Rich, Naomi. Alis. Viking. Feb. 2009. ISBN: 978-0670011254. Gr 7 and up.
-- School Library Journal, 2/4/2009 6:49:00 AM
Set in a somewhat confusing past where no one spells their name correctly, Alis centers on the titular Alis, a girl living in a strict religious community, appropriately referred to as “The Community.” It is decreed that Alis is going to marry the old minister guy. Not entirely thrilled with the concept, Alis runs away.This book is a little creepy, as Alis is very young (she’s 14! 14!!!!!!), and her “true-love” is a few years older than she is. Once you get past that (she acts at least 30) the book is an imaginative good read. It creates a twisted reality that seems very real, yet very pretend. Not quite historical fiction, but nowhere near fantasy, this book has created its own little subgenre. The book seems aware of the clichés present in most YA lit, resisting the temptation to make the old minister dude a complete bastard. It also intelligently portrays a nameless religion, not making it pure evil or pure good. Whew!
The cover has a girl (presumably Alis herself) on it. Although the book mentions wagons versus cars or trains, the girl on the cover appears thoroughly modern. This confused me until I started ignoring the cover and just let myself focus on a well-thought-out and enjoyable story.
Despite dissatisfaction with some of Alis’ relations (I can feel the love! And my own sarcasm!), Alis is an intelligent and realistically complex character. She wants to live up to her community’s expectations of her, but at the same time has a burning desire to live life that way she wants it. I think most teens can identify with this quasi-angsty theme. All in all, this book is willing to treat teen readers like they’re smart, capable humans, though it is definitely not a book for everyone.—Meghan K., age 14
This review is from a member of the Teens Know "Best" YA Galley Group of the St. Paul Public Library and the Metropolitan State University Library and Learning Center (MN), a part of YALSA's Young Adult Galley/Teen Top Ten Project which uses 15 public libraries and school library media centers from across the country to provide feedback to publishers of young adult books.
