I received an audio copy via Macmillian Audio. All reviews are my own.
"Every ten years in the strange little town of Lennon, California, one person is chosen to return from the dead…
Wilson Moss entered the town’s top-secret contest in the hopes of resurrecting her ex-best friend Annie LeBlanc, but that doesn’t mean she thought she’d actually win. Now Annie’s back and Wil’s ecstatic—does it even really matter that Annie ghosted her a year before she died…?
But like any contest, there are rules, and the town’s resurrected dead can only return for thirty days. When Wil discovers a loophole that means Annie might be able to stay for good, she’s desperate to keep her alive. The potential key? Their third best friend, Ryan. Forget the fact that Ryan openly hates them both, or that she and Wilson have barely spoken since that awkward time they kissed. Wil can put it aside for one month; she just needs to stop thinking about it first.
Because Wil has one summer to permanently put an end to her loneliness—it’s that, or lose her only friends…again. But along the way, she might have to face some difficult truths about Annie’s past and their friendship that, so far, she’s left buried."
Annie LeBlanc is Not Dead Yet was a sad (in a pathetic kind of way) story. I went into this book blind because it didn't give me the vibe I thought I would get. But it was a quick change of pace reading for me—my get-out-of-slump free card, if you will. A small, unsuspecting town has this interesting tradition of bringing back one person from the dead through a lottery, and the main character, Wilson, wins the chance to resurrect her best friend, Annie LeBlanc. You would think there would be something spooky and foreboding about it, or even tearjerking, but the story was kind of just … there. Realistically, it's about a girl trying to piece together what happened to her dwindling friendship with her trio of friends. And the outcome is as 'how did you not see that?' as it could be.
The character development kept me interested, but the overall production was head-scratching. The book started so slowly. After a while, you get into the story's quirkiness and how it all plays out. "Best Friend #1" Ryan is a hater. For the entire story, I couldn't figure out her hangup. She was a walking IcyHot, but from reading her actions, I never considered her a real friend. She reminded me of the kid who would throw temper tantrums if she didn't have enough attention.
Next, we had Annie, who you would have thought to be the star of this show. She was not. Annie's demise was pretty sad. I won't give it away, but I respect Annie for putting her truth out there. She was just a girl stuck in a family trying to keep up with the Joneses.
Lastly, Wilson. I actually liked her the most in this story, but she had her faults, too. I'm glad she got to talk things out with everyone and got some clarity. She held on to many things that had nothing to do with her but were other people's problems. She also reminded me of one of those kids who blames themselves for their parents' divorce.
Overall, I rated this book 3-stars. ALINDY was just a prewash for the palette before I got back into serious deadline reading again. I did like the narrator, Georgina Saddler, though I wish she had other character voices; I love her rendition of Annie and Wilson's voices, and I'd like to hear more of her work in the future. I didn't get the satisfaction I needed by reading this book, but it did take my mind off the pressures of reading for work vs. reading for fun. So, the book had a purpose.
Annie LeBlanc is Not Dead Yet is available now!
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