I loved the premise of this book. It instantly gave me neurodivergent vibes.

It’s a tricky book to give a succinct summary of. There is an anonymous protagonist, who feels adrift from life, struggles to understand those around her, she feels her otherness so heavily.

I struggled with the earlier part of the book, when our central character was a younger child. My struggle was due to the way she was treated, and spoken to, by those who were supposed to nurture and protect her. So many times I wanted to step in, and protect our protagonist from those around her.
As she grew older, I loved her enquiring mind, and was desperate for her to break free of the patronising attitudes, and ignorance she was surrounded with.

The epilogue completely bewildered me. I have sat and thought about it for a number of hours, and I am still none the wiser.

I wanted to love this book, but it didn’t hit the mark for me sadly. I’m awarding 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ as I know I am clearly not seeing something in the story, that other readers have.

It does not take long to understand the reason for the unusual second person narration by the eponymous Little Alien - we are embarking on a tender, joyful, heartwarming journey alongside a young neurodivergent girl experiencing and trying to make sense of the strange world of the neurotypical. Quirky and poignant, I loved every minute of this book and became totally immersed in her story. Highly recommended.

I adored this so very much!
The second person perspective was unique and I really enjoyed reading it.
This did an excellent job of capturing an autistic perspective and the intricacies of what it is like to come from a different planet.
I could see so much of my child and current self in our main character who was written with such heart and honesty.
I found the running background story of her parents really well written and captured perfectly from the perspective of a semi-oblivious child.
This was brilliant and I cannot wait to see what Alice Franklin does next.

Life Hacks for a Little Alien is a wonderfully quirky and original story about a neurodiverse young girl, growing up and trying to navigate her way in the world with a side order of linguistics and etymology.

We first meet the unnamed protagonist (referred to as Little Alien) when she is a toddler and starting primary school; she is overwhelmed by everything that she encounters and doesn't know how to react. For example, her teacher asks her 'are you doing ok there?' and she has no frame of reference for what 'ok there' might mean.

Moving to another school that's seemingly better set up to support children with different needs, instead she faces a wall of uncaring bureaucracy and corner-cutting. The only good thing to come out of that school is that she meets Bobby and the two strike up a friendship. We see Little Alien trying to make sense of the world, analysing people's choice of words and what they might mean. She knows that words are the key to everything but they don't come easy to her.

Time passes; Little Alien gets a new special interest - the Voynich Manuscript, a historical text that has never been deciphered. She hears that the text may have been left by aliens - this makes perfect sense to her and she tries to find out as much about the text as she can, hoping to crack the code. She buries herself in books, learning about how language is used and developed, the history of language and much more besides.

Interspersed in Little Alien's story are some wonderful nuggets of linguistic information, titbits about how words have developed and changed over time and will continue to change for ever. I particularly enjoyed the detail about how the word for 'tea' has developed!

There's so much to enjoy in this book, and I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.

I immediately loved this book. It grabbed me made me giggle and I was determined to know what happened to the main character.
I love their suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter very amusing I couldn’t help hoping they all real books the nerd in me is tempted to find out . Of course I soon realise that they were fictional
but it didn’t stop them being amusing.
I love the paragraph starting each section and describing time passing perfectly
I loved the description of autism and its challenges for this young girl is described so perfectly . In the story, the main character,who is autistic develop a special interest in a unique manuscript. translating and understanding this book becomes the reason for her to live.
As a young child, I would very much see myself in the main character of this novel my nose constantly in a book feeling alien to the rest of the population of planet Earth. is lovely to see such a positive representation of neuro diversity in a modern novel
The offer has a wonderfully light bright way of writing and her novel catches me immediately and held my attention throughout. I really didn’t want to put this book down.
At the end of reading the novel I was left wanting more I hope there’s going to be a sequel to this book
This is a debut novel. I can’t wait to see what else the author writes. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel as I love this character so much.

I would recommend this book thoroughly to lovers of the Rosie project by Graham Simsion or Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail HoneymanOr any the Cassandra complex novels
By Holly Smale . If you love these books, I hope you will love this one as much as I do.
I read a copy of the novel on NetGalley UK and return for a review. The book is published in the UK in February 2025 by Quercus books
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, Goodreads and my book Blog bionicSarahsbooks.WordPress.com.

After publication it will also appear on Amazon UK

Life Hacks for a Little Alien is quirky and imaginative, with a humorous approach to life’s little challenges. However, the third-person narrative created distance from the main character, making it hard to connect. It also wasn’t quite what I was expecting, as the story didn’t fully draw me in. While creative and lighthearted, it may appeal more to readers who enjoy a detached, observational style.
Thank you for the chance to read this ARC.

I like this - it is quirky and, at times, funny, but also sad. Here, we have a girl struggling with life and how the expectations on humans can be just too much to bear. When the Voynich Manuscript comes into Little Alien's life, it changes it in ways that are quite unimaginable.

My main issue with this book is the time-line of ages. It is somewhat implausible that the main character ages over the years - sections of the novel jump over significant milestones and this jars for me. However, it does show how modern life can be tricky if you are unable to conform to what society expects. Some adult characters are not the most convincing but, overall, I enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for an early Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Life Hacks For a Little Alien is a gentle yet significant read about a young girl who is neurodivergent. It gives the reader some insight into how this may make someone behave and feel and although it was a tough read in parts, the overall effect was heartwarming.
We never discover her name, but she thinks of herself as an alien because she is not like anyone she knows. Not necessarily a bad thing. We follow her, via a sporadic narrator, through her sometimes troubled school years and the adventures of her life as a neurodivergent child in the UK, along with her relationships with her family, friends, and those in authority.
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys a slightly quirky read but also likes a book that challenges their perceptions of people.

