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A review by leonidskies
Earth to Alis by Lex Carlow
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
I received an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.
I'm struggling to put all my thoughts together on this one, but I'll say this: this book is phenomenal.
I felt an immense amount of emotion reading this book. This kind of work is, to me, the best kind of piece contemporary YA has to offer - unflinching in its honesty, hope, and boundless empathy. The subject material is heavy, enough so that I had to put the book down on multiple occasions to feel able to keep reading (this is only a compliment, I promise), but that makes the emotions hit all the harder and the highs soar ever higher.
Being a teenager is messy, and being a mentally ill teenager is even more so. Carlow tackles that so sensitively and realistically that I'm still reeling (again, this is a compliment!) and I'm overjoyed I read this book. There's space for people who do good things and bad things without their being dismissed as good or bad people with nothing else going on. Knowing that Alis would lash out and mess up wasn't off-putting, just... comforting, in a way. He messes up time and again and the grace and understanding he receives from the narrative is really, truly precious. Nothing felt truly like it was there for shock value, no matter how bad things got. This book was so thoroughly human.
I love that Alis is gender nonconforming and no one who matters has anything but kind words for that. I love that Craig is queer and it's normal for him and everyone around him. I loved how real the friendships felt (I ADORE Noor), and how the teachers weren't pinnacles of terrible or saintly but were instead real people who were varying levels of prepared for everything happening. I'm coming back around to how human everyone felt, because that's the ultimate descriptor of this book. It was wonderful.
I want to thank the author, if she sees this, for sharing such an incredible, heartfelt story. I want to encourage anyone ELSE reading this to read this book. It's a journey, and it'll stick with me for a while.
I'm struggling to put all my thoughts together on this one, but I'll say this: this book is phenomenal.
I felt an immense amount of emotion reading this book. This kind of work is, to me, the best kind of piece contemporary YA has to offer - unflinching in its honesty, hope, and boundless empathy. The subject material is heavy, enough so that I had to put the book down on multiple occasions to feel able to keep reading (this is only a compliment, I promise), but that makes the emotions hit all the harder and the highs soar ever higher.
Being a teenager is messy, and being a mentally ill teenager is even more so. Carlow tackles that so sensitively and realistically that I'm still reeling (again, this is a compliment!) and I'm overjoyed I read this book. There's space for people who do good things and bad things without their being dismissed as good or bad people with nothing else going on. Knowing that Alis would lash out and mess up wasn't off-putting, just... comforting, in a way. He messes up time and again and the grace and understanding he receives from the narrative is really, truly precious. Nothing felt truly like it was there for shock value, no matter how bad things got. This book was so thoroughly human.
I love that Alis is gender nonconforming and no one who matters has anything but kind words for that. I love that Craig is queer and it's normal for him and everyone around him. I loved how real the friendships felt (I ADORE Noor), and how the teachers weren't pinnacles of terrible or saintly but were instead real people who were varying levels of prepared for everything happening. I'm coming back around to how human everyone felt, because that's the ultimate descriptor of this book. It was wonderful.
I want to thank the author, if she sees this, for sharing such an incredible, heartfelt story. I want to encourage anyone ELSE reading this to read this book. It's a journey, and it'll stick with me for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent