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Alis
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?
288 pages, Hardcover
First published September 25, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
May 18, 2009
Alis, at fourteen, has a bright future planned out for herself in her mind. She plans to marry when the time is right, raise a family, and become a learned and important Elder in her strict religious community, like her mother is.
But then her parents tell her that she is to marry the community's 40-year-old preacher. Alis is horrified, and determined to find for herself a better fate. She runs away, bound for the big city, where she finds that it is more difficult for a girl alone to live than she expected. But to return home means to submit, both to an unwanted husband and to the growing-ever-stricter laws of her Community.
I can't think of a single reason to recommend this book to anyone. It's faux historical fiction, and while there can sometimes be good reasons for retelling the past with some variants, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to this one. The language, ideas and world feel stilted and generic, the writing is unremarkable, the plotting is completely predictable (or totally contrived) and the characters are forgettable. I spent more time being annoyed with Alis than empathizing with her.
But then her parents tell her that she is to marry the community's 40-year-old preacher. Alis is horrified, and determined to find for herself a better fate. She runs away, bound for the big city, where she finds that it is more difficult for a girl alone to live than she expected. But to return home means to submit, both to an unwanted husband and to the growing-ever-stricter laws of her Community.
I can't think of a single reason to recommend this book to anyone. It's faux historical fiction, and while there can sometimes be good reasons for retelling the past with some variants, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to this one. The language, ideas and world feel stilted and generic, the writing is unremarkable, the plotting is completely predictable (or totally contrived) and the characters are forgettable. I spent more time being annoyed with Alis than empathizing with her.
August 11, 2009
Reviewed by Karin Librarian for TeensReadToo.com
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.
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.
May 11, 2009
Alis, a young woman from strict religious community, flees an arranged marriage, setting off a course of events that alters the lives of those around her.
The heroine was unengaging, the setting was faux-historical (why invent a world only to make it remarkably similar to Colonial America?), the romance had no spark, and the plot was either predictable (did the author really expect savvy teen readers to be surprised that Luke wasn't really dead?) or contrived (Alis is able to find her long-lost brother in the big city, a surprise witness makes sure evil Thomas gets his comeuppance, etc).
This book reads like mediocre historical fiction, without the benefit of being based on actual history. I might recommend it to a teen who really enjoyed historical fiction, but only if the teen had already read Ann Rinaldi and Celia Rees and L.A. Meyer
The heroine was unengaging, the setting was faux-historical (why invent a world only to make it remarkably similar to Colonial America?), the romance had no spark, and the plot was either predictable (did the author really expect savvy teen readers to be surprised that Luke wasn't really dead?) or contrived (Alis is able to find her long-lost brother in the big city, a surprise witness makes sure evil Thomas gets his comeuppance, etc).
This book reads like mediocre historical fiction, without the benefit of being based on actual history. I might recommend it to a teen who really enjoyed historical fiction, but only if the teen had already read Ann Rinaldi and Celia Rees and L.A. Meyer
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2022
I don't know if this is historical or fantasy or both? Non-magical fantasy in a made-up land? Or some part of the world I was not aware of?
But wow, this story kept me engaged. I don't understand what people hate about it. I thought the plot was good, continually throwing little twists and turns at me, and I LOVED the characters. The world was, again, a little confusing since I don't know WHAT GENRE THIS IS but I still enjoyed my time with it. I think my final rating is a 4.5. I just had an absolute blast and I want more from this author. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to be writing anymore...
But wow, this story kept me engaged. I don't understand what people hate about it. I thought the plot was good, continually throwing little twists and turns at me, and I LOVED the characters. The world was, again, a little confusing since I don't know WHAT GENRE THIS IS but I still enjoyed my time with it. I think my final rating is a 4.5. I just had an absolute blast and I want more from this author. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to be writing anymore...
February 28, 2009
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 over 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.
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.
May 17, 2009
Set in an "unspecified past" (Colonial America?) instead of an unspecified future, Alis is another dystopic YA novel. This novel was a quick and suspenseful read. However, the end was unsatisfying. Some issues had no closure, and while I felt sympathy for Alis throughout, by the end I found her selfish with few redeeming qualities. But then again, she is only 16. I can only imagine that some of the question marks will lend themselves to a sequel as the last sentance of the book could be ominous foreshadowing. Recommended for anyone looking for something dark but lighter than the Hunger Games.
