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A review by elisask
Alice by Christina Henry
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
*I realised months later that this is a bad 'Alice madness returns' fanfiction I'm horrified
There's genuinely so much to say about this book unlike the author who wasn't able to say anything remotely interesting
Firstly, this is not an Alice in Wonderland retelling. Without going into much detail, this book feels more like a retelling of the two Disney adaptations and possibly the American mcgees games.
It doesn't bother me too much but at least be smart about it. If every 'important' character was renamed, then there wouldn't be much left to it that ties it back to its inspiration. *That's the problem*. I am the target audience for Alice horror retellings but this author refused every opportunity the source lays out for her.
Secondly, something being dark does not automaticall make it part of the horror genre. What is horrific about it is its repetitive writing style (you can unironically find copy pasted sentences written again and again every other page and the same two sentence structures are overly used)
=>Generally just a repetitive writing style one expects from a teen who believes to be smarter than the rest of the class
Thirdly, I do believe that real life horrors are most scary but what happened here?
Using multiple terrible systemic issues and clearly not reflecting on what youre writing is almost disgusting (in terms of how the story is written. I can imagine that this had been the author's passion project). I just expect a bit more than that men in power are terrible people and mostly women under such people suffer. Especially, because a few people who have clearly done wrong are never really questioned simply bc they're not an antagonist
Fourthly, huh??? This book pretty much says that all men are predatory...but the 'good ones' choose not to violate anyone. Repeat after me original sin bs is part of purity culture
(^An example why the systemic critic this book attemps to discuss is incredibly badly done and not at all reflected upon)
=> - drain water world building, one rich and one poor city
-"damn, me, Alice, lived a privileged life? I never knew."
- every book character, except few, are human(oid) and just grotesque caricatures
- weird af 'love story'
- contradicting stuff
- shitty magic system
Idc could write more but im too tired and bored bc of this book
There's genuinely so much to say about this book unlike the author who wasn't able to say anything remotely interesting
Firstly, this is not an Alice in Wonderland retelling. Without going into much detail, this book feels more like a retelling of the two Disney adaptations and possibly the American mcgees games.
It doesn't bother me too much but at least be smart about it. If every 'important' character was renamed, then there wouldn't be much left to it that ties it back to its inspiration. *That's the problem*. I am the target audience for Alice horror retellings but this author refused every opportunity the source lays out for her.
Secondly, something being dark does not automaticall make it part of the horror genre. What is horrific about it is its repetitive writing style (you can unironically find copy pasted sentences written again and again every other page and the same two sentence structures are overly used)
=>Generally just a repetitive writing style one expects from a teen who believes to be smarter than the rest of the class
Thirdly, I do believe that real life horrors are most scary but what happened here?
Using multiple terrible systemic issues and clearly not reflecting on what youre writing is almost disgusting (in terms of how the story is written. I can imagine that this had been the author's passion project). I just expect a bit more than that men in power are terrible people and mostly women under such people suffer. Especially, because a few people who have clearly done wrong are never really questioned simply bc they're not an antagonist
Fourthly, huh??? This book pretty much says that all men are predatory...but the 'good ones' choose not to violate anyone. Repeat after me original sin bs is part of purity culture
(^An example why the systemic critic this book attemps to discuss is incredibly badly done and not at all reflected upon)
=> - drain water world building, one rich and one poor city
-"damn, me, Alice, lived a privileged life? I never knew."
- every book character, except few, are human(oid) and just grotesque caricatures
- weird af 'love story'
- contradicting stuff
- shitty magic system
Idc could write more but im too tired and bored bc of this book