Little, Brown & Company
304 Pages
Have you ever read a book and said to yourself, “I really liked that, but what the heck did I just read?” Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin neatly fit that bill. It sure looked fun and interesting when I found it on the shelves at the Lockport Public Library, and it was fun and interesting. But it was also head scratching. Let’s not be tricked into thinking that it’s not a great book. It is. It is just a bit weird. And don’t we need that sometimes?
We never learn the protagonist’s name. She is simply called “Little Alien.” She feels different from other children her age and seeks shelter from the world by imagining that she isn’t human, that she’s just a visitor to our planet. That’s why she seems so strange among her peers. When she sees a program on television about the Voynich Manuscript, she is certain that it holds the keys to the mysteries that befuddle her life. She is looking for answers. With her only friend, Bobby, she’s on a mission to see the Manuscript and decipher the secrets within.
This story is narrated by an unidentified character who is mysterious and may actually be an alien. Or maybe another neurodivergent peer of our Little Alien. Throughout the book, we wonder who this narrator is. At the end, we may be even more confused than where we began. That is part of the quirkiness that I mentioned at the beginning of the review. It’s not terrible. It is quite endearing, just like most everything that Little Alien does. That little mystery is part of the fun of this book.
Little Alien is an amazing character. She is young, new to the world, and grows as she lives through new experiences. Some of the hijinks that she goes through with Bobby are highly reminiscent of some of the things I did when I was young as well as some of the things that my children thought they were getting away with when they were younger. The character’s growth is instinctive and natural. Franklin captures the idiosyncrasies of an awkward child who is also even more awkward because of how her brain works.
Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin is a book that I want to have my own neurodivergent child to read. Knowing that there are others out there who may have some of the same difficulties might make it just a bit easier for her. When I look back at the books I read in 2025, I feel that this one will be very high on the list. It might even break the top five. I love books that explore the human condition in a very realistic way. Even the fantastic parts are loveable.
This book is the debut novel for Alice Franklin. I can’t wait to read more books by her. Hopefully we won’t have too long to wait. If her next books capture the same humanity that Life Hacks for a Little Alien, then they will be big wins in my opinion. If you want to read a good book that will be fulfilling and slightly odd, this is the book for you.
Craig Bacon thinks there are real aliens out there among the cosmos. They’ve proved their intelligence by avoiding contact with Earth.