A review by mcf
A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney

4.0

I was frustrated when this book started with a lot of the "OMG HAVE TO LIE TO MOM AGAIN" stuff that was a constant in the first one's latter half, but that issue was happily resolved fairly quickly, and McKinney's decision to really delve into the Imposter!Black Knight's story was a great one. Seeing through his eyes opened the story up significantly, and also created a tangible history for the world that hadn't previously been concrete on the page. In addition, the new supporting characters introduced here are immensely appealing, and Alice's relationships with them is a lot of fun, particularly the confused flirtation she has with another female protector of Wonderland. As indicated by their relationship -- particularly Alice's awareness of her feelings about her counterpart -- the LGBTQIA + representation that was a highlight of the first book continues here, alongside the confident portray of the reality that Alice's Blackness is central to her identity. It's not something that appears on the page everyone once in a while to make a point (something that still happens way too often in all kinds of media), it's intertwined with everything about her, and McKinney does a fantastic job of making that clear. Finally, the way Alice manages to survive a final, major attack is really wonderful, as is the way it pulls together the odd events that had peppered the book to this point.

All that said, I remain extremely uncomfortable with the relationship between Alice (A TEENAGER) and her mentor (who is repeatedly described as being AT LEAST 200 YEARS OLD), and the romance seems wildly irresponsible at best. (I don't know why I'm hung up on this, but it really, really bothers me.)

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC.