Alee: an Every Girl novel

I love realistic fiction books that are a bit dark. When I first read the synopsis of Alee by Nicole Loufas, I was instantly hooked. I ended up devouring this novel in a short time!

The book starts out with Alee as a 17 year old high school senior. After sleeping with her boyfriend’s best friend, she dumps her boyfriend for being too selfish. After being slut shamed at school, Alee finds comfort in her best friend Bryn. However, while at swim practice, Bryn is shot and killed. Around that time, Alee reconnects with her father that left her and her mother when she was 5, but even he isn’t really there being as he’s a homeless drug addict. With everything going wrong, Alee finds solace in Laine, her now ex-boyfriend’s best friend – the one she slept with. The book talks briefly about Alee’s life until the age of 21 where it really focuses on what is going on with Alee. When a major life even happens, Alee is thrown into a downward spiral that she may not ever escape.

I thought the plot for Alee was written beautifully. It’s a story that most people can relate to in some way. I was sucked into the plot, and I felt like I was a ghost watching Alee’s life unfold from the age of 17 to 21. There are a few minor plot twists which are interesting, but there are no cliff hangers. All of my questions were answered by the end of the book. The pacing for Alee is mostly perfect. There are a few, very rare, times where the pacing slows down, but it instantly picks right back up. I was never bored while reading Alee.

The characters in Alee felt very realistic and fleshed out. In fact, I felt like I knew all of these characters at one point in my life. Alee is such a strong character. She has had so much bad happen to her. It’s as if she can’t catch a break. It was interesting to follow Alee’s thoughts on everything that would happen to her. She tried to stay positive even when her world was crashing down. I absolutely loved Alee, and I kept wanting something positive to happen to her. Laine seemed like such a great guy, and it was obvious how much Alee meant to him (and him to Alee). I loved reading about the love between Laine and Alee. I liked how Loufas made them feel like a real couple by giving them problems as well and not some Hollywood romance. I never really liked Benny. He was well written, but I always felt like I couldn’t trust him. Throughout the book, I just kept wishing that he’d stay away from Alee!

Alee is a dark read, and it has quite a few strong triggers. These include gun violence, death, murder, suicide, rape, drug use, alcoholism, miscarriage, profanity, mentions of underage sex, and sexual situations (although not too graphic).

All in all, Alee was a very interesting and emotional read. If you are a fan of sunshine and rainbow books, Alee is not for you. However, if you’re after a gritty, beautifully written realistic fiction novel that discuses tough issues, then Alee is the book you’ve been waiting for. I would definitely recommend Alee by Nicole Loufas to those aged 17+. Alee is one of those books that will keep you thinking about everything that happened in it long after you’ve finished reading it.

Okay, I have to be honest this is probably going to be the hardest review for me to write. My feelings are all over the place with Alee. I t was a book that truly grabbed me. It made me feel so many things. I went in blind. I had no clue what topics this book covered, and lets say it covers so many.

I always try to not reveal any spoilers in my reviews and generally I can do that. I am going to try really hard to keep to that. I will forewarn that there are many situations that could be triggers for people.

So far I only have one trigger. One thing that when I see a book contains it I generally steer away from the book. Had I known that Alee had this subject (which it does) I wouldn’t be sitting here at almost 1 am writing this review. I also (being very honest) would have missed out on a book that was so raw, deep, emotional and realistic. Alee is a book that I will be thinking of for a long time to come.

Loufas created a world that is so damn realistic. I watched it play out in my head. Sorry Netflix but my imagination makes better movies, it has no budget to hold it back lol. Her characters came alive. Every emotion poured through me. I am generally not a person who cries during a book. I will say that Loufas succeeded in making my cheeks wet. Not an ugly cry (at least not what ya’ll would deem an ugly cry – but for me even a tear leaking out is an ugly cry lol) but my pillow was wet before I sat up to type this out. I actually had to start this review right after finishing.

Watching as Alee dealt with abandonment issues from every aspect of her life, your heart couldn’t help but want to heal her. The mom, friend, and woman in me just wanted to wrap her up and reassure her that there is light at the end of the tunnel. That if she just kept pressing forward she would find it.

Alee’s relationship with Laine started off as a “means to an end” but wound up being all encompassing. Using Laine to get her boyfriend (and his best friend) to break up with her was (lets be honest) an immature thing to do. Successful but immature. And so very realistic.

This is the first book of Nicole Loufas’ that I have read but it will not be the last. Her skill at taking what would seem a pretty typical life and make the reader crave for more, make them stay up until 1 am turning pages cause they cant bear the thought of not finishing it and knowing how Alee turns out is what makes me want to one click her other books.

While I am doing this review without spoilers I will say that the end of the book, shocked & surprised me. It’s also where my trigger happened. Having been on the other side of the door in real life is not something anyone should have to experience. A piece of you will always remain there (and yes I am speaking from personal experience). Even with that being said I am glad I read Alee. It’s an amazing story, one that deserves to be told.