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alexa_bmn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Death, Sexual assault, and Drug use
Moderate: Incest and Deadnaming
thepretentiouspoet's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
When I began this book, I was expecting a modern retelling of Alice In Wonderland. What I got instead was a dark, messy, whirlwind adventure exploring sexuality, gender, womanhood, class, social privilege and mental health viscerally and honestly.
There is no way to prepare yourself for this book - it comes right at you. Alice was an immediately likeable protagonist; she's smart and morally sound, but just unstable enough that you have to keep your wits about you as she enters the bacchanel-like party of Wonderland in search of her one-night-stand who goes missing the next day. Her inner monologue is incredibly engaging, and there are so many incredibly wise and introspective one-liners or passing comments about gender presentation and femininity that shook me.
Then there are the discussions of privilege and social class that occur throughout the plot. Alice is a trans woman who goes to a very elite private school that is dominated by the upper classes. All those Gatsby-esque conversations about Old Money and New Money come into play as she navigates the party, and she begins to see just how deeply class loyalty and wealth run. The people she is rubbing elbows with are all deeply, deeply flawed, and most of that is as a result of their privilege. From the tortured genius stoner that replaces the Caterpillar to the YouTube star twins with no boundaries and even fewer morals to Paisley Hart herself, it is clear that you don't actually want to be a part of their cult-like class. How can a book manage to grip you on all levels?
I will say though, that I would not recommend this book to everyone. Just as Alice In Wonderland is bizarre and messy at points, this book is all of those things tenfold. Check those trigger warnings carefully, as there is a lot of messed-up stuff that happens and is discussed in this book, and it was almost too much for me at times. I will also add, although it isn't a registered content warning, that Alice experiences hallucinations at various points in the book - some are as a result of her excessive drug use, and others are as a result of her not taking the anti-psychotic medication that is prescribed to her.
However, if you can stomach the content warnings, I cannot recommend this enough. I read this book over a month ago and I can't stop thinking about it.
There is no way to prepare yourself for this book - it comes right at you. Alice was an immediately likeable protagonist; she's smart and morally sound, but just unstable enough that you have to keep your wits about you as she enters the bacchanel-like party of Wonderland in search of her one-night-stand who goes missing the next day. Her inner monologue is incredibly engaging, and there are so many incredibly wise and introspective one-liners or passing comments about gender presentation and femininity that shook me.
Then there are the discussions of privilege and social class that occur throughout the plot. Alice is a trans woman who goes to a very elite private school that is dominated by the upper classes. All those Gatsby-esque conversations about Old Money and New Money come into play as she navigates the party, and she begins to see just how deeply class loyalty and wealth run. The people she is rubbing elbows with are all deeply, deeply flawed, and most of that is as a result of their privilege. From the tortured genius stoner that replaces the Caterpillar to the YouTube star twins with no boundaries and even fewer morals to Paisley Hart herself, it is clear that you don't actually want to be a part of their cult-like class. How can a book manage to grip you on all levels?
I will say though, that I would not recommend this book to everyone. Just as Alice In Wonderland is bizarre and messy at points, this book is all of those things tenfold. Check those trigger warnings carefully, as there is a lot of messed-up stuff that happens and is discussed in this book, and it was almost too much for me at times. I will also add, although it isn't a registered content warning, that Alice experiences hallucinations at various points in the book - some are as a result of her excessive drug use, and others are as a result of her not taking the anti-psychotic medication that is prescribed to her.
However, if you can stomach the content warnings, I cannot recommend this enough. I read this book over a month ago and I can't stop thinking about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Vomit
Moderate: Incest, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Violence
morebedsidebooks's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Transphobia, and Vomit
Minor: Deadnaming, Death of parent, Incest, Animal death, and Alcoholism
Also drugging and mentions of an overdose death occur in the book.honestlyholly's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think this book needed to be longer to fully appreciate the topics it touched upon. There was a sense of quickness, of urgency, which meant some of the points were skimmed over in too little detail.
The concept would have worked better with 18-22yos as well, rather than 14-18yos. It seemed too adult for the people to be actual children.
I was expecting a wacky read as it's an Alice in Wonderland retelling, but it was mad! The ending wasn't really an ending as well... There was no resolution???
The concept would have worked better with 18-22yos as well, rather than 14-18yos. It seemed too adult for the people to be actual children.
I was expecting a wacky read as it's an Alice in Wonderland retelling, but it was mad! The ending wasn't really an ending as well... There was no resolution???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Suicide attempt
fiekesfiction's review
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-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
3.5
It is very hard for me to describe “wonderland” by Juno Dawson because it was not what I expected it to be.
“If my hair isn’t blue, how will anyone know I’m transgender?”
“Natural colours only,” she says for the millionth time.
I smile slightly “Ms Grafton, I think I left natural behind years ago, don’t you?”
The story follows Alice. After she had a one night stand with Bunny, the girl has disappeared and no one seems to care. When she tries to find out what happened to her, Alice ends up in a strange party for the elite.
Even though this is written in a funny way, the story has a lot of darker things going on. Especially in the beginning with Alice making sarcastic comments, the story felt a bit light and I thought it would just be a quick fun read. But soon I realised that was absolutely not the case.
She winks again and walks off with my phone. It feels a lot like she’s removed a vital organ. I’d rather she’d taken a kidney to be franks, I have two of those and can’t watch memes on either.
Juno Dawson is very good at adding topical themes to her story in a clever way.
The Alice in wonderland retelling is very well done. This story has the same surreal feeling of things not being quite right, as the original story does. The wonderland in this case is obviously the different lives extremely rich and privileged people live. The world is a bit different for them.
It’s really obvious which characters are based on the original Alice in wonderland characters, but it was actually fun to compare them. I did think this story doesn’t really have a ‘plot’, mainly Alice is just stumbling around not really knowing what she’s doing, but it makes sense with the way this story ends and I think it also adds to the feeling of “wonderland” since the original tale is also really not a lot more than Alice trying to understand a strange world. The themes were great, the writing was funny and the main character was flawed but well developed.
“Is our collective self-esteem so waferthin that we rely on compliments from strangers for sustenance?”
I would recommend this to anyone who wants a very different and diverse story with themes of feminism and class.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Rape
that_bookworm_guy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A clever modern day retelling of Alice in Wonderland featuring a trans main character, yes please!!
Throughout the book, there are quotes from Alice in Wonderland woven throughout and characters that share similarities to the original characters.
The story is interesting and strange, and honestly wild. But very enjoyable.
It's dark, and it's messy and focuses a lot on mental health. But as a trans person, I could see a lot of similarities in mine and Alice's experiences. I love being able to see parts of myself in fictional characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Self harm, and Mental illness
Minor: Incest
beesbumblebooks's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I read three of Juno Dawsons Novels, and they are all written in a very fast pace, especially Clean and, now, Wonderland. Even though I say fuck the upper class, I love it in Dawsons novels, because the upperclass is fucked there. Which it probably is in real life? I don't know.
Wonderland had a kind of adventurous-mystery-story vibe. I kept wondering how much of that kind really happens in the upper class or if it's exaggerated or dramatic. I really liked that it was dramatic, though. The end was a bit to classic: First a showdown, waking up in a hospital, then being all I-found-myself-and-have-it-sorted-out. Yeah, but it's fine. <spoolerover>
Baby spoilers on personalities and vibe of story, also on the vibe of Dawson books:
What I really like about Dawsons novel is that she made up a world for all of them - the places are the same throughout the novels and bop up like easter eggs, which is very exciting when you've read the other novels. After a while one sees even a continuity and how Juno Dawson begins to intertwine the stories, or at least elements, into other ones. It's great and makes me feel like I know shit.
Other than that I immediatly loved the main character, Alice, because she's reflected, she's undramatic and just a good person without SHOWING HER MORALS WAH WAH WAH. All the characters are amazingly written. Most people have a small part in Alice's story, like in Alice in Wonderland she seems to meet them in one chapter, than moving on. Still each interaction sticks and seems important, the characters being on point and fully developed without saying much. I guess that's what good writers do - putting personalities into persons. Dawson doesn't seem to judge, she just describes different persons like: Yep, that's people, and it's brilliant.
I also want to add that all the sexual encounters are described with so much feeling, not needing to be explicit to transport what's happening and how incredible it feels, what the expierience does with one's mind. I'm always excited when book can capture something so intimate and unique so well. And also the description of being transgender and also struggling with mental illnes are so...yeah, undramatic, I'd say. They take part in everything, a thught here, and observation there, but interwoven in the story, showing it as it is, normal life, the experience of many people who just deal with it between all the other stuff that's happening. It sucks and then there are other things to be thought of. Or it's wonderful and then there comes real life shit.
I also want to add that all the sexual encounters are described with so much feeling, not needing to be explicit to transport what's happening and how incredible it feels, what the expierience does with one's mind. I'm always excited when book can capture something so intimate and unique so well. And also the description of being transgender and also struggling with mental illnes are so...yeah, undramatic, I'd say. They take part in everything, a thught here, and observation there, but interwoven in the story, showing it as it is, normal life, the experience of many people who just deal with it between all the other stuff that's happening. It sucks and then there are other things to be thought of. Or it's wonderful and then there comes real life shit.
Yeah, good book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Death, Self harm, and Sexual assault
tqlikesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
"I've been known to visualise killing up to six people each morning before breakfast."
A fun, edgy Alice in Wonderland retelling with a pansexual trans girl protagonist, who makes questionable decisions but you can't help but root for her.
Y'know YA Contemporary is so not my genre (it wasn't even when I could be considered a 'Young Adult'), but somehow I can always trust Juno to deliver an thoroughly enjoyable story. I like the decadence and excess of her 'London Trilogy' (actually just very loosely related characters/stories in the same setting). I like the humour. It's just a jolly good time.
Did it veer into cheesy British SOAP levels of dramatic ridiculousness for the finale? Absolutely! Did that ruin my enjoyment? Not really!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault
Minor: Transphobia
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