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Alive
Seventeen-year-old Amber Reid dreams of one day leaving the dusty farm she calls home…
She aches for an adventure somewhere new. A place outside of her tiny town, where people won’t stare and shake their heads while silently blaming her for the death of her twin brother, Sam.
Amber’s wish is granted when energy-drink billionaire, Bruce Harvey, extends an invitation…
When she and seven other students from Red Gum High are recruited to sample new beverage flavors, they board Bruce’s private jet and fly toward the island headquarters of Alive Energy Drinks. But her elation is short-lived. Mid-flight, she and the group of misfit students are informed they were never destined for an island paradise—but a whole other world, riddled with dangers, mystery, and most importantly—the dead.
After crashing through a mysterious portal and landing in the Veiled World, the group is welcomed by King Cyril, who guards the gateway to the Land of Resting Souls. Here, the group is asked to embark on a mission to revive the soul of King Cyril’s dead wife. In exchange, the victor may choose one soul to retrieve from the Land of Resting Souls, and bring them back to life.
Hoping to see her brother again, Amber accepts the challenge. But there’s a catch. Almost no one who has entered the Land of Resting Souls has ever been seen again. And there are no guarantees. If she succeeds, Sam’s soul may be returned…
But will he truly be Alive?
She aches for an adventure somewhere new. A place outside of her tiny town, where people won’t stare and shake their heads while silently blaming her for the death of her twin brother, Sam.
Amber’s wish is granted when energy-drink billionaire, Bruce Harvey, extends an invitation…
When she and seven other students from Red Gum High are recruited to sample new beverage flavors, they board Bruce’s private jet and fly toward the island headquarters of Alive Energy Drinks. But her elation is short-lived. Mid-flight, she and the group of misfit students are informed they were never destined for an island paradise—but a whole other world, riddled with dangers, mystery, and most importantly—the dead.
After crashing through a mysterious portal and landing in the Veiled World, the group is welcomed by King Cyril, who guards the gateway to the Land of Resting Souls. Here, the group is asked to embark on a mission to revive the soul of King Cyril’s dead wife. In exchange, the victor may choose one soul to retrieve from the Land of Resting Souls, and bring them back to life.
Hoping to see her brother again, Amber accepts the challenge. But there’s a catch. Almost no one who has entered the Land of Resting Souls has ever been seen again. And there are no guarantees. If she succeeds, Sam’s soul may be returned…
But will he truly be Alive?
- GenresYoung AdultFantasy
320 pages, Paperback
Published June 7, 2016
31 people are currently reading
703 people want to read
About the author
Vanessa Garden
13 books247 followersA bookseller and Young Adult author, Vanessa loves nothing more than immersing herself in the exciting world of books. When she is not raving about her favourite reads with customers, or mentally casting actors to play the characters in her next novel, she enjoys hanging out with those she loves most.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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July 6, 2023'ALIVE' is the first book in my new series 'The Veiled World'. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it!
Happy reading
xoxoxox
Happy reading
xoxoxox
July 1, 2016
The story of Alive focuses on Amber, a seventeen year old dealing with the loss of her brother. When multi-billionaire Bruce offers her and a few others the opportunity to test out his drinks, she boards a plane...but this isn't any regular plane ride and what they learn is about to put them all on an adventure of a lifetime.
The story isn't like anything I've read before. I loved that about this. It's original and has a complex storyline to go with it. I highly enjoyed reading it. Vanessa is yet to disappoint me. Having read Vanessa's other works and books, I knew I'd highly enjoy this book and I was so right. Unfortunately university exams got in the way of me sitting down and reading this in peace but I've finally got to it and I'm so glad I did.
The chapters alternate between Amber and Axel. Axel belongs to a different world and the story fits in nicely with both point of views. In fact I'm glad Vanessa did choose to approach the story this way because seeing how differently or in some cases, similarly these characters thought despite being from different worlds or realms made the story more realistic. We weren't just getting one side of the story, we were getting both. Brilliantly written and definitely worth the read.
The story isn't like anything I've read before. I loved that about this. It's original and has a complex storyline to go with it. I highly enjoyed reading it. Vanessa is yet to disappoint me. Having read Vanessa's other works and books, I knew I'd highly enjoy this book and I was so right. Unfortunately university exams got in the way of me sitting down and reading this in peace but I've finally got to it and I'm so glad I did.
The chapters alternate between Amber and Axel. Axel belongs to a different world and the story fits in nicely with both point of views. In fact I'm glad Vanessa did choose to approach the story this way because seeing how differently or in some cases, similarly these characters thought despite being from different worlds or realms made the story more realistic. We weren't just getting one side of the story, we were getting both. Brilliantly written and definitely worth the read.
August 31, 2016
The Plot
17 year old Amber Reid longs for a different life. Everyone in town blames her for her brothers death and treats her like an outcast. When billionaire energy drinker extends an off to Amber and several others to taste test new flavors they accept. Mid flight they are told that they are not destined for beautiful island but instead to a world that is filled with souls of the dead and danger. Hoping to see her brother again, Amber accepts the challenge from King Cyril to cross over into the land of resting souls. There is just one catch no one has ever returned from there. If she returns his soul will be restored, but will that truly make him alive?
