became a problem for me. Wilson is completely clueless of literally everything, and I'd be willing to give her a pass at this as she's 17, but she's also really annoying. Yes, she is really quirky liking the old timey things she likes. The other characters were nothing spectacular either. In fact, I couldn't tell you one character I actually liked in this book. And don't get me started on Wilson calling her mom by her first name or anytime Dr. David is mentioned. I just could not

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Georgina Sadler was a fine narrator, but this book wasn't for me.

{3.5 stars}

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

Wilson lives in a small town where once every ten years someone is able to be brought back to life for 30 days. (This is never really explained so you have to check a little reality at the door.) On a bit of a whim, Wilson enters her childhood friend’s name into the drawing and wins. The title of the book is a bit of a misnomer as the story is mostly about Wilson. We quickly learned that her friendships weren’t what they seem and she is desperately trying to get back to a more innocent time.

The story definitely use on the younger side of YA. Even though the girls are about to graduate high school they were definitely a little sheltered and naive, which may be true in some small towns. It’s very much a coming of age story and a learning to look at the world with mature eyes story. She has lots of realizations about herself and people around her as well as reconciliations. It’s also a perfect read for Pride month.

In Annie LeBlanc’s Not Dead Yet, Wilson, an 18 year old girl, won a competition in her little town to bring someone back from the dead for 30 days. Wilson chose her former best friend with whom she had a falling out before she passed away. Teenage angst. Yes.
Clever plot. Yes.
Emotional twists and turns. Yes.
Witty teen banter with Harry Styles references. Yes and yes!!
This book was so unique and so fun. It had a magical concept but was cleverly written in such a way that it was totally normal to bring someone back from the dead. And I really liked how Wilson matured that summer, realized the importance of family and friends and was finally happy.

When Wilson Moss wins a contest that allows her to bring back one person from the dead for 30 days, she thinks this is the chance to fix her friendship with Annie LeBlanc and maybe—just maybe—find a loophole to keep Annie among the living.

Growing up, Wil and Annie were the best of friends; then Wil, Annie, and their friend Ryan had a falling out. Within a year, Annie had passed away.

In so many ways, Wil is used to being the one keeping everything together. Her friendship with Annie and Ryan fell apart around the same time as her family, and Wil has been flying solo trying to take care of her mom and half-sister ever since.

With Annie back, Wil starts to open up and have fun again. She begins to embrace life and dream more. She’s not so alone anymore.

At a glance:
- YA (summer after high school graduation)
- Magical realism
- Small town
- Queer

Highlights for me:
- Wil being named after Wilson Phillips
- Wil’s relationship with her former stepfather
- Ryan’s brother, Mark (honestly, what a great guy)
- Wil’s love of ’90s music
- Wil’s comics (I would read them.)
- When Annie opens up to Wil

Things that were tougher for me:
- Wil’s mom’s behavior (She doesn’t act like the adult in the household, and some of her interactions with Wil made my heart ache.)
- Ryan’s response to Annie and her behavior towards Wil (I feel like these are believable teenage behaviors, but that doesn’t make them easy to read.)

I enjoyed Georgina Sadler’s narration. She made Wil feel very relatable. I didn’t love her voice for Ryan but felt like it was fitting for the character.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All review opinions are my own.

This is the month of delightful books for me.

One might notice that I only have two delightful books on the June agenda, but I’ll argue that this is two more than usual.

Of course, this particular delight does involve someone coming back from the dead so I have not become completely unrecognizable here.

I almost passed on Annie LeBlanc is Not Dead Yet because bright covers don’t generally entice me, but upon scanning the first line of the synopsis, I was lured in. It begins with: “Every ten years in the strange little town of Lennon, California, one person is chosen to return from the dead.” I needed to know what that was all about.

This magical device was used to explore complications in friendships and romance. At first, I really liked the way this was addressed. Wilson and her best friends, Annie and Ryan, grew apart, although Wilson never understood why. Then Annie tragically died. Wilson was fortunate enough to win the town’s lottery, meaning a dead person of her choosing could come back to life for 30 days. Obviously, she picked Annie.

This seemed like a great opportunity to examine the way friendships change over the years. While this theme is most commonly found in books for kids and teens, it isn’t an unfamiliar grief for adults. Carrying in my own experiences made me excited to see how the author would resolve this. Unfortunately, I found the reasons these friendships disintegrated difficult to believe and, although I could be mistaken, I suspect few will find any of it relatable.

I did really like the relationship dynamics between Wilson and her mother. I think the author did a phenomenal job addressing the impact that a young, immature mother has on her child. Wilson’s view of her mom seemed logical, and I liked the way the author worked out the tension between them. Wilson’s response to her mom’s pending nuptials may have been slightly muted, but I do think Molly Morris captured the friction realistically.

I also enjoyed Wilson’s character, in general. I loved all of her old school interests, and was really intrigued by her love of and talent surrounding comics.

The biggest turnoff for me, however, was the romance. Not because romance is abhorrent to me, but because I felt this one had hints of toxicity. It was clear early on where Morris wanted to go with this, but I kept hoping she wouldn’t take that route. To me, it condoned the whole “That person is only mean to you because they like you,” mindset. I could not bring myself to embrace that. I also found the 180 in the love interest’s behavior difficult to digest, and everything then felt like it was laced with artificial sweetener, which just leaves a terrible aftertaste.

I am immensely grateful to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

annie leblanc is not dead yet by molly morris 💙 thank you macmillan audio for an audio copy! every ten years in the strange little town of Lennon, California, one person is chosen to return from the dead for only thirty days 👀

I wasn't sure if I was going to fall in love with ALINDY but it was SO good. the main focus of this story wasn’t following the magic behind bringing people back from the dead but it’s more a coming-of-age story with heavy focus on friendships and relationships!

not only was I invested in the trio of friends, wilson, annie & ryan, I was hooked by the story and the writing style. I loved the touch of each chapter being a countdown, it felt like I was growing and experiencing the 30 days with them! when I wasn't reading this book, I was constantly thinking about when the next chance would be to pick it up.

this review is proudly sponsored by hot chocolate bombs- iykyk 💕 5 stars! #MacAudio2024

This story perfectly captures the time of teenage confusion and mortification. Wilson just wants her friends back. There were so many times when I was thinking, Just talk, but teenagers don’t do that! It’s not so easy. There are feelings you don’t fully understand and just things you don’t know how to put into words. This showed how things aren’t always what they seem to be and how teenagehood can feel so monumental. I loved how the characters developed and how Wilson came out of her shell. Such a unique and interesting concept was explored in an amazing way.

Every ten years, the peculiar town of Lennon, California grants one lucky (or perhaps unlucky) resident the chance to bring someone back from the dead. When Wilson actually wins, her joy is tinged with apprehension – Annie had mysteriously cut off contact a year before her death.

The novel excels in its exploration of complicated female friendships. Wil's desperate yearning to reclaim the bond she once shared with Annie is relatable and tugs at the heartstrings. The sapphic angle adds another layer of intrigue, particularly when a past encounter between Wil and Ryan, Annie's other best friend, resurfaces. The author expertly navigates the complexities of love, loss, and the messy realities of growing apart.

The magical realist premise of Lennon's resurrection contest is undeniably original. The thirty-day limit placed on the returned souls adds a ticking clock element, propelling the plot forward. As Wil scrambles to find a loophole to keep Annie tethered to the mortal plane, the story takes an unexpected turn, forcing her to confront uncomfortable truths about both Annie and their friendship. If you're looking for a book with a unique premise, strong female characters, and romance, this is a must-read.

Honestly I loved this book! It had everything - a love triangle, friendships, coming of age, queer representation, loneliness, ZOMBIES... When I first started reading it I was a little disappointed how much the main character reminded me of Hugh from This Is Not the End (loner, friend abandons him, only listens to old music) but Wilson came into her own and I really did like her by the end of the book. I loved all of the characters - even Ryan. They all had so much heart and I could understand all of their decisions. I felt their pain and love. It was such a tender story even with the zombies. It was weird in such a perfect way. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.