Wonderland by Zoje Stage is an atmospheric tale that will have you captivated. Robust with lush depictions of the environment and frighteningly, picturesque prose, Stage paints this story with unconventional broad strokes that will leave you breathless.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I loved Baby Teeth! A 5-star read that I still recommend. Wonderland was a chilling horror, and Zoje Stage masters creepy.

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. Initially I was excited to read this, because it was compared to The Shining by Stephen King. It took me four attempts to read this book and when I finally pushed my way through, I was just disappointed. This was so slow and boring. I didn’t find any of the characters to be relatable. This book is about a family who moves from the city to an isolated country home. They quickly realize they’re in over their heads when mysterious happenings start occurring. When the family gets trapped in a isolated snow storm, every hits the fan. Honestly, if this wasn’t compared to the The Shining, I have gone into reading this lower expectations. Unfortunately this one just fell short.

Thank you to Net Galley for the digital advance reader copy of Wonderland. Another great thriller by Stage. I loved Baby Teeth, so I really was excited about this follow up thriller. Unfortunately it wasn't in the same style and not so much of a thriller. I enjoy the writing style of stage, so did proceed with the story, which was interesting, just not my genre of choice. 3 stars.

Ok. So this book did not meet my expectations unfortunately. The blurb of if Shirley Jackson wrote the Shining is terribly misleading. This was not scary or thrilling. The characters were boring, there was a lot of useless information and repetition. This book just seemed to drag on and on.

The book follows the Bennett family moving from the big city to a farmhouse and ends up being secluded and snowed in. I guess this is where the Shining reference came from? The wife is a retired dancer and the husband is a painter. The kids have odd names that are mentioned far too many times. A few creepy things happen like the trees seem to move closer to the house and the Aurora Borealis appears where it shouldn’t be visible, but that’s about it. Overall this was not an enjoyable read and I can’t even muster the energy to write anything more on the subject.

I wanted the gripping, disturbing, smart debut that was Baby Teeth. What I got was something else entirely. Wonderland was eerie but not scary and I was more confused about what was going on then anything else. I didn't really care about any of the characters.. as a mom myself, kid characters usually pull at my heart strings. To be honest, I just couldn't wait for it to end and it was a blessed relief when it finally did.

The Bennett family moves to start a new life and have some freedom and apace in a remote cabin. Strange things keep happening as the family grows distant.

This book just did not resonate with me at all. I’m not a huge fan of horror fiction anyway but this had too many unbelievable supernatural elements that were not only disturbing, but just did not make any sense to me. I never could really figure out what was going on. Particularly disturbing were the parts where the mother was supposed to sacrifice her children and they were being possessed by spirits. I read a lot of disturbing books, but this was too much even for me.

Despite some of the less than stellar reviews, I actually enjoyed reading Wonderland. I found it to be creepy and atmospheric, although I will agree that the children's names were annoying after a while. Something about trees closing in and strange phenomena happening appealed to me and kept me reading. The slow changes you could see happening was enough to keep me reading and I read the majority of the book in two days. I would have finished it sooner had I not ended up with a headache and unable to read for a whole day. I would say the ambiguity of the ending gave the book that classic horror feel we've all come to expect of horror books and films alike. I think I will have to go back and pick up Baby Teeth by the same author.

Not nearly so good as her first. I really found myself struggling to finish this one. The ending was admittedly pretty good, it left you wondering like Baby Teeth did.

This one definitely came as advertised with its Shirley Jackson meets The Shining comp. A mother risks everything she has to protect her family from unnatural forces. Usually I don't care for supernatural threats- but I thought in this one they were fleshed out well enough for me to genuinely feel scared. The writing is excellent and while the pacing isn't your typical in your face thriller, I came to appreciate the nuance. I liked it!

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2021 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2021/02/2021-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

*I received all these titles from Netgalley and their respective publishers in exchange for an honest reviews. All opinions are my own and do not reflect the thoughts of the author’s or publishers.

What I Loved: Like I said above, I read a lot of haunted house stories last year because I absolutely love them. While I know some did not like this book because it felt repetitive, I really enjoyed the slow pacing and eerie atmosphere. Also, this book is very very cold, some thing I wasn’t expecting but really appreciated it. Maybe its because I have always loved a novel with an eerie woodland setting and Wonderland is as close to wooded and isolated as it gets. I also enjoyed the narrator and the authenticity of Orla’s voice and she slowly comes to grips with the situation she and her little family find themselves in.

What I Didn’t Love: I really only had one complaint about the novel and that came in the last 1/4th of the book, when the story transitioned from a haunted house story to a cosmic horror novel. I struggle with cosmic horror because it feels way over the top. Honestly it’s really the only reason I can’t give my first Zoje Stage novel five stars.

But I did give it 4.5 stars and recommend it to fans of other haunted house stories like In The Grip Of It and The Twisted Ones.

While I loved Baby Teeth, this one did not work as much for me. I think Zoje Stage brings interesting ideas to her novels however the execution here fell a bit flat. I am still looking forward to what she does next.

Hmmmmm I'm not sure what to think about this one. I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. No way in Stephen King was this anything remotely like The Shining. It would have to be scary and mentally freakish for that to happen.

The story itself was an interesting concept but the way this was written was bland and not thrilling or scary in any way. I guess I went in expecting too much from it. I wasn't exactly thrilled when I read Baby Teeth either but I always like to try and read more than one book by an author before I dismiss them entirely. Sadly I just don't think this author for me.

I appreciate NetGalley for providing me with this E-Book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.

I could not finish. I feel so let down by the comparison of Shirley Jackson writing the Shining (please someone go and write this book, I need it). I was so excited to receive this copy early, as I really did love Baby Teeth, by Zoje Stage. This one was so implausible and forced. Hopefully her next book is back on target.

Many thanks to Netgalley, and the publisher for providing my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have been waiting for the next book by Zoje Stage, and she did not disappoint. Wonderland was gripping and enchanting! It was just the side trip I needed during a COVID summer. I was working alone in a construction trailer all summer, but looked forward to the time I arrived home to snuggle up with Wonderland and escape. I touching story wrapped in a thrilling horror tale. I was drawn to the characters and routed for them as they worked through their ordeal. I can hardly wait to see what she does next!
This review is late in coming but doesn't discount my enthusiasm for this title.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of Wonderland in exchange for an honest review!

DNF @ 48%.

Soooooo, Wonderland was definitely one of my most anticipated reads of 2020; I have yet to read Baby Teeth, but it's very high on my TBR. So, in general, I can't say my expectations were high due to the fact I have 0 experience with the author.

.. and honestly? I vibed hard with the writing. Clearly, Zoje Stage has a talent with words.

Buuuuuuut, the book continuously kept going with nothing really happening to keep me reading. At one point I asked myself, "do I really care about this?" & the answer was no, therefore I DNF'ed it.

With a line like The Shining meets Shirley Jackson, I guess I expected more.

This was a little different than I think the blurbs made it out to be, but I still enjoyed it. More science fiction than horror in my opinion, there WAS a sense of dread and a suspenseful build up throughout. Unfortunately, I don't feel it fully paid off in the ending, which was a similar feeling that I experienced with Stage's first book, BABY TEETH.

I have tried many times to finish this book, however, I just didn't find it all that captivating. I think having this title compared to the works of Shirley Jackson and The Shining to not be very fitting. I didn't find the characters to be interesting.