I Am Still Alive

Marshall, Kate Alice. I Am Still Alive. New York: Viking 2018. Print

First Sentences:

I am alone.

I don't have much food. The temperature is dropping. No one is coming for me....So if you're reading this I'm probably dead.

Description:

Not many first sentences grab you as immediately as does the start of Kate Alice Marshall's I Am Still Alive. The opening paragraphs show Jess, a teenage girl, staring at the burning ruins of a cabin and the body of her dead father. She is surrounded by hundreds of miles of unbroken forest. No provisions, no extra clothing, no shelter, severly hobbled by an injury, and plenty of hints of eminent danger from outside forces challenge her to survive even the first day alone.

My body's a bit broken, but it doesn't mean I'm a broken person.

But survive she does. She had only been living with her estranged father for a few weeks following a car crash that killed her mother and left Jess homeless and with lingering injuries. With no where else to go, she is shipped to her father who has been living off-the-grid for a decade, not exactly her first choice of companions or living conditions.

Now, using her father's words ("Not strong. Smart") and woodland training learned over the last few weeks, Jess tries to eke out an existence. Getting out of the area seems out of the question, but can she wait until the supply plane that dropped her off is scheduled to return months from now?

In addition, she knows the people responsible for the death of her father and the destruction of their cabin are also coming back....and probably much sooner than the supply plane. So she wants to be ready. But to do what is the question?

It is a survival story, of course, but added to that common plot is the intriguing mystery of Jess' father and his reasons for living in such an isolated location. Also, who are the men who flew in and killed him? And why? All are questions that Jess must figure out to understand her situation and future, should she survive long enough.

To survive you need to learn to hold contradictory things in your head at the same time. I am going to die; I am going to live. There is nothing to fear; be wary of everything. ...The indifference of the wild is terrifying.

Really a compelling read, full of surprises, scenarios, and tension. I loved not knowing what would happen page to page, right up to the very end. I was hooked and cannot wait until author Marshall writes a second novel.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet.   

Brian, while flying in a small plane to visit his father deep in the remote wilds of Canadian forests, survives his plane crash where the pilot is killed. He is left alone with no provisions, food, clothes, etc. except his hatchet, to survive until the unlikely occurrence that someone finds him. Terrifically exciting story. And even better, when you are done with Hatchet, there are several other novels about Brian's life in wilderness settings, each one excellent.