April 15, 2009
Okay, this one was on my list because someone in my Mock Prinz group nominated it...UNDESERVEDLY!! It was a page turner, but that's about all I can say for it. There's no thematic depth, the characters are wooden and unrelatable, and the novel is set in some combination of puritan New England and Dickensian London, probably because the author didn't want to do any of the historical research required for a real setting. Naomi, sorry if you're listening. Some people really liked this book, but there was nothing in it for me.
February 21, 2010
Not nearly as good as I hoped. It's set in an unspecified place, time and the religion followed by Alis and her family is meant to serve as a stand in for any more conservative religious community (Amish, Puritan, etc) but without having decided what its meant to be, the book failed to create a believe world. Also, the plot is completely contrived in a way that I think I wouldn't have minded as a teen, but was completely annoyed with as an adult.
November 21, 2011
This book was just okay. It had some very interesting characters, but none of them were really well fleshed-out. I felt like it took a REALLY long time for the book to take off. I kept thinking it was heading in a different direction which was confusing. I guess the ending was the biggest misstep. The book was raw and gritty, but the ending was wrapped up in a neat little package. It didn't fit with the rest of the novel.
June 19, 2014
I was really hopeful that this was gong to be a great read. However, when things happen too easily for the heroine you know it's going to be a rather lifeless read. Showed great potential but lacked depth.
March 19, 2010
This book was pretty average. It took me a while to get into it and then I thought I may as well finish it. I wouldn't recommend it though.
April 1, 2012
So-so.
May 9, 2014
This book was pretty boring and didn't seem like a book I would be interested in so I didn't finish it
April 21, 2022
I finished this in the hope it would get better - it didn't.
June 16, 2017
I selected this novel due to a recommendation from a friend, and honestly I am a little bit disappointed. The plot was easy to follow and the story was interesting enough, but it was ultimately unremarkable. It was neither good nor bad. There were no aspects of the novel that would compel me to reread it in the future, or to recommend it to any of my peers.
The novel Alis by Naomi Rich, follows the life of a young girl, Alis, living in a very strict religious community. In this community, each member works to serve the will of ‘The Maker’, so Alis was able to tolerate all of the harsh and old fashioned rules and beliefs that she had been exposed to in this community throughout her life. Despite this, when it was announced that Alis (14 at the time) was to be married off to the communities 40-year-old preacher, Alis was devastated. In order to escape this fate, Alis made a plan to run away from her community and escape into the city. As the story progresses, Alis was faced with many difficult choices as she struggled to regain control of her life.
One of the things that most annoyed me about this book was that it was set in an “unspecified past”. The reader is not told specifically when or where the story took place, so it was impossible to create any sort of historical or geographic context relative to the events in the story. I also found it difficult to connect with any of the characters in Alis. in general, most of the characters were uninteresting and forgettable. Even the main character seemed dull and difficult to relate to. However, the overall plot kept me interested and wanting to read more which was one of its few redeemable qualities. I think that if certain aspects of the plot were expanded upon, and certain characters were fleshed out more, I would have liked this novel much more.
The novel Alis by Naomi Rich, follows the life of a young girl, Alis, living in a very strict religious community. In this community, each member works to serve the will of ‘The Maker’, so Alis was able to tolerate all of the harsh and old fashioned rules and beliefs that she had been exposed to in this community throughout her life. Despite this, when it was announced that Alis (14 at the time) was to be married off to the communities 40-year-old preacher, Alis was devastated. In order to escape this fate, Alis made a plan to run away from her community and escape into the city. As the story progresses, Alis was faced with many difficult choices as she struggled to regain control of her life.
One of the things that most annoyed me about this book was that it was set in an “unspecified past”. The reader is not told specifically when or where the story took place, so it was impossible to create any sort of historical or geographic context relative to the events in the story. I also found it difficult to connect with any of the characters in Alis. in general, most of the characters were uninteresting and forgettable. Even the main character seemed dull and difficult to relate to. However, the overall plot kept me interested and wanting to read more which was one of its few redeemable qualities. I think that if certain aspects of the plot were expanded upon, and certain characters were fleshed out more, I would have liked this novel much more.