The Review
The plot was well written and immerses you immediately. The characters were very well written and you feel as if you know them yourself. Although I agree with another reviewer when she compared one character to a tiny Joffrey from GOT.(pompous little sh**) I really thought the alternating points of view fit nicely and made the story feel more alive. The attention she pays to detail makes this read all the more wonderful. This is a true adventure that you don't want to miss out on! Thank you Vanessa for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review!
17 year old Amber Reid longs for a different life. Everyone in town blames her for her brothers death and treats her like an outcast. When billionaire energy drinker extends an off to Amber and several others to taste test new flavors they accept. Mid flight they are told that they are not destined for beautiful island but instead to a world that is filled with souls of the dead and danger. Hoping to see her brother again, Amber accepts the challenge from King Cyril to cross over into the land of resting souls. There is just one catch no one has ever returned from there. If she returns his soul will be restored, but will that truly make him alive?
The Review
The plot was well written and immerses you immediately. The characters were very well written and you feel as if you know them yourself. Although I agree with another reviewer when she compared one character to a tiny Joffrey from GOT.(pompous little sh**) I really thought the alternating points of view fit nicely and made the story feel more alive. The attention she pays to detail makes this read all the more wonderful. This is a true adventure that you don't want to miss out on! Thank you Vanessa for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review!
June 4, 2016
I was immediately hooked from start to finish.
I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships with each other, even if at times they were being douchebags towards another character.
This book seemed to have the best of everything including dinosaurs! Great plot & characters.
Only two things I disliked about this book, one was the ending mainly because I was enjoying it so much and now I have to wait for a sequel. Second dislike was Ollie, he was like a tiny Joffrey from Game of Thrones.
Great book
I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships with each other, even if at times they were being douchebags towards another character.
This book seemed to have the best of everything including dinosaurs! Great plot & characters.
Only two things I disliked about this book, one was the ending mainly because I was enjoying it so much and now I have to wait for a sequel. Second dislike was Ollie, he was like a tiny Joffrey from Game of Thrones.
Great book
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May 11, 2025
A fairly quick fantasy read with interesting world-building. It felt like it should have gone for much longer though. It Only covered the journey one way, even though it was mentioned that the journey back would be harder. It was like it’s been set up to be a series, but it’s calling itself a stand-alone book.
August 15, 2016
A group of young people win a contest and are taken aboard a plane, supposedly to tour a factory. They have been massively lied to, though, and they are going to another reality (sort of) and are tasked with going on a very dangerous mission that could lead to all their deaths. The purpose? Bring back people they know who have died, one of them being the king's wife.
Amber and Alex are the two main characters, Alex being from that area and treated like dirt by the king. The area also goes through something called The Change which consists of very nasty changes in weather and place which, of course, will make their journey that much harder.
The deck is stacked against them from the beginning, though. They are paired with certain mythical animals including a dragon that pairs with Amber. (The other animals never seem to appear in the story again, though.)
There is a queen of the Land of Resting Souls and she's not exactly a nice person.
The story, in my opinion, has a lot of major holes.
Why did the young people at least try to refuse getting off the plane? They knew they were not where they were supposed to be. Why not just tell the main guy behind this to stuff it and take them back?
The Land of Resting Souls is human-only, apparently. Yet if it is a place for dead souls then why doesn't it include aliens? (Assuming there are any that actually exist, of course.)
The adult guy that brought them there knew what they would face so why didn't he bring actual weapons that they could have used. The young people are given things like chain mail and helmets rather than actual weapons that could be used.
Instead of using young people (misusing them, really) why didn't the King and Bruce, the human behind this scheme, just hire mercenaries? This using of young people basically as cannon fodder is not acceptable to me.
Amber and Alex are the two main characters, Alex being from that area and treated like dirt by the king. The area also goes through something called The Change which consists of very nasty changes in weather and place which, of course, will make their journey that much harder.
The deck is stacked against them from the beginning, though. They are paired with certain mythical animals including a dragon that pairs with Amber. (The other animals never seem to appear in the story again, though.)
There is a queen of the Land of Resting Souls and she's not exactly a nice person.
The story, in my opinion, has a lot of major holes.
Why did the young people at least try to refuse getting off the plane? They knew they were not where they were supposed to be. Why not just tell the main guy behind this to stuff it and take them back?
The Land of Resting Souls is human-only, apparently. Yet if it is a place for dead souls then why doesn't it include aliens? (Assuming there are any that actually exist, of course.)
The adult guy that brought them there knew what they would face so why didn't he bring actual weapons that they could have used. The young people are given things like chain mail and helmets rather than actual weapons that could be used.
Instead of using young people (misusing them, really) why didn't the King and Bruce, the human behind this scheme, just hire mercenaries? This using of young people basically as cannon fodder is not acceptable to me.
March 11, 2021
The Veiled World by Vanessa Garden is a well-written book with a compelling fantasy storyline. Amber is the main protagonist, and for her short young life, has experienced a lot. Most significant is the tragic death of her twin brother. For some reason, people in her small town blame her for his death. But now a new opportunity awaits, one that could open the door to new possibilities as Amber joins a group of fellow teenagers on a journey. Chosen by a billionaire to go to a secluded island for an escape and to test a new series of energy drinks, Amber thinks this is the chance of a lifetime. Little does she know what is in store for her and the others. Magical portals await, and the story proceeds nicely. Along with an innovative plot in this story, there are well-crafted characters and a sense of unease that permeates the book. This propels you along as a reader until you get to the final page. Highly recommend.
November 16, 2016
review to come
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews