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graceoc 's review for:
I Am Still Alive
by Kate Alice Marshall
*3.5 ⭐️
I’ll admit that this was going to be a three star before the ending. It wasn’t bad before it by any means, I just think it could’ve been shorter.
After her mother’s death, Jess has nowhere to go other than her Dad’s in Alaska. At least that’s where he’s supposed to be. But he actually lives off the grid in a cabin in the woods in Alaska. He has secrets he’s keeping from Jess. And when those secrets catch up to him, Jess must learn how to survive in the wilderness alone.
I wasn’t so sure about Jess in the beginning. She’s quite whiny in the beginning about her situation. I do completely understand why she’s like this. Having her mother die and then being forced to live in an isolated cabin is a pretty big change. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to read over 300 pages of whining. But once Jess is only relying on herself (and her dog, Bo) she grew a lot as a character. I enjoyed following her learn how to survive and toughen up.
My biggest complaint is that I wish we had more flashbacks to her time with her dad. She tells us that he told her all about how to survive, but we don’t see much of that. I just think it would’ve been more realistic if we’d seen more of them being together.
The pacing overall wasn’t the best. The middle dragged quite a bit once the flashbacks were done. I think it would’ve been good if we’d had Jess reflecting on some of the people from her old life. We got a bit, but not enough that I could see her outside of the Canadian wilderness setting.
All of the secrets surrounding Jess’s dad were very exciting. The ending was so explosive and satisfying in my opinion and definitely brought up the rating. There was one choice that I wasn’t the happiest with.
Overall, if looking for a pretty decent survival story with a bit of revenge thrown in there, this is for you. Not too sure if I’ll pick up more from the author but I did enjoy this.
Content warnings below:
I’ll admit that this was going to be a three star before the ending. It wasn’t bad before it by any means, I just think it could’ve been shorter.
After her mother’s death, Jess has nowhere to go other than her Dad’s in Alaska. At least that’s where he’s supposed to be. But he actually lives off the grid in a cabin in the woods in Alaska. He has secrets he’s keeping from Jess. And when those secrets catch up to him, Jess must learn how to survive in the wilderness alone.
I wasn’t so sure about Jess in the beginning. She’s quite whiny in the beginning about her situation. I do completely understand why she’s like this. Having her mother die and then being forced to live in an isolated cabin is a pretty big change. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to read over 300 pages of whining. But once Jess is only relying on herself (and her dog, Bo) she grew a lot as a character. I enjoyed following her learn how to survive and toughen up.
My biggest complaint is that I wish we had more flashbacks to her time with her dad. She tells us that he told her all about how to survive, but we don’t see much of that. I just think it would’ve been more realistic if we’d seen more of them being together.
The pacing overall wasn’t the best. The middle dragged quite a bit once the flashbacks were done. I think it would’ve been good if we’d had Jess reflecting on some of the people from her old life. We got a bit, but not enough that I could see her outside of the Canadian wilderness setting.
All of the secrets surrounding Jess’s dad were very exciting. The ending was so explosive and satisfying in my opinion and definitely brought up the rating. There was one choice that I wasn’t the happiest with.
Overall, if looking for a pretty decent survival story with a bit of revenge thrown in there, this is for you. Not too sure if I’ll pick up more from the author but I did enjoy this.
Content warnings below: