Take a photo of a barcode or cover
thebookrefuge 's review for:
I Am Still Alive
by Kate Alice Marshall
I picked this book up because of the blurb on the front. Making the bold claim that this was "Hatchet meets the Revenant."
I was sold. Especially since the hero was a heroine.
Hatchet was a favorite novel of mine in middle school, I read all the spin offs and I wish it had been a TV show or the books had been longer. (They were all barely over 100 pages long!) That being said, this novel had a lot to live up to.
It did friends, it did.
Jess was smart. She didn't let her disability get in her way. She used what she had, and she fails. A Lot! I would actually feel my stomach drop when she ran into difficult situations. When she had a success I would feel swift relief. The situations she was in felt so raw and real. At any moment she could be overcome and give up.
That's where the Revenant part of the story kicks in. Jess has a goal: Revenge. The men who killed her father will be back, and she has to live long enough to end them.
So, now for the few things I didn't like. Mostly minor.
1. The style of the first half is a bit much for me. There are flashbacks to before she was stranded, but they are still told in the present because she is writing her own story in a journal. It was just confusing until that part was over. But since the story was so compelling, I got over it eventually.
2. The book skipped time just when it was getting good. after we struggle with Jess to get to sustainable living, it would have been nice to live with her in for a few chapters before the final climax. This may be for me because I love the survival part of Hatchet so much, and Gary Paulsen does the survival part so well.
Finally, I'll leave you with one really compelling teaser to get you to read this.
A Dog named Bo. (heart eyes and hugs)
4.5 stars from me!
I was sold. Especially since the hero was a heroine.
Hatchet was a favorite novel of mine in middle school, I read all the spin offs and I wish it had been a TV show or the books had been longer. (They were all barely over 100 pages long!) That being said, this novel had a lot to live up to.
It did friends, it did.
Jess was smart. She didn't let her disability get in her way. She used what she had, and she fails. A Lot! I would actually feel my stomach drop when she ran into difficult situations. When she had a success I would feel swift relief. The situations she was in felt so raw and real. At any moment she could be overcome and give up.
That's where the Revenant part of the story kicks in. Jess has a goal: Revenge. The men who killed her father will be back, and she has to live long enough to end them.
So, now for the few things I didn't like. Mostly minor.
1. The style of the first half is a bit much for me. There are flashbacks to before she was stranded, but they are still told in the present because she is writing her own story in a journal. It was just confusing until that part was over. But since the story was so compelling, I got over it eventually.
2. The book skipped time just when it was getting good. after we struggle with Jess to get to sustainable living, it would have been nice to live with her in for a few chapters before the final climax. This may be for me because I love the survival part of Hatchet so much, and Gary Paulsen does the survival part so well.
Finally, I'll leave you with one really compelling teaser to get you to read this.
A Dog named Bo. (heart eyes and hugs)
4.5 stars from me!