A slow burn to start, but so much description of the characters is provided that I quickly became emotionally invested in them and their story. This didn’t go at all where I expected it to, which was a nice surprise. The last third of the book was extremely fast-paced and I couldn’t put it down. Some closure was provided at the end, but the overall air of mystery lingered in a very satisfying way.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with this review copy of Wonderland by Zoje Stage. I was very excited to receive this review copy because I am a huge fan of the author's other novel - Baby Teeth.

Unfortunately, I think if someone reads this book, it might turn them off from this author's work all together. Wonderland is an absolute mystery to me. Had I not been granted a review copy, I would have DNF'd this title out of sheer frustration.

Have you ever visited family members, or even friends, with young kids and are very close knit family. Your visit can feel more anthropological and observant than anything else. The phrases, mannerisms, and inside jokes unique to that family unit can - in extreme cases - make you feel like you are speaking different languages. Are you familiar with this "outsider" experience? Reading this book felt like that in the worst possible way.

In Wonderland, we meet Orla, Shaw, Eleanor Queen, and Tico Bennett. The Bennetts seem like a hip, artistic family who recently moved from their studio apartment in Chelsea to a large home in the isolated Adirondacks. Orla, a newly retired ballerina, and Shaw, a muddling artist who has now turned his attention to oil painting, are trying to make their new family dynamic work with Shaw as the primary breadwinner. Right away we realize that Orla has immense reservations about their new home.

Told from Orla's perspective, we are along for every thought, hesitation, minor impulse, and question that goes through her head. And, dear reader, there are a lot of questions. Most of the dialogue - internal and external - is phrased as a question. Initially, this isn't so bad. We're in a new surrounding with the Bennetts, questions make sense. However, once you hit the halfway point, you might begin to feel like you're reading a novelization of a vaudevillian soap opera with a heroine narrator so baffled by her surroundings you'll begin to wonder how she managed to survive with the comprehension of a goldfish for her forty some-odd years of life.

In addition to the general sense of isolation creeping into the New York City "savvy" Orla's mindset, there is an unknown "weirdness" about their new house and surrounding acreage. This manifests in a myriad of ways. The first and most dominate is the sense of isolation that Orla feels and begins projecting onto her family. This is followed closely by Orla's loss of control and her new dependence on the success of Shaw's career. Through Orla's eyes we also begin to see the physical proof of her fear. Distorted animals that seem like hybrids produced from radiation. Strange weather that snows them in one minute and is gone again in an instant. Anthropomorphic snow creations that talk and move when no one but Orla is watching. A manifestation of the Northern Lights, and other arctic features, that baffle and enthrall the Bennetts. And the uncovered history of their homestead as a former sanatorium for tuberculous patients that never recovered.

There is clearly a lot of strange and peculiar happenings going on, but it's not exactly clear why....

I feel like Stage was attempting a reworking of The Shinning. Similar themes of isolation, toxic masculinity, mental illness, disturbing visions, a haunted history, and an unreliable narrator all support this. I also think that despite the flaws of the book, I think this story with its strong visuals would make a gorgeous movie with appropriate slow moving dread. The immensely annoying...I mean charming...childish banter and parental gestures would translate better on film while viewers can focus on small terror clues in the periphery.

I couldn't put this book down. The author did a great job creating atmosphere, as in the middle of a Texas summer, I was reading this and chilled to my bone.

I loved Zoje Stage's BABY TEETH, but unfortunately this one just didn't do it for me. I found the pacing to be very slow, and the characters simply didn't grip me. However, I will definitely be checking out Stage's future works -- I know what she's capable of because of BABY TEETH, and she's truly such an interesting writer. WONDERLAND just wasn't the book for me.

