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emoleeb's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
emrosenagel's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, and Death
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Gore, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
cjbooks's review
4.0
It was a really beautiful book. Perfect for younger audiences. Serious topics, really serious ones, but mixed with adventure, with humour, with friendships, with growing. And that was amazing. I am glad I read it. I only didn't like the writing style, that just wasn't my thing. But the story itself made up for it. Great. Thank you netgalley for the earc!
octospark's review
Hello Goodreaders. Happy Thanksgiving. Today, Alice the Cat is six months out from its release date: May 23, 2023. I'm so thrilled. I just wanted to say hello and introduce this book to you. Pre-order links are available via my website, www.timcummings.ink
The hardcover Special Edition is gorgeous--definitely Pre-order that one!
And watch this space for an upcoming giveaway. :-)
Very happy to share some advance praise:
“Tim Cummings manages to couple the writing of an angel with the imagination of the devil. Alice the Cat slinked inside me, furtively, magnificently. My heart ached for Tess—so much loss. My heart thundered for her too—so much sass and courage. My skin crawled with hers. Sometimes I wanted to run screaming. I could not stop reading. This book is nothing short of bliss. Meow!”
– [a: Caroline Thompson|123105|Caroline Thompson|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], writer of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands
“Alice the Cat is a vibrant, emotional tale filled with love, friendship, and mysteries. A triumphant story of survival in the face of grief and loss.”
– [a:Jeff Zentner|8394519|Jeff Zentner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1668960985p2/8394519.jpg], award-winning author of The Serpent King and In The Wild Light.
"Tim Cummings is a magician. He’s spun the most delicious spell with Alice the Cat —this book thrums with anger and grief, yet is ultimately one of the most charming, hilarious, heart-filled, life-giving novels I’ve ever read. Tess is a narrator for the ages—I adore her playful use of language and her fierce, loving spirit. I love everything about this book—all its sentences, all its characters—with every last inch of my heart."
– [a: Gayle Brandeis|115360|Gayle Brandeis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1494970239p2/115360.jpg], author of My Life with the Lincolns and The Art of Misdiagnosis
“Tim Cummings’ book is transcendent. Filled with ghosts, haunted places, and tormented souls, this book follows the adventures of Tess as she becomes obsessed with saving her cat. Beautiful, tender, and powerful, Alice the Cat will grip you with its unexpected splendor.”
– [a: Mireya S. Vela|19126841|Mireya S. Vela|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], author of Vestiges of Courage
“Alice the Cat masterfully unites elements of ghost stories, haunted houses, lost cats, Wonderland, psychic mediums, the spirit of Halloween, Ouija boards, the occult, and a girl’s journey into the twilight of adulthood while grieving the death of her mother. Cummings has created a wonder of a book with breakout doses of heart and humor, destined to be a contemporary classic.”
– [a: Nathan Elias|14983715|Nathan Elias|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1635106235p2/14983715.jpg], author of The Reincarnations and Coil Quake Rift
More soon.
Hug,
Tim
The hardcover Special Edition is gorgeous--definitely Pre-order that one!
And watch this space for an upcoming giveaway. :-)
Very happy to share some advance praise:
“Tim Cummings manages to couple the writing of an angel with the imagination of the devil. Alice the Cat slinked inside me, furtively, magnificently. My heart ached for Tess—so much loss. My heart thundered for her too—so much sass and courage. My skin crawled with hers. Sometimes I wanted to run screaming. I could not stop reading. This book is nothing short of bliss. Meow!”
– [a: Caroline Thompson|123105|Caroline Thompson|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], writer of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands
“Alice the Cat is a vibrant, emotional tale filled with love, friendship, and mysteries. A triumphant story of survival in the face of grief and loss.”
– [a:Jeff Zentner|8394519|Jeff Zentner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1668960985p2/8394519.jpg], award-winning author of The Serpent King and In The Wild Light.
"Tim Cummings is a magician. He’s spun the most delicious spell with Alice the Cat —this book thrums with anger and grief, yet is ultimately one of the most charming, hilarious, heart-filled, life-giving novels I’ve ever read. Tess is a narrator for the ages—I adore her playful use of language and her fierce, loving spirit. I love everything about this book—all its sentences, all its characters—with every last inch of my heart."
– [a: Gayle Brandeis|115360|Gayle Brandeis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1494970239p2/115360.jpg], author of My Life with the Lincolns and The Art of Misdiagnosis
“Tim Cummings’ book is transcendent. Filled with ghosts, haunted places, and tormented souls, this book follows the adventures of Tess as she becomes obsessed with saving her cat. Beautiful, tender, and powerful, Alice the Cat will grip you with its unexpected splendor.”
– [a: Mireya S. Vela|19126841|Mireya S. Vela|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], author of Vestiges of Courage
“Alice the Cat masterfully unites elements of ghost stories, haunted houses, lost cats, Wonderland, psychic mediums, the spirit of Halloween, Ouija boards, the occult, and a girl’s journey into the twilight of adulthood while grieving the death of her mother. Cummings has created a wonder of a book with breakout doses of heart and humor, destined to be a contemporary classic.”
– [a: Nathan Elias|14983715|Nathan Elias|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1635106235p2/14983715.jpg], author of The Reincarnations and Coil Quake Rift
More soon.
Hug,
Tim
shainalite's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
a challenging read for me even though it's labelled as middle grade. The main character experienced grief and anger which were showed through her words (a lot of cursing words and shouting and other angry comments) and actions (by breaking things and hurting other people). The magical realism element is okay, but I found it insufficient to provide me the convincing backstory and motive especially for the ghost. I think some characters need more exploration, like Eddie, I'm curious about what really happened to him and why people saw him as unstable boy, and Alice the Cat herself, even though she is the title of this book, I didn't get her part enough so it feels like she's so faraway from me as a reader.
I love how it ended, the closure for Tess and her dad, the therapy, the support she needed, and also the new friends she made there (and of course the boob issue she mentioned earlier in this book).
As for the diversity aspect, I think for the side characters, they are there to be a diverse decoration, like the dad from a family was mentioned to have an Asian look, the vet whose Japanese name, another Asian staff at the hospital, another Asian family, non-binary friend of Tess, and the black girl in therapy session. (That's what I got from the way Tess described these characters).
I hope we'd get footnotes for Spanish conversations in this book too.
Thing I disagree : how it implied that the rich is always the bad guy, so a character who lived in an elite area has to explain and felt bad about it.
I love how it ended, the closure for Tess and her dad, the therapy, the support she needed, and also the new friends she made there (and of course the boob issue she mentioned earlier in this book).
As for the diversity aspect, I think for the side characters, they are there to be a diverse decoration, like the dad from a family was mentioned to have an Asian look, the vet whose Japanese name, another Asian staff at the hospital, another Asian family, non-binary friend of Tess, and the black girl in therapy session. (That's what I got from the way Tess described these characters).
I hope we'd get footnotes for Spanish conversations in this book too.
Thing I disagree : how it implied that the rich is always the bad guy, so a character who lived in an elite area has to explain and felt bad about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Drug abuse, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury