Published by Viking Genres: Contempory, Fiction, Literary Fiction
Format: ARC, eBook
Love, loss, family dynamics, marriage and secrets. The World After Alice is a character driven book about the events leading up to and years following the death of 16 year old Alice. The families of Morgan and Benji will be brought together for their shocking wedding in Maine.
Alice was Morgan’s best friend and Benji’s sister. Benji and Morgan fell in love and have been in a secret relationship for years. Everyone is shocked to be invited to their wedding as their relationship was kept so secret. Alice will also be in attendance. Not in person, but her loss has affected everyone in this book, and she remains in their thoughts. Everyone has been affected by her loss and had their lives changed in some way.
Although this book is about a new beginning in the form of marriage, as I mentioned loss lingers throughout this book. I could feel the grief and sadness oozing from the pages. As I mentioned above, this is a character driven book which is told through past and present timelines.
I found the characters’ reactions to losing Alice and dealing with their grief for her to be realistic and believable. Her parents split after her death which is common; however, they had issues in their marriage prior to her death.
The pace is on the slow side but fits with the tone of the book. While I hoped that this book would pack more of an emotional punch for me, I did enjoy it. Having said that, others are enjoying this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well.
Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Viking | Viking and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
