Life Hacks For a Little Alien: the tender and life-affirming debut
(Hardback)
Available Formats
Publishing Details
Life Hacks For a Little Alien: the tender and life-affirming debut
By (Author) Alice Franklin
Quercus Publishing
riverrun
13th May 2025
13th February 2025
United Kingdom
Classifications
General
Fiction
Narrative theme: Interior life
Narrative theme: Identity / belonging
Narrative theme: Coming of age
823.92
Physical Properties
Hardback
304
Width 162mm, Height 236mm, Spine 32mm
500g
Description
'Climb up here, Little Alien. Sit next to me. I will tell you about life on this planet. I will tell you how it goes'
Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Remarkably Bright Creatures, this is a charming, witty and profoundly moving novel about what it feels like to grow up neurodivergent.'Wise and playful and tender and beautiful' Bobby PalmerLittle Alien lives with her mum and her dad in the South-East of England. Her mum has a 'how-to' guide for every situation, and her dad is always kind and always right. And there is her best friend Bobby, who coincidentally has a bob.But it is only when Little Alien sees a documentary about the Voynich Manuscript - a mediaeval codex written in an unknown language and script - that she begins to suspect that there are other people who feel just like her. Convinced that translating this manuscript will offer the answers she needs, she sets out on a journey that will show her a delicious taste of freedom.So begins Little Alien's story, told from the perspective of an older, wiser linguist, whose guidance will help Little Alien navigate a world that makes her feel like she doesn't belong.Reviews
Unique and thoroughly engaging. Life Hacks for a Little Alien tells a story about feeling different. It is insightful and funny and gently poignant. By telling the story of one little alien, Alice Franklin has told the story of many. By creating a character obsessed with an ancient manuscript whose text cannot be deciphered, she has illuminated the power of language and our desire, whether we are human or alien, to be understood. -- Pip Williams, New York Times bestselling author of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Dictionary of Lost Words
This is one of those rare books that is so brilliant, so original and lovely and funny, that it reminds you of the point of reading, and renews your faith in fiction. I adored it. I'm going to be recommending it to everyone I know. I laughed frequently while reading it, and was moved, and interested, and changed. -- Rebecca Wait, author of I'm Sorry You Feel That Way
Wise and playful and tender and beautiful. A very special book -- Bobby Palmer, author of Isaac and the Egg
Stunningly original . . . It's one of those books which left me closing the final page and wishing I could read it afresh again for the first time. Beautiful, moving, and life-affirming, Alice Franklin's prose is a triumph to read. Totally addictive and brilliant . . . Life Hacks for A Little Alien is sure to find its place as one of the best loved works of fiction. -- Aime Walsh, author of Exile
Witty, bold, heart-warming and entirely delicious. I devoured it. I found Little Alien to be one of the most memorable and charming characters I've ever come across. -- Jyoti Patel, author of The Things that we Lost
A life-affirming, charming book full of wonders, a love letter to language and its power of connection and a must-read -- Sally Phillips
A hymn to language, human uniqueness, and our fundamental need to connect, Life Hacks for a Little Alien speaks to the little alien inside all of us. Immersive, moving, and fizzing with humour, I couldn't put this book down and I still can't let the character go. Alice Franklin has written a tender and important story about difference and acceptance, and above all, the power of friendship. I absolutely loved it. -- Paula Lichtarowicz
Author Bio
Alice Franklin lives and works in London. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Life Hacks for a Little Alien is her debut novel.
