Scan barcode
disauci's review
The first part of Alice Isn't Dead is intriguing. I was always wondering what would happen next and was hoping that we might find out who the Thistle Man was. It was beautifully ugly and odd and dark. Then the first part ended, and the second part came along. It was frankly boring. I didn't care now that Keisha knew about Alice being alive for certain. Maybe it got better, I don't know. Ultimately, I wasn't interested to find out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Cannibalism, and Stalking
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Cursing, Blood, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
kailovesfrogs333's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think this book works so much better as a podcast, as somebody who adores the podcast and finished it in 4 days. However, I'm still giving this book a 4-star because it has a special place in my heart, and because there were some very quotable moments in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Stalking
Minor: Cursing, Antisemitism, and Colonisation
24carrotgay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is not the kind of book that I usually read. I usually put down books that have somebody taking a bite out of somebody else's neck in the first chapter (R.I.P. Earl). But Alice Isn't Dead had me hooked. This book was a lot in terms of violence and heavy themes, so it took a bit of time and space for me to truly appreciate it. Right after finishing, I honestly felt drained. A couple weeks later though, I was raving about it. Definitely won't reread, but I'm glad I read it :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
haileyhardcover's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I used to be big into podcasts but I haven’t listened to one in ages. I had no idea about Alice Isn’t Dead (in podcast OR book form) until I happened to notice it at B&N, read half of the description on the back and decided to buy it on a whim.
The premise is cool - Keisha’s wife goes missing, is presumed dead, and then Keisha sees her repeatedly popping up in the background of the news, so she goes looking for her and discovers way more than she bargained for. The story was well written and easy to read fast (short chapters!) but there were several points where I was just… bored. I wonder if I might’ve felt more emotionally invested if I’d listened to the podcast.
My favorite bit was the most relatable to me - Keisha, having resolved to remain single, sees Alice for the first time and thinks, “Well, shit.” And ain’t that just how it goes… lol Best laid plans.
For someone who LOVES horror, I didn’t read enough of it this year. I’m looking forward to reading more of it in 2024. Maybe I’ll find something actually scary for a change lol
The premise is cool - Keisha’s wife goes missing, is presumed dead, and then Keisha sees her repeatedly popping up in the background of the news, so she goes looking for her and discovers way more than she bargained for. The story was well written and easy to read fast (short chapters!) but there were several points where I was just… bored. I wonder if I might’ve felt more emotionally invested if I’d listened to the podcast.
My favorite bit was the most relatable to me - Keisha, having resolved to remain single, sees Alice for the first time and thinks, “Well, shit.” And ain’t that just how it goes… lol Best laid plans.
For someone who LOVES horror, I didn’t read enough of it this year. I’m looking forward to reading more of it in 2024. Maybe I’ll find something actually scary for a change lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Racism, Stalking, and War
Minor: Sexism and Gaslighting
atlas_likes_to_read's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Stalking
lanna_aud's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Death of parent
e_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This took me a while to get into, just because of the horror aspect. I’m not usually a horror reader by any means tbh, but I’ll do what I have to do for a queer book. I would recommend this to someone that liked Hank Green’s duology, and bonus if you liked Welcome to Nightvale. There were one or two things that felt like they were pulled from Nightvale plot points (specifically I’m thinking of a library scene) but they’re completely different story lines.
I’m not a podcast person, so I wasn’t comparing this book against the Alice Isn’t Dead podcast. From reading other reviews, I think that was to my benefit. The plot was a little hard to grasp at times, but I really enjoyed the way it all came together. The ending wrapped everything up very nicely. The casual queerness was also a major plus—there was the occasional mention of homophobia, but the book had queer main characters without their being queer being the main struggle (or even *a* struggle) they face in the book.
Overall, this novel really grew on me! Deducted one star for the horror element, which is more on me than the book.
I’m not a podcast person, so I wasn’t comparing this book against the Alice Isn’t Dead podcast. From reading other reviews, I think that was to my benefit. The plot was a little hard to grasp at times, but I really enjoyed the way it all came together. The ending wrapped everything up very nicely. The casual queerness was also a major plus—there was the occasional mention of homophobia, but the book had queer main characters without their being queer being the main struggle (or even *a* struggle) they face in the book.
Overall, this novel really grew on me! Deducted one star for the horror element, which is more on me than the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Gun violence
the_escapist's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Contemporary/light-horror (more about a sense of wrongness than scariness though). A road trip for an anxiety-ridden women to find her missing wife, Alice, in which strange beings keep turning up.
I remember listening to some of the podcast for this years ago (by one of the writers of Welcome to Night Vale) and losing track of where I left off, so when the audiobook turned up in my library I gave it a go. It’s surprisingly wholesome, which is probably why I didn’t vibe well with it. It's fairly slow-paced, and very much about the characters rather than the plot. There were some interesting ideas here, but I just didn’t really connect with it on an emotional level.
I remember listening to some of the podcast for this years ago (by one of the writers of Welcome to Night Vale) and losing track of where I left off, so when the audiobook turned up in my library I gave it a go. It’s surprisingly wholesome, which is probably why I didn’t vibe well with it. It's fairly slow-paced, and very much about the characters rather than the plot. There were some interesting ideas here, but I just didn’t really connect with it on an emotional level.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Grief, Stalking, and Murder