January 30, 2021
Alis is a teenager living in an unnamed country at an unnamed time, with echoes of 17th century England or America. The country in which she lives is bound by strict religious rules, with each community headed by a Minister and Elders. Alis's mother is the Senior Elder of their community, Freebourne. It is a world of strict boundaries and of arranged marriages. As the story opens, Alis is told by her parents that she has been chosen to marry the Minister. Alis is horrified at the thought of marrying a man more than twice her age, and secretly plans to run away to find her brother Joel in the City. As a first step, she accompanies Sarah, the ailing sister of one of the women of her settlement, back to her much stricter settlement, Two Rivers, which is being taken over by fundamentalists including Sarah's husband Thomas. Alis views this as a staging post on her way to the city and takes refuge while there with their Minister, who is not a fundamentalist, his wife and their grandson, Luke. Alis has to leave in a hurry in the middle of the night when accused of arson by Thomas - Luke helps her to escape. Life is hard in the City, but Alis does find her brother Joel. Unfortunately he is the leader of a gang of cutpurses - things go wrong and Alis flees the City to return to Two Rivers in search of Luke. There she is told that Luke died shortly after she left. Stunned by grief, Alis decides to return to Freebourne and submit to the arranged marriage. There she is forced to make choices which result in her facing possible hanging.
This is a first novel, and does have a few rough edges, but it is a compelling story with many characters who do come to life. I won't spoil the ending, but you will want to know what happens!
This is a first novel, and does have a few rough edges, but it is a compelling story with many characters who do come to life. I won't spoil the ending, but you will want to know what happens!
November 5, 2016
The story is readable, but perhaps, a little too neat in its ending. Some of the events, also, happened rather conveniently, suggesting this book is written by an inexperienced writer - finding Jojo, her brother so quickly.
August 31, 2022
I give it a 3.5, because I could never decide if I wanted to give it 3 or 4 stars. At first, I really enjoyed this book, and then a lot of things happened that were unexpected and made it harder to enjoy. All in all, I'm glad I read it, but don't intend to reread it ever.
November 14, 2023
I read this at 14 while going through some hard times. Although a lot of people didnt like it, it resonated with me. I too come from a long line of religiously strict background where I wanted to commit suicide. This gave me some courage in that aspect so i guess im biased.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
September 5, 2023
It was a good book. It really took me on an emotional rollercoaster. I enjoyed reading it.
May 14, 2025
it was such a good book I could hardly put it down and it tied up every characters arc completely. 100% Book
December 29, 2020
So incredibly boring
April 23, 2010
In the fictional community of Freeborne, Alis is fourteen years old and told by her parents that she is to be married to the town’s 40 year old preacher, Minister Galin, because it is the will of the Maker. Alis is given a few months to get used to the idea, but the more she thinks about it, the more it sounds pretty darn gross. While pondering her fate, Alis befriends a sickly young woman, Sarah, who is visiting Freeborne for a few months. When Sarah is summoned home by her husband, Alis asks, and receives permission to accompany Sarah back to her own community. Alis sees this is a potential means for escape. See, Alis’ brother fled Freeborne a number of years ago and is supposedly living in the City. Alis figures if she can just get to the City she can find a job and escape the oppression of arranged marriage at age 14. However, what Alis finds is that there are worse things that being married to a kindly 40 year old man. When she gets to Sarah’s village she sees that it might be better to be married to a kindly 40 year old man than an extremely cruel and power hungry young one. When Alis finally gets to the city it is not at all what she expected as she finds violence, cruelty and poverty there.
This book is set in an indeterminate location and in an indeterminate time, but it sure opens up fast with the action. Minister Gavin’s marriage proposal is announced in the first chapter and the story moves quickly from there. Alis is a sympathetic character and a strong one. It took a lot of courage for her to run away to the City as Alis has been obedient her entire life. The violence in this book is considerable and I wouldn’t recommend this book for younger teens. However, because of the pace of the plot and the abundance of action, I think that teenage boys would enjoy this story as well as teenage girls.
This book is set in an indeterminate location and in an indeterminate time, but it sure opens up fast with the action. Minister Gavin’s marriage proposal is announced in the first chapter and the story moves quickly from there. Alis is a sympathetic character and a strong one. It took a lot of courage for her to run away to the City as Alis has been obedient her entire life. The violence in this book is considerable and I wouldn’t recommend this book for younger teens. However, because of the pace of the plot and the abundance of action, I think that teenage boys would enjoy this story as well as teenage girls.
