Alis [Hardcover]

Naomi Rich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2009

At fourteen, Alis has never been outside her strict religious community. But when her parents arrange for her to marry a forty-year-old man, she flees desperately to the dangerous, unfamiliar city. She learns quickly that the only way to survive there is to become a thief?or worse. Facing an impossible choice between a forced marriage or life on the streets, Alis seizes control of her own fate. But the path she chooses sets off a disastrous chain of events that leave her accused of murder. Steadfastly loyal, Alis must decide: will she betray a loved one or sacrifice herself?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7–10—Alis, 15, is betrothed against her wishes to Galen, the 40-something minister of Freeborne, a "Community of The Book" in an imagined, horse-drawn past. Outraged, she escapes to Two Rivers, another Bookish Community, where she earns the enmity of Thomas, a conservative religious reformer. She meets and falls in love with Luke, who is forced to flee with his grandparents because of their philosophical disagreements with Thomas. She goes to the big bad City, where she finds her runaway brother leading a Dickensian gang of young cutthroats and part-time prostitutes. She gains an ally in Edge, a girl who defends herself with a knife, but seeing that life there is a dead end, Alis eventually returns home and meekly submits to marriage to Galen. She is relieved that he does not force her to sleep with him, and life continues apace until Edge shows up, is startled by Galen's sudden appearance, and fatally wounds him. Thomas soon accumulates enough circumstantial evidence to charge Alis with murder, setting up the climactic trial. The story may be compelling to the intended audience, but the plot winds back on itself overmuch, with many characters, some of whom are stereotyped as "good" or "bad" as much by their physical description as by their actions, dropped by the wayside. While sexual undercurrents, hypocrisy, and religious repression dominate the tale, in the end Alis and Luke ride off into exile a bit older and perhaps more worldly-wise, but little different, really, than if they'd done so 100 pages earlier.—Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA
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From Booklist

This compelling debut novel is set in some other time, some other place, at the strictly religious Community of the Book. The Book, something akin to the Bible, has decreed, to her shock, that 14-year-old Alis is to marry one of the middle-aged Elders. So begins an engrossing saga that takes Alis away from the Community in a desperate effort to avoid the marriage. First, she leaves for a nearby Community to aid a friend, but the woman’s fanatical husband becomes an enemy. With the help of a young man, Luke, she escapes to the city to find her brother; but she is not prepared for the squalid, dangerous environment, and it drives her back to the marriage she doesn’t want. Eventually she’s accused of murder when her husband dies. These are just some of the high points in a story so action-packed and filled with twists that readers won’t anticipate the ending. First-timers usually don’t attempt such multi-layered stories, especially with religion at their core, but Rich pulls it off. Grades 9-12. --Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1 edition (February 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670011258
• ISBN-13: 978-0670011254
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,404,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, August 10, 2009

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alis (Hardcover)

Alis lives with her mother and father in the strict religious community of Freeborne. She spends her days helping her mother with household chores, tending the sick, and serving The Maker. At fourteen, she hasn't given much thought to her future. She just assumes that one day she will get married, have children, and become a respected Elder of the community like her mother.

But Alis gets a shocking surprise. Her parents announce she is to be married to the minister of Freeborne. A man she has grown up fearing and respecting, a man who is more than double her age.

Alis immediately sets to making plans to escape her fate. Years ago, her brother ran away to the City. Alis just needs to find a way to get there, because it is much too far to walk.

Her journey turns out to be both dangerous and enlightening. She meets people she never would have if she'd remained in Freeborne all her life. Alis even meets her true love, but in a world of strict religious rules and corrupted men, it won't be easy to hang on to the one she loves.

ALIS is so much more than a love story. It is a story of developing you own beliefs, questioning absolute authority, and finding out what is really important in life.

Reviewed by: Karin Librarian

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Debut Novelist Naomi Rich Blends Adventure and Terror in Her New Page Turner, May 18, 2009

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alis (Hardcover)

Sometime in the distant past, Alis cannot believe it when her parents and their religious community's 40-year-old preacher, Minister Galin, tells her it is the Maker's wish for her to marry him. At only 14, she is terrified at the very idea and feels betrayed by her parents. How can they agree to such a thing? Her arguments come to naught, however. Her mother just counters with, "You are a daughter of the Book. It is your right to be ruled. It is your right to obey. That is all."

But that is not all. The desperate girl hatches a desperate plan. On the surface, she will appear to be persuaded that it is her fate to be married to Minister Galin. Yet she will find a way to leave their community. Her brother, Joel, ran away years ago, and people believe he went to the dangerous, sinful city. Now Alis is determined that somehow, some way, she will escape to the city and be reunited with Joel.

Alis performs her daily chores, helps her mother care for the ailing and elderly, attends the prayer meetings, and most important of all, fakes an agreeable attitude. Three months go by as Alis waits and watches for her chance. And then one day, it arrives. The sister of one of the community's young mothers visits. Mistress Sarah is a pitifully timid waif of a woman who becomes ill when it's time for her to return to her own community, Two Rivers, and to her husband. Alis suggests to Sarah that she should accompany her home. Sarah arranges for the Two Rivers healers to send a letter stating it would be best for her health if Alis joins her. Alis is ecstatic; she is sure this is her first step toward the city and Joel, and away from her community and Minister Galin.

In Two Rivers, though, she encounters Sarah's husband, Master Thomas. Alis soon realizes that the hateful Thomas is, at the very least, emotionally abusive to Sarah. She is surprised that he speaks slightingly of Minister Galin, insinuating that he is too gentle to be a preacher.
Two Rivers is in the middle of a political change, as harsh men such as Thomas are taking control. Thomas insists that Sarah accompany him to a public beating, but Alis spares her by volunteering to go with him. The event is a nightmare beyond anything Alis ever could have imagined.

Alis runs from the beating, sickened by the sight of the man's back being shredded. She meets the town's minister and his wife, Mistress Elizabeth. They are kind people, powerless to stop what is happening in their town. Alis offers to help Elizabeth care for the man who was beaten, and is relieved to move away from Thomas's home to stay with Elizabeth. Alis and the minister and Elizabeth's grandson, Luke, form a surprising bond.

Soon, though, Alis is accused of a crime. With Luke's help, she is on her way, helter-skelter, to the city. She can only hope to find her brother, as her life in the violent city takes one startling twist after another.

ALIS is a richly imagined book with a sympathetic character and a gripping plot. Alis's situation changes unpredictably (keeping the reader agreeably off-kilter), yet never feels unrealistic or contrived. Debut novelist Naomi Rich manages to blend adventure, terror and a bit of romance in a combination that will have readers turning pages far into the night.
--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

5.0 out of 5 stars enthralling, December 19, 2011

By 

Callie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alis (Hardcover)

I picked this book on a whim, and ended up being very pleasantly surprised. This is a well written, engaging book. The main character, Alis, is a young girl who runs away to avoid an arranged marriage to a man almost 3 times her age. Along the way, she experiences and sees some pretty graphic events that leave a very lasting impression on her. Her character is realistic, as are many of the events, even though the setting is an unnamed country and time. The author does a great job of depicting the emotion and growth of the characters. My only complaint is we never know what happens to Thomas. I wanted him to get a pretty severe punishment for his roll, lol!