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votesforwomen's review
3.0
Frankly: this book would have been better if it was not a retelling. When Ella stepped into her own ideas and got into the dystopian world she created, this story shone. But whenever she was shoving Carroll references into the book, it felt forced and heavy handed.
I’ve never loved Alice so maybe I am not the target audience. However. I’ve liked other retellings, so I had decently high hopes for this one. Even so, I couldn’t find any of the characters very compelling, and I struggled with several rather blatant plot holes.
If you REALLY like Carroll, you’ll enjoy this. If you like dystopian, you’ll probably like this, although I wish the dystopian had been more prevalent.
I’ve never loved Alice so maybe I am not the target audience. However. I’ve liked other retellings, so I had decently high hopes for this one. Even so, I couldn’t find any of the characters very compelling, and I struggled with several rather blatant plot holes.
If you REALLY like Carroll, you’ll enjoy this. If you like dystopian, you’ll probably like this, although I wish the dystopian had been more prevalent.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
5.0
If there's one thing very dangerous when it comes to books it's looking forward to a book for a few months. If you have such high expectations of a book you do risk getting disappointed, after all. I was therefore both really excited to FINALLY start reading this book, since my pre-ordered copy came in yesterday, and terrified to do so. What if this book was not gonna be as great as I had hoped it would be? What if it wouldn't give me the true Wonderland feel?
There was absolutely no need to be afraid to start reading. I read a few pages before bedtime yesterday and I already had a hard time putting the book down, even though the book does have a sort of slow start. After all, we are promised trials in Wonderland and it takes our heroine quite some time to find and enter Wonderland to begin with and it takes even longer for the trials to start. But I really enjoyed the building up and anticipation, especially because our heroine shared those feelings.
I also really enjoyed how this book somehow is a mix of both fantasy and dystopia. Even more than almost each and every other wonderland retelling this tale feels firmly rooted in London. Which makes sense. It's more of an extra layer. A layer of reality only those with the special Wonder gen can see and experience. And how I wished I had that gen! This version of wonderland was magical and truly a world where everything is possible as long as you believe it is.
And while the world and the trials, that were action packed challenges with high stakes combined with riddles and puzzles, steal the show eventually, I also really loved the journey of our heroine. I've always identified with Alice and it somehow was even easier to identify with this version of her than with any other version I've ever encountered. Firstly because she wore glasses, but also because I'm currently working through the same themes and struggles.
I so can't wait for the sequel to be written and published!
There was absolutely no need to be afraid to start reading. I read a few pages before bedtime yesterday and I already had a hard time putting the book down, even though the book does have a sort of slow start. After all, we are promised trials in Wonderland and it takes our heroine quite some time to find and enter Wonderland to begin with and it takes even longer for the trials to start. But I really enjoyed the building up and anticipation, especially because our heroine shared those feelings.
I also really enjoyed how this book somehow is a mix of both fantasy and dystopia. Even more than almost each and every other wonderland retelling this tale feels firmly rooted in London. Which makes sense. It's more of an extra layer. A layer of reality only those with the special Wonder gen can see and experience. And how I wished I had that gen! This version of wonderland was magical and truly a world where everything is possible as long as you believe it is.
And while the world and the trials, that were action packed challenges with high stakes combined with riddles and puzzles, steal the show eventually, I also really loved the journey of our heroine. I've always identified with Alice and it somehow was even easier to identify with this version of her than with any other version I've ever encountered. Firstly because she wore glasses, but also because I'm currently working through the same themes and struggles.
I so can't wait for the sequel to be written and published!
whitls's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
katherinebriggs's review
5.0
Sara Ella’s The Wonderland Trials is a creative, futuristic retelling that explores friendship and family ties. And that 75% mark twist is awesome!
karynenorton's review
5.0
The Wonderland Trials is a futuristic take on Wonderland being some sort of heightened level of consciousness through a magical gene, with Alice trying to survive the trials and find out what's happening to people who are disappearing because of this gene.
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the nonsensical throwbacks because it's not my favorite part of the classic, but it works so well in this setting. I'm exciting to read the second book, which comes out in September!
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the nonsensical throwbacks because it's not my favorite part of the classic, but it works so well in this setting. I'm exciting to read the second book, which comes out in September!
lahariel's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Loved the cover art and was super intrigued by the overall premise, but the story itself is very slow and there are chapters that I think could have either been pared down or cut out entirely to make room for something more interesting. Alice is so overly skeptical that it gets to be aggravatingly contradictory. The author sets her up to be somewhat of a fangirl of Wonderland and becoming a Wonder, only to constantly deride and dismiss Wonders (and the very nature of Wonderland) at nearly every turn. As a result, I'm not really sure what kind of a character Alice is supposed to be because her desires, followed by her responses / actions, are at complete odds throughout the entire book. Maybe that's the point and I'm just missing it, but either way I don't find it endearing enough to continue.
allykat's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
iliv3inmyh3ad's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75