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A review by alongreader
Ever Alice by H. J. Ramsay
2.0
Alice's insistence on talking about Wonderland leaves her committed to an asylum in this sequel to the classic story. The White Rabbit helps her escape, in exchange for her help toppling the despotic Queen of Hearts. Unsure where to turn or who to trust, Alice must learn to navigate Wonderland ...or lose her head trying...
This is a really difficult review to write. The book starts very slowly; there's a lot of the Queen being crazy, which, in my opinion, didn't add much to the story and slowed it down a lot. Around the middle, when a new character appears, things sped up and I was really invested in what was going on, I didn't want to stop reading. And then the ending completely blew it all in the worst possible way. It felt like a betrayal of everything Alice had gone through up to that point.
I hope this does well, and I hope people really enjoy it. But I won't be rereading.
“Oh, Dinah.”Alice put her hand on her thumping heart. “You frightened me.”
Alice ran up the stairs, eager to scoop her cat in her arms. Right as she got close, Dinah bounded down the hallway, past the portraits and family pictures, and disappeared behind her bedroom door. It was ajar, even though Alice had closed it. She could have sworn she had.
She inched down the hallway until she was standing before the door, trembling. Dinah mewed on the other side with a high-pitched, impatient air.
Alice slowly reached for the knob and pushed the door open wider. On the other side was her room, safe and familiar, and there was Dinah, right next to her bed, waiting for her. “There you are, Dinah.”
Alice ran inside and picked up her kitty, holding her close. “Oh, Dinah. I missed you so.”
Alice rocked her back and forth, cooing and coddling, but something didn’t feel right. She couldn’t feel Dinah’s soft fur in her fingers or her whiskers along her palm.
She looked down. In her hands were nothing but dirty rags.
“Dinah?” She shook her head. “Dinah? Where are you?”
Panic pushed up her throat. Her head jerked from left to right, taking in the lumpy mattress with the threadbare blanket, the water-slicked walls, the barred window…She wasn’t home. Not even close.
Alice scrambled to the door, but Nurse Hazel blocked her way and slammed it shut.
This is a really difficult review to write. The book starts very slowly; there's a lot of the Queen being crazy, which, in my opinion, didn't add much to the story and slowed it down a lot. Around the middle, when a new character appears, things sped up and I was really invested in what was going on, I didn't want to stop reading. And then the ending completely blew it all in the worst possible way. It felt like a betrayal of everything Alice had gone through up to that point.
Spoiler
I felt that the ghost heads, while clever, were pointless, as they didn't end up affecting anything. And if, as the ending implies, everything is happening in Alice's head and she really is crazy, why does she never know what's going on? Why all the parts in the Queen's POV, when Alice can't have known that?I hope this does well, and I hope people really enjoy it. But I won't be rereading.
“Oh, Dinah.”Alice put her hand on her thumping heart. “You frightened me.”
Alice ran up the stairs, eager to scoop her cat in her arms. Right as she got close, Dinah bounded down the hallway, past the portraits and family pictures, and disappeared behind her bedroom door. It was ajar, even though Alice had closed it. She could have sworn she had.
She inched down the hallway until she was standing before the door, trembling. Dinah mewed on the other side with a high-pitched, impatient air.
Alice slowly reached for the knob and pushed the door open wider. On the other side was her room, safe and familiar, and there was Dinah, right next to her bed, waiting for her. “There you are, Dinah.”
Alice ran inside and picked up her kitty, holding her close. “Oh, Dinah. I missed you so.”
Alice rocked her back and forth, cooing and coddling, but something didn’t feel right. She couldn’t feel Dinah’s soft fur in her fingers or her whiskers along her palm.
She looked down. In her hands were nothing but dirty rags.
“Dinah?” She shook her head. “Dinah? Where are you?”
Panic pushed up her throat. Her head jerked from left to right, taking in the lumpy mattress with the threadbare blanket, the water-slicked walls, the barred window…She wasn’t home. Not even close.
Alice scrambled to the door, but Nurse Hazel blocked her way and slammed it shut.