December 12, 2015
I like the main character, Alis. The various villains are easy to hate. The Community culture of strict religious control is well-structured and believable. And I was interested enough to get to the final page. But none of that is enough to make this book a favorite.
The story is familiar. A girl with a good heart questions sinister authority, but isn’t sure what to do. There’s the conflicted conforming parents, the unknown opportunity and danger of the outside world, and of course, the boy. All the pieces of the plot puzzle fit together logically, but the characters do a lot of explaining to confirm what happens from point to point. It’s a classic example of telling over showing.
And I don’t like the fact that the setting is never defined. It’s probably post-Reformation Europe. There’s a suggested land of opportunity across the sea. And all the details of daily life seem to fit. The Community and the Elders and the Maker might be representations of Fundamental Protestantism, but again, that’s never specified.
Maybe Rich or her publishers don’t want to offend anyone in particular. This doesn’t have to be a problem. The warnings against group thought and religious fanaticism are clear enough. But Alis’ world is so close to recognizable. I feel like I’m being teased. The message loses some of its strength as a result. And I’m not convinced this book has enough other strengths to make up for that.
The story is familiar. A girl with a good heart questions sinister authority, but isn’t sure what to do. There’s the conflicted conforming parents, the unknown opportunity and danger of the outside world, and of course, the boy. All the pieces of the plot puzzle fit together logically, but the characters do a lot of explaining to confirm what happens from point to point. It’s a classic example of telling over showing.
And I don’t like the fact that the setting is never defined. It’s probably post-Reformation Europe. There’s a suggested land of opportunity across the sea. And all the details of daily life seem to fit. The Community and the Elders and the Maker might be representations of Fundamental Protestantism, but again, that’s never specified.
Maybe Rich or her publishers don’t want to offend anyone in particular. This doesn’t have to be a problem. The warnings against group thought and religious fanaticism are clear enough. But Alis’ world is so close to recognizable. I feel like I’m being teased. The message loses some of its strength as a result. And I’m not convinced this book has enough other strengths to make up for that.
July 29, 2010
Missing essential details.
I enjoyed the basic story in this book but it was tainted for me by the fact that it took place somewhere in a nondescript country amongst the people of some nondescript cult. It could have been Mormon-esque, in America, but we were never told. This made it less of an historical fition novel and considerably detracted from my interest.
The central character is Alis. She is just fourteen when she is told that she will be marrying the 40-something Minister of her community. Having been raised to believe that she will have a say in her marriage and marry for love, she is horrified. She determines to follow her brother to the great city, many miles distant from her village home.
Her first step leads her to another community where extremism is bubbling up and her eyes are opened to violence and misery. She remains here for quite a while until she is able to finally make her way to the city.
Here again she experiences a side of life that she had never dreamed of, compared to which, life as wife to the Minister doesn't seem quite so awful.
It was a good read, if a little violent for younger readers.
For me it doesn't quite make the cross-over to adult fition due to the vague nature of the details.
I enjoyed the basic story in this book but it was tainted for me by the fact that it took place somewhere in a nondescript country amongst the people of some nondescript cult. It could have been Mormon-esque, in America, but we were never told. This made it less of an historical fition novel and considerably detracted from my interest.
The central character is Alis. She is just fourteen when she is told that she will be marrying the 40-something Minister of her community. Having been raised to believe that she will have a say in her marriage and marry for love, she is horrified. She determines to follow her brother to the great city, many miles distant from her village home.
Her first step leads her to another community where extremism is bubbling up and her eyes are opened to violence and misery. She remains here for quite a while until she is able to finally make her way to the city.
Here again she experiences a side of life that she had never dreamed of, compared to which, life as wife to the Minister doesn't seem quite so awful.
It was a good read, if a little violent for younger readers.
For me it doesn't quite make the cross-over to adult fition due to the vague nature of the details.
