Alice And The Fly by James Rice

Alice And The Fly

by James Rice

This is a book about phobias and obsessions, isolation and dark corners. It's about families, friendships, and carefully preserved secrets. But above everything else it's about love. Finding love - in any of its forms - and nurturing it.

Miss Hayes has a new theory. She thinks my condition's caused by some traumatic incident from my past I keep deep-rooted in my mind. As soon as I come clean I'll flood out all these tears and it'll all be ok and I won't be scared of Them anymore. The truth is I can't think of any single traumatic childhood incident to tell her. I mean, there are plenty of bad memories - Herb's death, or the time I bit the hole in my tongue, or Finners Island, out on the boat with Sarah - but none of these are what caused the phobia. I've always had it. It's Them. I'm just scared of Them. It's that simple.

(P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton

Reviewed by shannonmiz on

3 of 5 stars

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You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
I... have some mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, yes please to mental health representation. Greg's character was definitely well done, and I liked that we got to read the book through Greg's eyes, as he relayed the story to Alice. That aspect was quite unique, and I was a fan. I also liked the little bits of information that was provided from others, just to kind of keep the story flowing and in check.

As a reader, I couldn't help but feel compassion for Greg. He was looked at as the "psycho" in school (which is heartbreaking in itself), he has no friends, and frankly, his family isn't winning any awards either. It was clear that Greg's heart was always in the right place, and he just wanted a peaceful, non-isolated existence.

My real issue was that I knew pretty much completely where the story was headed from the start. I don't know why I knew or how, I just did. Which is weird, because I usually don't, and from everything I had heard about this book, most people didn't either. But knowing where the plot is headed in a book that is supposed to be unpredictable in nature kind of take a lot of the wind out of the proverbial sails while reading.

Bottom Line: This is likely a case of "it's not the book, it's me". This story is well written, and Greg is a great character. I just had a hard time being fully invested when I kept feeling like I knew what was coming.

**Copy provided for review

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 30 April, 2016: Finished reading
  • 30 April, 2016: Reviewed