I Kissed Alice

by Anna Birch Narrated by Lori Prince, Jesse Vilinsky

Overview

Rhodes and Iliana couldn't be more different, but that's not why they hate each other.



Rhodes, a gifted artist, has always excelled at Alabama's Conservatory of the Arts (until she's hit with a secret bout of creator's block), while Iliana, a transfer student, tries to outshine everyone with her intense, competitive work ethic. Since only one of them can get the coveted Capstone scholarship, the competition between them is fierce.



They both escape the pressure on a fanfic site where they are unknowingly collaborating on a webcomic. And despite being worst enemies in real life, their anonymous online identities I-Kissed-Alice and Curious-in-Cheshire are starting to like each other . . . a lot. When the truth comes out, will they destroy each other's future?

Editorial Reviews

OCTOBER 2020 - AudioFile

In this audiobook narrated by Lori Prince and Jesse Vilinsky, two teen girls find their artistic voices and learn to question toxic relationships. Art conservatory students Rhodes and Iliana are bitter rivals, driven by ignorant assumptions and jealousy over their mutual best friend, Sarah. Yet on the internet, they enjoy a passionate, pseudonymous collaboration on an Alice-in-Wonderland webcomic. It's not until they both enter a high-pressure scholarship competition that their online dynamic becomes contentious, too. Prince sounds relentlessly sardonic as outspoken working-class Iliana, while Vilinsky brings tremulous anxiety and hard-edged control to upper-class Rhodes. Though some listeners may find the story and narration too intense, others will relate to the challenges the characters face. R.A.H. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

06/08/2020

Through alternating chapters, the first thing readers learn about Iliana Vrionides and Rhodes Ingram is that they hate each other. Seniors at a prestigious Alabama arts high school, they have a history (Iliana blames Rhodes for the loss of Iliana’s college scholarship) and they fight over who’s closer to Sarah (Iliana’s childhood friend and Rhodes’s roommate). Both talented, they’re competing for the big Capstone Award, though Rhodes is struggling with an artistic block related to her mother’s overinvestment in her success. About the only time the two aren’t sniping is when they’re—separately—on fan fiction site Slash/Spot. Little do they know that under the cloak of usernames Curious-in-Cheshire and I-Kissed-Alice, they’re actually collaborating on a queer Alice in Wonderland comic, Hearts and Spades. As they get closer to the award announcement, things become more strained IRL, while online, Cheshire and Alice agree to meet up. Enemies-turned-lovers is a well-traveled premise, but author Birch keeps the tension high, presenting everything—love, hate, class differences, scheming mothers, backstabbing friends—at a fever pitch. Though scenes sometimes lean into melodrama, the characters’ ability to make things hard for themselves and others on the road to self-discovery makes for roller-coaster reading. Ying’s (City of Secrets) paneled illustrations of Iliana and Rhodes’s collaboration add a romantic fanfic flair. Ages 14–up. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Literary. (July)

From the Publisher

"With beauty on both a sentence and conceptual level, Birch expertly guides us through a world that makes clear the fact that we are all so much more than we present upfront." —Bitch Media

"I Kissed Alice has everything you could want in a summer YA book—romance, competition, complex friendships, discussions of class dynamics, and even beautiful illustrations" —Culturess

"The swoony queer romcom of my heart... A pitch-perfect ode to the creative process and the special magic that happens when you find someone who loves what you love. I adored it."
—Rachel Hawkins, New York Times-bestselling author of Prince Charming and Her Royal Highness

"The characters create a dynamic and compelling chemical reaction... bound to be a hit with fans of Cherie Priest's I Am Princess X and Nina LaCour’s Everything Leads to You." —Booklist, starred review

"The protagonists are alive with emotions and flaws, and their chemistry as both enemies and allies crackles off the pages... Come for the rivalry, stay for the romance." —Kirkus Reviews

"Birch keeps the tension high, presenting everything—love, hate, class differences, scheming mothers, backstabbing friends—at a fever pitch... Roller-coaster reading." —Publishers Weekly

"A delightfully fun and devastatingly romantic story with all your favorite fanfic tropes: rivals-to-lovers, mistaken identity, and slow, slow burn... A loving homage to fandom and queer girls and artistic identity."
—Victoria Lee, author of The Fever King

"Romantic and intense, I Kissed Alice explores the complicated line between love and hate and the life-altering power of changing one’s perspective. A sparkling, thought-provoking debut!"
—Ashley Herring Blake, author of Girl Made of Stars and How to Make a Wish

"If you've been on the hunt for a true enemies-to-lovers queer YA that will make your heart race and your happiness increase, then you need I Kissed Alice immediately. This book is imbued with so much to love—geeky collaboration, friendship politics, competition, secret identities—and Birch pulls it all together with a deft hand, launching herself into the YA sphere as an author to watch."
—Rachel Strolle, Teen Services Coordinator, Glenside Public Library District

OCTOBER 2020 - AudioFile

In this audiobook narrated by Lori Prince and Jesse Vilinsky, two teen girls find their artistic voices and learn to question toxic relationships. Art conservatory students Rhodes and Iliana are bitter rivals, driven by ignorant assumptions and jealousy over their mutual best friend, Sarah. Yet on the internet, they enjoy a passionate, pseudonymous collaboration on an Alice-in-Wonderland webcomic. It's not until they both enter a high-pressure scholarship competition that their online dynamic becomes contentious, too. Prince sounds relentlessly sardonic as outspoken working-class Iliana, while Vilinsky brings tremulous anxiety and hard-edged control to upper-class Rhodes. Though some listeners may find the story and narration too intense, others will relate to the challenges the characters face. R.A.H. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2020-05-16
Two art students collaborate anonymously on a queer fan comic while clashing in real life over a prestigious scholarship.

To high school senior Iliana Vrionides, the Capstone Foundation Award represents opportunities that her affluent and well-connected peers at the Alabama Conservatory of the Arts and Technology take for granted. Iliana’s determination to win the award is intensified by her desire to beat her classmate and nemesis Rhodes Ingram who, in Iliana’s eyes, exemplifies the highbrow snobbery that art competition juries favor. Iliana often vents her frustration to I-Kissed-Alice, a friend she met on fandom database Slash/Spot and with whom Iliana co-authors “Hearts and Spades,” an Alice in Wonderland fan comic. Little does she know that I-Kissed-Alice is actually Rhodes, whose struggle with depression and familial pressure to succeed has rendered her unable to create artwork for school. As the deadline for the Capstone project proposal draws near, the animosity between Iliana and Rhodes comes to a peak even as they make plans online to meet in person. With a premise based on the "secret identity" trope, this novel could have fallen into cliché. Instead, it digs into the messiness of relationships colored by personal bias and misunderstanding. The protagonists are alive with emotions and flaws, and their chemistry as both enemies and allies crackles off the pages. Iliana is white, bisexual, and fat; Rhodes is white and queer.

Come for the rivalry, stay for the romance. (Romance. 13-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176369380
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	07/28/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

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