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calamitydane's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Loved this book! The characters were fantastic, descriptions were visceral, and the theme was relatable. I kept sending quotes to my partner because they were so iconic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Murder, and War
keen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
kailovesfrogs333's review against another edition
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
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
bumblemee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.0
Listened to this classic of a fiction podcast to finally know why people love it so much - and also because I'm always here for badass queer women.
The story is creepy, brutal at times, well performed by the voice actresses and has a lot of creative ideas. Keisha is a very brave protagonist, facing the dangers she encounters head on, I also liked that we got some anxiety-rep with her. She's really cool, as well as Sylvia. I liked discovering the bigger and smaller mysteries with them.
I also liked the explanation of how thistle-men are created, that they used to be human. As well as the oracles; the oracles in general were fascinating and I love that Sylvia became an oracle after being saved by one when her mother was murdered.
The story is creepy, brutal at times, well performed by the voice actresses and has a lot of creative ideas. Keisha is a very brave protagonist, facing the dangers she encounters head on, I also liked that we got some anxiety-rep with her. She's really cool, as well as Sylvia. I liked discovering the bigger and smaller mysteries with them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder
atlas_likes_to_read's review against another edition
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
albasapri's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
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
jaes_dead's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.25
I feel as though that the only thing that is holding this book back from being a 5-star rating for me is that it was based off of a podcast. I don't mean this to be negative in anyway, I only say it as a lover of the podcast and then reading this it's hard not to love the podcast more than book. Other than that, this book is an amazing read delves into some very serious issues in the real world in a more fanciful way. Highly recommend reading both the book and listening to the podcast!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
mateoj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
a leetle on the nose/blunt in its theming, the pacing was kinda weird, made me sit and do a thousand yard stare for almost an hour. i enjoyed it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality and Death of parent
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