October 20, 2009
This book was nothing like I thought it was gonna be, but in a good way! I honestly thought that this book was just gonna be "Amish" type girl leaves the community falls in love with the guy she cant have and they live happily ever after. Well that was not the case. Alis had to go through so much in this book, and I think that's why I enjoyed it. Also it kept me wanting more. Not like an OMG I have to keep reading, but it kept my attention so that I wanted to know what was gonna happen next. And right in the middle, the unexpected happens. You dont even know its coming unitl BAM its there. My jaw actually dropped while I was reading! That had to have been my favorite part, but other than that I found the book to be pretty calm. There were some scenes with lots of emotions but not enough for me to get all excited over. This is a book that I would recommend to others, if they had not read it. But I don't think I will see myself reading it again.
Cover - 4 stars
Plot - 4 stars
Characters - 5 stars (I love Alis through out this book! Shes amazing!)
Writing - 4 stars
Ending - 4 stars
Cover - 4 stars
Plot - 4 stars
Characters - 5 stars (I love Alis through out this book! Shes amazing!)
Writing - 4 stars
Ending - 4 stars
December 4, 2012
14-year-old Alis has always been happy with her life in the community of believers. She has always assumed that she would marry, have children, and become a respected Elder like her mother...until her parents tell her that she must marry the Minister, a stern man more than twice her age.
Alis runs away from her small community, and falls in love with a boy named Luke. Then her circumstances change again, and she runs again, this time to a bigger city to seek her older brother. Life in the big city very different from anything she has known, and eventually she returns to the smaller town looking for Luke...but circumstances have changed again.
This novel seems to be trying a little too hard to be a story about questioning faith, finding oneself, the strength of love, and half-a-dozen other things. Alis tries to be loyal and intelligent, but she makes a lot of really dumb mistakes, and even when she was certain to be sentenced to death by hanging, I wasn't very worried about her. With all the books written recently about a young girl forced by her religion to marry an older man,Alis will probably be overshadowed by similar and stronger stories.
Alis runs away from her small community, and falls in love with a boy named Luke. Then her circumstances change again, and she runs again, this time to a bigger city to seek her older brother. Life in the big city very different from anything she has known, and eventually she returns to the smaller town looking for Luke...but circumstances have changed again.
This novel seems to be trying a little too hard to be a story about questioning faith, finding oneself, the strength of love, and half-a-dozen other things. Alis tries to be loyal and intelligent, but she makes a lot of really dumb mistakes, and even when she was certain to be sentenced to death by hanging, I wasn't very worried about her. With all the books written recently about a young girl forced by her religion to marry an older man,Alis will probably be overshadowed by similar and stronger stories.
January 25, 2011
I thought this book was interesting throughout so that I wanted to keep reading it, but in the end that didn’t turn out to be enough. Everything turned out just a little bit too ordinary, and I couldn't place the time or location of the story. Alis lives in a religious society, though which religion and what their beliefs actually are aren't completely stated. She's expected to accept an arranged marriage to a man, the minister of her community, who is much older than herself. To get away from the marriage, she runs away to the secular world. Life in the secular world isn't as nice as she might have thought, and circumstances cause her to go back and allow herself into the situation that she worked so hard to avoid. Alis was a little too naive and believed everything that she was told. Everything ended up a little too nicely with just in the nick of time saving. The quick fixes and happily every after were a little forced, but the story did keep me engaged.
July 12, 2015
This book was okay, but the summary on the jacket gives everything away. Everything. In that way, it was very predictable. ''a man is murdered''...yep I figured that would happen so she could have who she wanted. The summary also tells us she is blamed for a crime she didn't commit, so when I read about the fire, you automatically know what will happen in the story.
The way it was written didn't hold readers' attention. I felt like there wasn't much of a plot. When some situation fixed itself, there was no plot again until some other event happened, which made me think ''what do I have to look forward to now. What's the point?" You know what I mean? Usually there's a long-living plot that we're dying to have fix itself that we're waiting for in an exciting climax, but there wasn't anything like that in this book.
It wasn't a bad read, but it could've been better or more exciting.
The way it was written didn't hold readers' attention. I felt like there wasn't much of a plot. When some situation fixed itself, there was no plot again until some other event happened, which made me think ''what do I have to look forward to now. What's the point?" You know what I mean? Usually there's a long-living plot that we're dying to have fix itself that we're waiting for in an exciting climax, but there wasn't anything like that in this book.
It wasn't a bad read, but it could've been better or more exciting.
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