Life Hacks for a Little Alien cover art

Life Hacks for a Little Alien

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Life Hacks for a Little Alien

By: Alice Franklin
Narrated by: Sally Phillips
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

'Wise and playful and tender and beautiful' Bobby Palmer
'So brilliant, so original and lovely and funny, that it reminds you of the point of reading' Rebecca Wait

'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'

From her first words to her first day at school, Little Alien can't help but get things wrong. She doesn't understand the world the way others seem to, and the world doesn't seem to understand her either. Her anxious mum and meticulous dad, while well-intentioned, are of little help.

But when Little Alien sees a documentary about the Voynich Manuscript - a mediaeval codex written in an unknown language and script - 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 this charming, witty, and profoundly moving novel about the power of language, the wonder of libraries - and how to find a path that fits, when you yourself do not.

'Unique and thoroughly engaging. It is insightful and funny and gently poignant. By telling the story of one little alien, Alice Franklin has told the story of many' Pip Williams, author of The Dictionary of Lost Words

'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' Aimée Walsh, author of Exile

'Immersive, moving, and fizzing with humour, I couldn't put this book down and I still can't let the character go' Paula Lichtarowicz, author of The Snow Hare

'A rare energy lights this wonderful book: a unique recipe of humour, heart, frankness, and an unstoppable fascination with language' Han Smith, author of Portraits at the Palace of Creativity and Wrecking

'Witty, bold, heart-warming and entirely delicious. I devoured it' Jyoti Patel, author of The Things that we Lost ©2025 Alice Franklin (P)2025 Quercus Editions Limited
Coming of Age Editors Select Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Witty

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Life and Loves of Becca Valentine cover art
Little Ghosts cover art
The Lost Past of Billy McQueen cover art
Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal cover art
A Knock at the Door cover art
Before and After cover art
Friends of Dorothy cover art
Ashes to Admin cover art
The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up cover art
Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things? cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
As an autistic parent of autistic kids I found this to be extremely relatable, funny, and touching. Sally Phillips' narration was spot on.

A relatable look inside an autistic brain

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This book was exactly what I needed. I loved Sally’s reading of it, and will hear her voice when I now go on to read it myself.

It felt like an ode to special interests and language, and it was a very interesting look at a neurodivergent internal life, and experience of family, education and friendship.

Wonderful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I got angry with lack of adults (except Dad) ability to suspend disbelief but pleased that some made the effort. Interesting range of people and operating skills. Most of all I liked the girl.
I liked also it being in the present tense - like you’re nestled, peeping over her right ear.
I didn’t want to put it down.😀

How difficult it is to navigate life differently.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.