Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Wonderland by Juno Dawson

9 reviews

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.

---

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

stellabombella's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Outing, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

lana88's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

I though the ending was very dark and perhaps too unrealistic but other than that the plot was fast faced and engaging</ spoiler>

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

thebookishnerd_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This was my first Juno Dawson book! And while I'll definitely check out more of her books, I was underwhelmed by Wonderland. It's very reminiscent of the TV show Euphoria - rich teens doing drugs, having sex, and getting away with criminal activity. So much of this book was our main character, Alice, doing drugs that it watered down the plot and I found myself skimming over her 'trips'. I love unlikeable characters and this book was full of them. Almost all of the characters are spoiled rich teens they kind of blended together, especially the 'flower girls' which I suppose was the point of them. I liked this book, I just wish there was more plot and less focus on the pointless edgy activity. There are a lot of trigger warnings for this book, so definitely check them out before reading.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Mental illness, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual content

Moderate: Deadnaming, Suicide, Classism, and Alcohol

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Transphobia, and Abandonment

wonderlandellie's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Outing, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Sexual assault

lucystolethesky's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Self harm, Deadnaming, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Outing, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Death, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Body shaming, Violence, Bullying, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia

kasvispupu's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Violence

bunnibelle87's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Self harm

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. 

---

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