I had similar issues with this book that I had with Stage's previous novel, "Baby Teeth". It is basically a cycle of something weird happening, the family talking about how weird it was and what they should do, doing practically nothing, and that starting all over again. Also similar to "Baby Teeth", this wasn't that scary? Sure, lots of weird stuff happens but it never gets TOO weird or TOO scary which is what I wanted, and what I expect from a horror novel. I thought the beginning was really promising because it was set up like a quintessential horror movie where the family moves to a new house in the middle of nowhere, but it really went down from there for me.

There's nothing wrong with this book. (Except the comparisons to Shirley Jackson and THE SHINING, which I think do Stage's story a disservice.) It's a perfectly fine and unsettling read.

But I kept wanting more from it. Maybe that's because "city people find horror in the country" doesn't really resonate with me. Or maybe it's because everyone in this family is a bit too polished for my tastes. Regardless, it never gave me the depth — from the plot or the characters — that I needed to connect fully.

I still enjoyed it and would recommend it, especially to those who like subtler scares.

The comps for this book really piqued my interest, If Shirley Jackson wrote ‘The Shining.’ How good does that sound? Unfortunately, it fell flat for me, It was less about a haunted house and more supernatural with nature. Olga, a retired ballerina, left New York City and moved to this old house in the middle of nowhere. This story was about a mother protecting her family after they downsized from the city to the country.

I had a lot of disconnect with this slow creep of a book. Like why move to the country? Did the city punish her for retirement with bad memories? She seemed to grieve and then get panicked over her kids. The beginning had good set-up but felt repetitive and the tension forced.

Note to publicists: stop comparing new novels to our cult favorites! It is never going to work out in your favor. Never. That was the first big problem with Zoje Stage’s Wonderland- they said it was as if Shirley Jackson had written The Shining. That’s a pretty high fucking bar. And this book was not that. I can tell you some of the ways they might be similar, but they are not the ways that fans will clamor for.
First- like The Shining, this is a story of a family that becomes isolated in a remote, snow-bound place. And they start to go mad. That’s it. Similarities done.
Second- like Shirley Jackson, Stage tries to find something frightening in the mundane. In this case, weather. But unlike Jackson, it is never quite successful, and tension is never drawn.

So, this is the story of the Bennet family, who has moved from the bustle of NYC to the quiet of the Adirondak mountains. And they were not prepared. Horror ensues. The story really is that simple, but Stage tries to take us into the mind of the main character Orla to show how she is going mad. However, I had trouble believing that any of these characters behaved like real people. That was also one of the things that bothered me about Stage’s first book Baby Teeth- it really stretched the possibility of real human reactions. You know, I can suspend a little disbelief for fiction, but, come on. The excessive repetition doesn’t really help in this case. Other reviewers have noted how many times Orla mentions her children’s names- which are (really) Eleanor Queen and Tycho and how many times you will hear about her ballet career.

My primary beef with this book is how hard it tried to make snow frightening. Not scared of a snow dragon? No? How about snow rollers? No? Well how about 10 feet of snow? No? How about a glacier?
Ugh. None of it was scary. And almost all of it could be seen about a mile awayl

SPOILERS

Now, I am totally down for a ghost or a possession, or even a god, but maybe pick one. I have no idea what we really ended up with here. A girl who morphed into a tree who evolved into a god? I was left totally unsatisfied with the ending as well.

Anyways, besides making me google a few interesting things, this book mostly entertained me by making me rant a little. It gets 2 stars. There were a few times I might have been a bit spooked, and I truly enjoyed the descriptions of the husband’s artwork, so there’s that.

First of all, thank you NetGalley for letting me access this book! Second of all, this cover is gorgeous and fits the book perfectly. I requested this one simply because I loved Baby Teeth because it elicited an intense reaction from me. Every time I picked up the book, my stomach would twist in knots. I absolutely needed to know what was going to happen while also being terrified of finding out. As soon as I saw that Zoje Stage had another book coming out, I knew I wanted to read it.

