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katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Alice updated for relevant issues, themes and groups. Clever stuff.
It would really help for a reader/listener to know Carroll's original, or the regular references will be wasted. The updating feels fresh, smart and is full of memorable characters, often playing on traits and lines from the children's book.
Alice now is a teenager, and the White Rabbit is her missing friend Bunny. Visiting Wonderland by invitation, she find it a sensualist days-long party where norms and expectations go out of the window, and other young people she knows are congregating for various purposes.
As is usual with Dawson, themes of sexuality, coming-of-age, teenage relationships and sex itself are not shied away from, with some graphic content here making this feel authentic.
Like Carroll's Wonderland, can Alice trust anyone? Even herself?
Without giving anything away, the plot, characters and even quotes from the book (as well as references to the author) fill the story. And yet it feels completely contemporary. I did find the denouement a little cliched, but everything that came before it was original and well thought-out.
I listened to this via Audible, and enjoyed hearing Dawson's own voice narrating her own creations, with a range of accents and tones. She brought Alice's mixture of young libidinous adult and vulnerability out very well.
With twists and other issues that fall outside the remit of the classic story, it's a combination of update and modern adolescent novel. Drugs, sex, sexual violence, gender identity, this is for older teenagers really, and does contain unapologetic (sexual) swearing and some scenes that might upset younger readers.
Cleverly done. Lots for book groups to talk about with this one. For ages 14 and above.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
It would really help for a reader/listener to know Carroll's original, or the regular references will be wasted. The updating feels fresh, smart and is full of memorable characters, often playing on traits and lines from the children's book.
Alice now is a teenager, and the White Rabbit is her missing friend Bunny. Visiting Wonderland by invitation, she find it a sensualist days-long party where norms and expectations go out of the window, and other young people she knows are congregating for various purposes.
As is usual with Dawson, themes of sexuality, coming-of-age, teenage relationships and sex itself are not shied away from, with some graphic content here making this feel authentic.
Like Carroll's Wonderland, can Alice trust anyone? Even herself?
Without giving anything away, the plot, characters and even quotes from the book (as well as references to the author) fill the story. And yet it feels completely contemporary. I did find the denouement a little cliched, but everything that came before it was original and well thought-out.
I listened to this via Audible, and enjoyed hearing Dawson's own voice narrating her own creations, with a range of accents and tones. She brought Alice's mixture of young libidinous adult and vulnerability out very well.
With twists and other issues that fall outside the remit of the classic story, it's a combination of update and modern adolescent novel. Drugs, sex, sexual violence, gender identity, this is for older teenagers really, and does contain unapologetic (sexual) swearing and some scenes that might upset younger readers.
Cleverly done. Lots for book groups to talk about with this one. For ages 14 and above.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
I had never heard of Juno Dawson before I saw a post about this book in the Book Box Club. And, if you've been following me for a while and read my reviews, you know that I love anything Wonderland related. I was therefore very curious to this book, but I got the impression it was part of a series and I needed to catch up with the other books first. Until I was told this very much worked as a standalone. So, I placed an order and started reading as soon as the book came in.
Dawson really did an amazing job translating all the Wonderland madness to the modern and contemporary world. This story is not a fantasy. It deals with amazingly heavy themes like the struggles of a transgender girl trying to find her place in the world, suicide, drug abuse, sexual harassment and rape and a few more themes I don't want to name because they would really spoil the book. And despite all the heavy themes, the book didn't FEEL too heavy. Because in between all the heaviness there was excitement too.
For a long time it seemed like this book, just like the original book, doesn't have much of a bigger plot. At first Alice is mainly trying to find Bunny and when that doesn't seem to work out that well and she's starting to feel more and more out of place it turns into Alice just wanting to go home. However, the finale is amazing. Everything WAS going somewhere and when all pieces of the puzzle click it's breathtaking and insanely interesting.
Especially because everything, even that exciting and action packed finale, is serving Alice's character growth. She starts the story unsure of who she is and wants to be. She's basically no one. During the story she's confronted with herself, with her doubts, with her fears, with her limits, with her weaknesses. However, everything, no matter how absurd and painful, eventually leads to an answer to maybe the most important question we can ever ask ourselves: "Who are you?"
I've just ordered Meat Market and I'm really curious to read that one. This story for sure was a great introduction to Dawson's work and now I want more.
Dawson really did an amazing job translating all the Wonderland madness to the modern and contemporary world. This story is not a fantasy. It deals with amazingly heavy themes like the struggles of a transgender girl trying to find her place in the world, suicide, drug abuse, sexual harassment and rape and a few more themes I don't want to name because they would really spoil the book. And despite all the heavy themes, the book didn't FEEL too heavy. Because in between all the heaviness there was excitement too.
For a long time it seemed like this book, just like the original book, doesn't have much of a bigger plot. At first Alice is mainly trying to find Bunny and when that doesn't seem to work out that well and she's starting to feel more and more out of place it turns into Alice just wanting to go home. However, the finale is amazing. Everything WAS going somewhere and when all pieces of the puzzle click it's breathtaking and insanely interesting.
Especially because everything, even that exciting and action packed finale, is serving Alice's character growth. She starts the story unsure of who she is and wants to be. She's basically no one. During the story she's confronted with herself, with her doubts, with her fears, with her limits, with her weaknesses. However, everything, no matter how absurd and painful, eventually leads to an answer to maybe the most important question we can ever ask ourselves: "Who are you?"
I've just ordered Meat Market and I'm really curious to read that one. This story for sure was a great introduction to Dawson's work and now I want more.
zoey98's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Incest, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Violence
kirjapinoni's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
summer_winter's review against another edition
3.0
'Sometimes I feel I'm in my own dimension, wading through time, lagging a second behind the normal people'
Actual rating: 3.75
Did I listen to or read this?: Read
Level of enjoyment: Medium
Expectations going in: Medium
Able to connect with characters?: Yes
Plot kept me interested?: Yes
Like the writing style?: I found the writing style to be a little bit crude at time but it fit the vibe of the book.
Did I like the romance?: Yes wasn't really romance but was more realistic than romance in most books
Will I continue the series?: n/a but would be interested in reading more.
Do I reccomend this book?: Yes, interesting plot and characters. This book delved alot into mental health and I found it oddly comforting to find the main character so relatable.
Actual rating: 3.75
Did I listen to or read this?: Read
Level of enjoyment: Medium
Expectations going in: Medium
Able to connect with characters?: Yes
Plot kept me interested?: Yes
Like the writing style?: I found the writing style to be a little bit crude at time but it fit the vibe of the book.
Did I like the romance?: Yes wasn't really romance but was more realistic than romance in most books
Will I continue the series?: n/a but would be interested in reading more.
Do I reccomend this book?: Yes, interesting plot and characters. This book delved alot into mental health and I found it oddly comforting to find the main character so relatable.
unablelemon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
saki92's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A fantastic re-telling of 'Alice in Wonderland'. Dark and tense and as mad as the original. Alice being trans works SO fricking well! This book had me from the start. Definitely worth a read.
fdev23's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
kajoreads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The good:
–The premise and the setting were interesting.
–I enjoyed a lot of the commentary around transness.
–the Alice in Wonderland retelling aspect was fun.
The bad:
–There were some weird jokes and descriptions that came across like microaggressions.
–The mental illness rep was questionable.
–I wish the MC’s internalized misogyny was addressed better.
–Overall, the book simply didn’t live up to my expectations. The synopsis had me hoping for an investigative mystery. This wasn’t that.
–The resolution was underwhelming.
–The premise and the setting were interesting.
–I enjoyed a lot of the commentary around transness.
–the Alice in Wonderland retelling aspect was fun.
The bad:
–There were some weird jokes and descriptions that came across like microaggressions.
–The mental illness rep was questionable.
–I wish the MC’s internalized misogyny was addressed better.
–Overall, the book simply didn’t live up to my expectations. The synopsis had me hoping for an investigative mystery. This wasn’t that.
–The resolution was underwhelming.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Self harm, Suicide, and Mental illness
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Abandonment, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Transphobia, Alcohol, and Death
Minor: Racism, Deadnaming, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Biphobia, Ableism, Violence, and Blood