The World After Alice: A Novel

Named One of Forbes´s 2024 30 Under 30 in Media For readers of Seating Arrangements and The Most Fun We Ever Had, a gorgeous and gripping story of two families brought together to celebrate an unexpected marriage, twelve years after a devastating tragedy upended their lives When Morgan and Benji surprise their families with a wedding invitation to Maine, they´re aware the news of their clandestine relationship will come as a shock. Twelve years have passed since the stunning loss of sixteen-year-old Alice, Benji´s sister and Morgan´s best friend, and no one is quite the same. But the young couple decide to plunge headlong into matrimony, marking the first time their fractured families will reunite since Alice´s funeral. As the arriving guests descend upon the tranquil coastal town, they bring with them not only skepticism about the impromptu nuptials but also deep-seated secrets and agendas of their own. Peter, Morgan´s father, may be trying to dissuade his daughter from saying "I do," while Linnie, Benji´s mother, introduces a boyfriend who bears a tumultuous past of his own. Nick, Benji´s father, is scheming to secure a new job before his wife-formerly his mistress-discovers he´s lost his old one. Morgan, too, carries delicate secrets that threaten to jeopardize the happiness for which she has so longed. And as for Benji-well, he´s just trying to make sure the whole weekend doesn´t implode. As the whirlwind weekend unfolds, old passions reignite, deep wounds resurface, and unearthed secrets threaten to shatter the fragile peace the wedding promises. With each new revelation, the to-be-weds and their complicated families are forced to question just how well they know the ones they hold dear.