I can say that this book is nowhere near as tense as Baby Teeth. But that’s okay. It’s more of a mystery than anything. A family of four has just moved to upstate NY, to escape the hustle of NYC, to have more time together, and to let the father, Shaw, explore his artistic endeavors. Pretty quickly, the family realizes the weather isn’t quite what they expected. Granted, it’s snowy, but curious things happen during their isolation. This story isn’t just one about being trapped by the elements. As the days go by, the events surrounding the family become progressively more odd.

This book was good, but I didn’t love it. I felt like it dragged in the middle, but one event shook things up, and the book got back on track. I don’t mind a slow burn book with a good ending, but this one was a bit too slow in parts. The parents were a bit obnoxious as well, but there was some great character development by the end. Overall, it was well-written, and I enjoyed it.

Creepy vibes but just still missing that little bit.

Retired dancer, Orla Bennett, and her family decide to pack up their lives in New York for a new rural farmhouse upstate. Why the move? Well, years ago Orla and her husband Shaw decided to pursue Orla's ballet career. Now, that Orla has achieved her dreams, it's Shaw's turn to work on his dream to become a painter. And what better place for painting than in a secluded, wooded home. Unfortunately for the Bennett family the farmhouse has a dark histroy and the unnatural forces are out to get the family. Orla takes it upon herself to communicate with and banish these forces from her family.

Wow, doesn't that description sound amazing?? This book had so much potential and I, in no way think it' was terrible, but I was left slightly disappointed in the end. I have not read Zoje Stage's other book, Babyteeth, although I have flip flopped back and forth on whether I will read it. To me, Wonderland has always sounded like the more interesting between the two.

I don't know why I've been struggling so much to find a good, scare my pants off horror. I loved the creepy and eerie vibes in this book, but many aspects of this book (old houses, creepy woods, darkness, paranormal aspects) are inherently creepy and unfortunately I don't think this book went above and beyond to be actually "keep me up" scared. I seem to find all these creepypastas that scare me so much but these big, eerie, dark books just don't do it. Maybe I need to switch to horror short stories instead.

I would still recommend this book I think to people who scare a bit more easily, or with the caveat that does drag at moments and repeat, taking away from overall scariness.

3.5 stars

This book didn’t really work for me. It was too slow for me, and it felt like character descriptions were extremely repetitive. The driving push of the novel didn’t feel as strong as it could have been.

This is an utterly bizarre and lyrical and sometimes downright beautiful book that defies comparison to anything else I have read. While it’s clear it takes inspiration from The Shining, it’s nothing like The Shining and is much more feminine in tone (hence perhaps the Shirley Jackson comparisons, but it’s not like her voice either to me).

I LOVED Baby Teeth and was beyond excited for this book, but let me say it is entirely different from Baby Teeth. This book has a really intense and unique sense of atmosphere and spookiness. The plot itself is very uneven and difficult to comprehend at times, getting a little too caught up in its own Wonderland, as it were. The metaphors and theories were at times beyond translation. While there was much I loved about it, I also found certain aspects of its (or should I say, Its) language and inner logic uneven and frustrating.

The best advice I can give you is that if you’re the kind of person who likes atmosphere and lyricism and creepy visions, and if you don’t necessarily require a linear plot, you will probably like this. If you like David Lynch, for example, or surrealist paintings - and I do - then you might be into this. Most folks though will require somewhat more of a linear, more concrete plot along with the atmosphere and freaky visionary stuff.

Another piece of advice is that not a lot happens in the first 40 percent of the book. You really have to stick with it for things to get freaky, but then when they do, you’re off to the races.

This writer is indisputably incredibly talented and I am glad I read this book. It gave me lots of Feelings. But I do wish its/Its story had been grounded in a little more practicality and plot the way Baby Teeth was.

A wild, weird and often lovely book by an extremely talented writer. Despite its flaws I was haunted by it and continue to love Zoje Stage’s gorgeous style of writing. Like Hitchcock had his Alma and David Lynch had his Mary, I hope that as she continues her work, Stage can work with an editor who can make her awesome talents and ideas slightly more linear and accessible to readers without losing her incredible vision.