Very sweet - a 'little alien', or a neurodivergent child on the spectrum, and her journey through childhood in a world that isn't set up for and doesn't really know (on the whole) how to cope with difference.

I started this book with interest, not really knowing what to expect… one page in, and I was hooked! The story follows the life of ‘little alien’, a neurodivergent child, who faces the challenges of the world in a way which others may find ‘odd’ but make perfect sense to her.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and all the emotions that came along with that. Definitely a book to make you think… I look forward to reading more by this author.

This book was about a child who is finding it hard to understand the world around her and struggling to fit in.
It was interesting how different adults coped with a child in the Autistic Spectrum and the child’s view of them.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm undecided between rating 3 and 4 stars for this novel as I thought the premise was interesting but it didn't quite deliver. Like many, I'm not a huge fan of second person (not third as many have written) and in general the entire tone of the narration sounded almost patronising, with an undertone of "I'm going to talk about autism but without ever using the word".
It's not clear if the book is aimed at neurodivergent children of a similar age to the protagonist who can find understanding and relatability in this character, or if it's meant to be maybe more didactic towards neurotypical readers? I feel like it's a perfectly enjoyable story, but it doesn't quite know who it wants as an audience, and if this is going to be marketed as general fiction for adults my general feeling is that it may not be best placed there.

"Life Hacks for a Little Alien" is a really lovely story of a neuro-divergent girl (name never specified), her parents and friend Bobby. The way that it presents the struggles of those who are a bit different is amazing. Since Little Alien lacks communication skills she is branded stupid, but in fact is more intelligent than her classmates and peers. As she grows older she learns better how to deal with prejudices and carves a path for herself.

All "different" children, their families and teachers should have the opportunity to read this novel.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Our unnamed Little Alien lives in an English town with her parents, her mother who is frequently unwell and her father who is just trying to keep his family together, however haphazardly

Little Alien doesn't fit in in school, one new boy Bobby (whose hair is in a bob) has potential to be a friend but overall no one understands her.

It's only when she discovers the Voynich Manuscript - an ancient codex written in an unknown language and script - she realises that there might be people similar to her, who plan to spend their whole lives decoding it's mysteries. The Little Alien's future has been blown wide open.

A touching and poignant depiction of a neurodivergent child's struggle with a world that was not built for her.

This was an interesting book. I like the way that the narrative told the story from an external perspective but also explained what the little alien was thinking. Especially how there was so much more going on in her head than she was able to express.

What an extraordinary novel! I found it to be beautifully written, very witty and unusual in its second person telling (such a difficult perspective to pull off, but Alice Franklin does it superbly) of the story of a young child growing up in a suburban household in south east England. It seemed very American to me at times, in its use of language and experimentation, which gave gravitas to this coming-of-age story about a little girl who feels different . It was incredibly moving and warm, I was hooked.
As I fell into the story, I wondered where on earth it was going to go, so when I reached the part of 'Little Alien's'obsession for and pursuit of the truth behind the Voynich manuscript, a 15th century codex of uknown origin (which I'd never heard of), it took me into an entirely unexpected realm altogether.
Tender, insightful and funny - and hugely original.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of this novel. It's one I won't forget in a hurry.

A beautiful glimpse into the world of little alien, highlighting just how many situations can be strange, unfathomable or discomforting for a neurodivergent mind. The story rambles through little aliens struggles at school, with friendships and her obsession with a much studied but never understood manuscript that she finds out about via a documentary, all the while finding friendships and support in unexpected places.
The book ended abruptly for me- I wanted to stay with the characters and see how they developed!

Third person narrative was tricky and wasn’t sure what the author was trying achieve. Not for me unfortunately

I enjoyed this book about a neurodivergent child struggling to make sense of the world. With a mentally unstable mother and father just trying to hold his family together it was a really good read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it is one which I will recommend to several friends and will happily re-read. The second person narrative took me a little time to get used to but once I started reading this as an older 'Little Alien' talking to her younger self I became quite immersed in the story. The Little Alien of the title is a young neuro-divergent girl who is fascinated by words and language. The story follows her from pre-school to teenage years as she tries to navigate schools, other children, her parents and other adults who do not understand her or think the way that she does. There were a lot of sad episodes in her story but also a lot of very funny events. The reader never gets to know Little Alien's name. She is referred to as 'Angel' and 'Sweet Pea' by her parents, a couple who have problems of their own, wish to do their best for their daughter but find it difficult to cope. Little Alien is intrigued by meanings of words and how languages develop over time. The chapters often include footnotes and 'further reading' as in academic texts but provided by Little Alien herself. I appreciated this unusual aspect of the book and understood how Little Alien would wish to make all these further notes about her thoughts. She stumbles on a TV documentary about the Voynich Manuscript, a medieval codex which has never been translated and she develops her own theories about its meaning. I really felt for her when she wrote about this for a school essay on her interests and the teacher said he couldn't grade it because it was fiction and meant to be a factual essay. I cheered her response to this which was to write a fictional essay about her obsession with climbing which was accepted by the school as being in the correct style.
Having read this book I wanted to know more about the author Alice Franklin and discovered that she is herself neuro divergent which certainly explains her ability to write such a convincing story about so many aspects of growing up neuro divergent.
In summary: great writing; funny, moving, informative. Thank you to the publisher via Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book.