Review: I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall

Summary from Goodreads:

After
Jess is alone. Her cabin has burned to the ground. She knows if she doesn’t act fast, the cold will kill her before she has time to worry about food. But she is still alive—for now.

Before
Jess hadn’t seen her survivalist, off-the-grid dad in over a decade. But after a car crash killed her mother and left her injured, she was forced to move to his cabin in the remote Canadian wilderness. Just as Jess was beginning to get to know him, a secret from his past paid them a visit, leaving her father dead and Jess stranded.

After
With only her father’s dog for company, Jess must forage and hunt for food, build shelter, and keep herself warm. Some days it feels like the wild is out to destroy her, but she’s stronger than she ever imagined.


Jess will survive. She has to. She knows who killed her father… and she wants revenge.

Review:


I picked up this intense survival thriller completely blind and based on the cover, and it was a great read.

What I Liked:

Jess and Bo. My two favorite characters of the novel, mainly because they were the focus. Jess is the sole point of view throughout the novel and we get to see the other characters, like her father and the dog, Bo from her eyes. The book only has a handful of characters but they were all well-written. 

Suspense. The setting that Marshall used, the Canadian wilderness did a great job of creating suspense throughout the novel. I grew to like the main character and her dog so that created a kind of suspense as Jess tries to survive in the wilderness. 

Writing Style/Format. The novel switches between the past and present as Jess writes what happened into a journal. I felt that the switching worked well and the story telling made it easy to follow. Plus, I really enjoyed the writing and I will be picking up more from this author. 

What I Disliked:

Plot/Situations. I felt that some parts of the plot were unrealistic, like the main character having bad thing after bad thing happening to her. I won't spoil the main plot/ending but it did feel a bit far out for my liking and what I expected with this contemporary setting. 

I recommend checking out this intense novel. I went into it blind and found a well-written story with good characters. 

Rating:

4.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars