I Am Still Alive

June 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Already devastated from the car accident that killed her mother and left her leg badly damaged, Jess Cooper is off to Northern Canada to live with a father she barely knows in a completely isolated cabin. Being in seclusion is part choice and part necessity due to her father's secretive involvement with a dangerous group. When men unexpectedly show up, Jess must hide in the woods and watch in shock as they murder her father, burn the cabin, and leave what they think is an abandoned scene. The only other person who knows about Jess is thousands of miles away. With the sole companionship of her father's dog and a few supplies salvaged from the fire, Jess sets out to do the only thing she can-survive. Chapters alternate between past and present, keeping readers engaged while building suspense. Jess shows strength in adversity, first from the death of her mother and then from her own will to live. Jess battles her father, the strange men, nature, and herself throughout Marshall's tension-filled adventure. Scenes of gun violence happen on page. Readers who enjoy postapocalyptic books will be rewarded if they try this more realistic novel. VERDICT A gripping tale of endurance and discovery of inner strength. A strong purchase.-Carrie Finberg, South Park High School, PA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2018
Still battered from the car crash that took her mother's life, Jess is sent to live in the remote Canadian wilderness with Carl, the father she barely remembers-- and then he's murdered.Carl's lessons in living off the grid (no phone, electricity, or running water) and hesitant attempts at connecting with Jess end abruptly when associates from his unsavory past arrive to collect money he doesn't have. Hiding with Carl's dog, Bo, Jess watches her dad ask for more time. Instead, Raph, the leader, shoots Carl. Burying him with the mysterious crate he's safeguarded for them, they burn the cabin and fly off. Only Carl's friend Griff, who flew her in, knows Jess is there, but he won't return for a year. With brains and ingenuity compensating for her physical weakness, Jess finds shelter, makes fire, and feeds and protects herself and Bo. Yet small mistakes, moments of inattention, nearly prove lethal. Raph might return for the crate, and winter's approaching. To obtain ammunition for Carl's rifle, Jess makes a desperate but pivotal decision. Presumably white, as are other characters, Jess is believable, her setbacks realistic, her successes earned. She is on a solitary journey--a quest not for treasure but for survival--that demands all her strength, each day a test of endurance, patience, and hope.A taut, gripping page-turner with a strong female hero to root for. (Thriller. 12-17)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 16, 2018
Marshall’s striking first novel follows two parts of 16-year-old Jess Cooper’s life: before and after her father is murdered and she’s left to fend for herself in the Canadian wilderness. After her mother dies in a car crash that leaves Jess with a bad foot, she travels from Seattle to Canada to live with her father, who left them years before. He lives in a remote cabin in the woods and attempts to teach Jess survival skills, but she resents him, and they agree that she’ll stay there one year and then decide whether to return home. But she soon discovers that her dad is mixed up with some bad guys, and when they show up to collect their loot, they kill him, leaving her alone with his dog, Bo. To stay alive, Jess must summon great physical and mental strength; she learns to hunt, fish, build fire, and find shelter, but any mistake could be fatal. Marshall builds tension steadily as winter approaches and Jess plots her revenge. The diary format and Marshall’s immersive descriptions will hook readers into this exhilarating survival story. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from June 1, 2018
Grades 8-11 *Starred Review* Jess hasn't seen her father in years, so she doesn't know what to expect when she lands at the remote Alaska airport where he's supposed to pick her up. Still, she's surprised by an even further journey into the back country of Canada, where her father lives off the grid in a cabin he built by himself. Her new situation is tough, and the debilitating injuries and chronic pain she sustained during the car crash that killed her mother make it even worse. But when her father is murdered by men from his past, who burn his cabin to the ground, Jess has to rely on the meager skills she learned in their brief time together to survive a winter in the wilderness. In Marshall's captivating, suspenseful debut, Jess' struggle to survive becomes vivid and palpable. In her intense internal narrative, she gradually reveals the circumstances of her father's murder, while tracing her painstaking efforts to cobble together a shelter and hunt for food. Marshall's evocative, visceral language cultivates a vivid sense of the sheer physicality of Jess' survival, and she breathes vibrant life not only into Jess' character but also that of her irascible, loyal dog, Bo. With masterful pacing, rich characterization, a dynamic voice, and a thrilling blend of wilderness survival and revenge, this is an engrossing read from a writer to watch.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)