By Charlotte Gordon June 5, 2011 Move over, Scout. Meet smart, plucky, funny Alice Bliss. Her dad has gone to Iraq and she is left home with her mom and little sister and somehow has to go on living. She has her first kiss, learns to drive, goes to dances, plants a vegetable garden —… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Reviews
“This is one of those books that changes your life forever …”
By Danielle Smith @ ChicklitReviews July 1, 2011 5 out of 5 stars For Alice Bliss fifteen was supposed to be a time of firsts; first driving lesson, first date, first kiss and on and on. More importantly though, this was a time of firsts she was supposed to be sharing with her father, but… Continue Reading
****Alice Bliss is a “People Pick” with 4 out of 4 Stars ****
By Sue Corbett, People Magazine, July 4, 2011 Fifteen-year-old Alice is at odds with her mother, annoyed by her whip-smart sister and close to her father, Matt, who plants a garden with her each spring. Then Matt’s Army Reserve unit is activated for duty in Iraq. Bereft, Alice wears an unwashed shirt of her dad’s… Continue Reading
“It’s a very fine book, and if rips your heart out, that’s not a bad thing.”
By JESSE KORNBLUTH Published: Jun 16, 2011 Category: Fiction Tell me you wouldn’t react as I did. The name of the novel is “Alice Bliss.” That is, not surprisingly, the name of the 14-year-old main character, who lives with her parents and younger sister in a lovely town in upstate New York. And then, just before the… Continue Reading
5 out of 5 Stars: “… one of my favorite teenage protagonists.”
By CarrieK, June 20, 2011 Title: Alice Bliss Author: Laura Harrington Genre: Contemporary fiction Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Source: Review copy from the publisher First line: This is the first time Alice has been allowed to walk back to their campsite from the Kelp Shed alone. Being a teenage girl,… Continue Reading
“If I went by stars, I’d give it twelve.”
By Pop Culture Nerd, June 15, 2011 As I started this review, I wished I had a rating system in place to adequately express how special Laura Harrington’s Alice Bliss is. If I went by stars, I’d give it twelve. If I used thumbs to express approval, I’d put up all my fingers, too. Fifteen-year-old Alice is devastated… Continue Reading
“Alice Bliss is one of those rare gems of a read that will remain with the reader for a long long time to come.”
By Jason G, June 7, 2011 ALICE BLISS by Laura Harrington Pamela Dorman Books (Viking) – June 2011 320 pages; $25.95 “Does everyone have a secret life, she wonders? Is everyone carrying an impossible, unbearable secret?” -Alice Bliss The Bliss family is your typical American family. Mom, Dad and two daughters; Alice 15, and Ellie,… Continue Reading
“Alice Bliss is a remarkable coming of age story.”
By Debbie Lester Laura Harrington, author of the debut novel, Alice Bliss wears many hats, but at the heart of it all she is a writer. A playwright, lyricist, librettist and professor at MIT, Laura is branching out into the publishing world with a character taken from a musical she wrote called “Alice Unwrapped”. Alice Bliss is a novel… Continue Reading
“This book will be one of those books that will last generations…”
By Lori Caswell, June 5, 2011 Alice Bliss is truly a daddy’s girl, they garden together, she helps him on his handyman jobs, she idolizes him. She loves her mom and her sister but Alice and her dad, Matt, had a very special bond. Then the news comes that his National Guard Reserve Unit is… Continue Reading
New York Journal of Books Review June 2, 2011
Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington Reviewed by Diane Brandley | Released: June 2, 2011 Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books (320 pages) “Alice Bliss . . . adroitly illustrates the burden of war, not only on those deployed, but also on those left behind.” Alice Bliss is actually a family story—one in which each member and/or friend contributes in… Continue Reading