A stunning review by Melissa Montovani @ YABookShelf:
Alice Bliss, the tomboy main character, of Laura Harrington‘s novelAlice Bliss feels like her heart is breaking when she learns that her father, Matt, is being sent off to fight in the Iraq war. She even promises to write to him, the father she idolizes, everyday. Of course, her life doesn’t just stop in his absence; rather, she learns how to drive, joins the track team, goes to her first dance, and falls in love, even as she does everything in her power to stay strong for her mother and little sister. If you’re in the mood for a beautifully written novel that combines the personal with the universal, then you have to check this book out.
Not strictly a YA novel, Alice Bliss is certain to hook teen readers of realistic and contemporary fiction, but will also appeal to a wide audience of adults looking for a literary read as well. Readers become immediately enamored with Alice’s character and her strong connection with both her father and her imagination. At the same time, they will become attached to her entire upstate New York community as everyone from the other teens to those who are Alice’s parent’s age to the elderly members of the community come alive in the pages of this book. While Alice is the focal point of the action, whenever she is with another character who is experiencing intense emotions, their interior monologues will come through in stunning detail. Sometimes these changes in point of view take place in the span of a sentence, while other times, the secondary characters will gain the spotlight for an extended period of time. No matter which of these aspects is in use, one thing is for certain, you’ll find at least one (if not several) character(s) that you can relate to in this Thornton Wilder-inspired piece.
Beyond the large cast of characters vying for your attention, you will absolutely fall in love with Laura Harrington’s writing. She makes parallel sentence structure look effortless, even if your knowledge of writing lets you know that she must have worked really hard to make it seem that way. Great writing is important, of course, but in a realistic novel with this subject matter, the author’s ability to invoke emotion in the reader is even more so. I can’t imagine anyone who would say that this story isn’t infused with authentic emotion, the kind that will have you crying in public or wherever you happen to be reading it. (So maybe the only people who might not like this book are those who don’t want their reading and cathartic feelings to go hand in hand.) It’ll make you realize that sometimes sad moments can be infused with the beauty of real human connection; and if you’ve ever experienced the type of absence that Alice and everyone else in her community has, you’ll feel a little less alone while turning the pages and long after you’ve reached the final page.
While I’d love to give some constructive criticism to the author, I honestly can’t think of anything that I’d change or would want to see different in Alice Bliss. It’s one of my favorite books of 2012 (so far), with a couple choice quotations – like when Alice’s best friend, Henry, sings her to sleep and draws attention to not only the moment, but also the weeks, months and years that will follow – that I could read over and over again. I’m also fairly certain that you’ll feel the same way.
Read more of Melissa’s reviews @ www.YABookShelf.com
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