Scan barcode
graceev's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Child death, Gore, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
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
A grimdark Alice in Wonderland adaptation with a Blerd Alice.
It's well-written if oddly paced, with fairly well-developed characters and enough real-world ties and consequences to keep the plot engaging even when it meanders. But let's be honest: how a person reacts to that first sentence I put up there probably determines whether or not they'll like it.
It's well-written if oddly paced, with fairly well-developed characters and enough real-world ties and consequences to keep the plot engaging even when it meanders. But let's be honest: how a person reacts to that first sentence I put up there probably determines whether or not they'll like it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Police brutality, War, and Death of parent
kshertz's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Pretty great for a first novel! A debut that kept me wondering. I’m not huge on fantasy because of all the necessary world building but this book does a great job of getting straight into it. I would have loved a little more character building, I had some trouble getting Invested in the protagonists. But maybe because I’m the old mom who’s like, “ok how hard is it to just be home when you say you’re going to be home? Just cuz nightmares are chasing you…” anywho, If you like fantasy, you’ll love it. If not, it’s not going to draw you in enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Whew, what a wild ride this book is!
If I'm being honest, the beginning confused me a little bit. Maybe my brain wandered while I was listening to the audiobook and I just missed it entirely, but I somehow didn't notice the skip in time, so when the FMC went from being terrified of nightmares to being a pro at fighting them, I was super confused! However, once I understood the timeline, I felt much better and very quickly adjusted to the story - which was amazing!
What an incredibly unique twist on the classic Wonderland story! I've read reimaginings of Alice in Wonderland, but never something quite like this. If the character names weren't somewhat similar to the originals, I would've never known that it was connected, which I actually really liked. It was whimsical and dark, simultaneously, a mix that's hard to accomplish in my opinion.
The relationships between Alice and all of the other characters was something that I loved from the very beginning. While there are tiny elements of romance, it's definitely not the focus at all. The primary emphasis is on the adventure and the friendships made along the way. It has a great found family aspect that I really enjoyed.
My first thought after finishing the book was, "when can I get my hands on the sequel?" I proceeded to immediately download the audio for the second book because I had to find out what came next!
If I'm being honest, the beginning confused me a little bit. Maybe my brain wandered while I was listening to the audiobook and I just missed it entirely, but I somehow didn't notice the skip in time, so when the FMC went from being terrified of nightmares to being a pro at fighting them, I was super confused! However, once I understood the timeline, I felt much better and very quickly adjusted to the story - which was amazing!
What an incredibly unique twist on the classic Wonderland story! I've read reimaginings of Alice in Wonderland, but never something quite like this. If the character names weren't somewhat similar to the originals, I would've never known that it was connected, which I actually really liked. It was whimsical and dark, simultaneously, a mix that's hard to accomplish in my opinion.
The relationships between Alice and all of the other characters was something that I loved from the very beginning. While there are tiny elements of romance, it's definitely not the focus at all. The primary emphasis is on the adventure and the friendships made along the way. It has a great found family aspect that I really enjoyed.
My first thought after finishing the book was, "when can I get my hands on the sequel?" I proceeded to immediately download the audio for the second book because I had to find out what came next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Grief, and Blood
Minor: Police brutality
zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- 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
3.5
This book wasn't really grabbing me, but I kept going with it because I was genuinely interested in where the plot was going. I think I would've liked this more if it existed when I was in the target age demographic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Violence, Murder, and Body horror
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Child death, Mental illness, Medical content, Police brutality, Terminal illness, and Stalking
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
caseythereader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Police brutality, and Violence
catapocalypse's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
4.0
Full disclosure: I won a free print copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway!
I seldom read YA, but the premise of this book sounded super fun and the cover is beautiful! In the wake of her father's untimely death, Alice is attacked by a monster from another world. Wonderland is a world formed from the collective imagination and fears of humanity, and the latter risk becoming Nightmares that threaten both worlds. She's recruited to help battle these creatures, which she must balance with school, her social life, and being a good daughter. Then the return of an old villain believed to have been destroyed long ago threatens that balance, as well as that between the two worlds.
This is a high energy book, and Alice is a fun, endearing heroine! My fear with YA is often that the level of angst or energy of the characters may annoy me, but this book kept the characters realistic without becoming obnoxious. It mixes in heavier topics like grief and police brutality, but also revels in the whimsy of the Alice in Wonderland-inspired setting and the kickass action. Some of the names, like "Addison Hatta," are a little cheesy, but it felt like part of the fun.
As an adult reader, I am more aware of the flaws here and there. My main disappointment was the time jump at the start. I would have preferred a little more world building beforehand. Still, it wasn't hard to navigate the setting or story. If this had come out when I was a teenager, I can tell it would have been a major favorite for me, especially since I loved the classic Alice books! I had a great time with this!
I seldom read YA, but the premise of this book sounded super fun and the cover is beautiful! In the wake of her father's untimely death, Alice is attacked by a monster from another world. Wonderland is a world formed from the collective imagination and fears of humanity, and the latter risk becoming Nightmares that threaten both worlds. She's recruited to help battle these creatures, which she must balance with school, her social life, and being a good daughter. Then the return of an old villain believed to have been destroyed long ago threatens that balance, as well as that between the two worlds.
This is a high energy book, and Alice is a fun, endearing heroine! My fear with YA is often that the level of angst or energy of the characters may annoy me, but this book kept the characters realistic without becoming obnoxious. It mixes in heavier topics like grief and police brutality, but also revels in the whimsy of the Alice in Wonderland-inspired setting and the kickass action. Some of the names, like "Addison Hatta," are a little cheesy, but it felt like part of the fun.
As an adult reader, I am more aware of the flaws here and there. My main disappointment was the time jump at the start. I would have preferred a little more world building beforehand. Still, it wasn't hard to navigate the setting or story. If this had come out when I was a teenager, I can tell it would have been a major favorite for me, especially since I loved the classic Alice books! I had a great time with this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Police brutality, and Blood
Minor: Child death and Vomit
monicalaurette's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
What a great read! This book has been sitting on my TBR for a while, and it was only after I was given the book for Christmas in 2020 that I was finally able to read it (granted a decent while after I was given it).
This book was first in my head as a sort of re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, but I only a few pages in did I realize that wasn’t the case. It was so much more. Instead of our Alice being a “new Alice” like many retellings, she is a fighter, a protector of Wonderland.
“...even when you’re careful, even when you play by the rules, it might not be enough.”
The premise of Alice being a fighter and the Nightmares that she does fight is a really wonderful twist on Alice in Wonderland to me. To see some of the characters interacting with our world and the different circumstances to why they are not in their homeland was very unique.
I also liked how during the book, while Alice is trying to stop all the bad that is happening, that she was still worrying about home and being back home dealing with those repercussions. I feel that sometimes in books like this their home life is only thought of and never a big part of the storyline that adds to the tension.
Friendship is something so important to me in books, like above all if there aren’t any good friendships, how is the character supposed to advance in their life? And the friendship between Courtney and Alice was just that.
I gave this story 4.5 stars because I really liked it, and it was different from other Fantasy and Young Adult books that I have read. It was different to see that they continued to live in their real world while also working in Wonderland, and sometimes it threw me a little.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Violence
Minor: Racism and Gun violence
emilyready's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Minor: Police brutality
anainthecastle's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Hate crime, and Racism