Thanks to Mulholland Books, Zoje Stage and NetGalley for the ARC of this chilling (literally) book.

A hauntingly beautiful psychological thriller that will leave you wanting more!

So I want to begin with talking about Cover art! Yes I judge a book by its cover but not in the way you think! I look at the title, at the art and wonder what clues am I getting from the author about the adventure I’m about to take? It’s a map, a prelude to what is to come!

The cover of this book is a female (unsure if it looks more adolescent or adult) and she’s made up of leafless upside down trees! I want to be honest here, seeing this it really captured my attention! After I took my eyes off the picture the title “Wonderland” struck me with curiosity! Obviously the picture is anything but what I would picture as a wonderland but it was still beautiful! The story itself really fits this!

The story is told from the point of view of the mother! As the family; a husband, two children and her move to a remote location you start to feel that even as they move the mom has this foreboding feeling! As things start to take place around the house the wife starts to get more caught up in her mind but when startling truths are revealed Orla discovers she’s not the only one feeling a presence!

Tragedy strikes this family and as Orla tried to navigate her new surroundings and life she discovers that what is calling to them might not be so sinister! Or so she thinks!

The book really touches on the love of a mother and strong will to protect! Orla is a woman who has had a beautiful career and as things start to change in her world she has to figure out what being a good parent is all about! I don’t want to divulge more because this books is jam packed with twists ands turns that really add to its psychological suspense!

Zoje Stage did an amazing job at capturing my attention as well as mesmerizing me with her ability to create such a mind maze! As I read I found myself on edge trying to figure out what was happening as if I was there with her! This is a very captivating story!

There are a few events towards the end that start to get fuzzy! Like a lot takes place and the explanation is a little weak but it’s a thriller so I know not everything can be spelled out because the world of the unknown can’t always be explained but I feel some things were a little too rushed!

Overall for a first time reader of this author it was a really good book and anyone who is a lover of thrillers, mystery and the world of the unknown this is a book for you!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the book to review

Love, love, loved Wonderland by Zoje Stage, but was not as impressed with this one. Was very bored by the entire thing.

You may be familiar with Zoje's debut novel Baby Teeth. I read her debut last year and really enjoyed it, simply for the character development and how creepy our main character was. I've been highly anticipating Stage's next title to see what else she could come up with.

In comparison to Baby Teeth, Wonderland is in a completely different ballpark. It has none of the same elements, except maybe for creepy children. Wonderland is a complete step up and Zoje's talent for crafting an intriguing plot is undeniable.

Wonderland is a slow-burn horror novel that takes place in a snowy landscape in the middle of the Adirondack mountains. I can say, without a doubt, I have never read anything like this story before. It has a completely unique and original story line that I think would work well in a movie format.

When it comes to horror, I am more so a fan of campy serial killers, murder, and gore than the atmospheric almost spiritual element we get with this story. It's very hard to explain and I think it's best to go into this one not knowing much about it. If you like horror but you're not a fan of gore or crazy messed up things, this may be the perfect book for you. The horror factor lies more with the setting and nature than it does with a singular person or event.

3 stars

Wonderland begins with a family leaving behind the chaotic life of the city to live in the peaceful and bucolic Adirondacks. But the land has secrets of its own.

Orla, a retired ballerina and her family leave behind the only life they have ever known to settle down in the mountains of Pennsylvania , a place that is eerily remote and isolated. While it all seems perfect in the beginning, it soon becomes clear as winter approaches and creates further isolation, that the woods want something from the family.Something sinister and dangerous is at work and Orla soon realizes that only she can save them.

The most interesting aspect to this book is how the actual landscape becomes a character in and of itself. This book clearly draws inspiration from many horror classics and masters- most notably, The Shining, Burnt Offerings, The House Next Door and Shirley Jackson, but Stage manages to build on the brilliance of these masters and create her own unique and original horror masterpiece. She excels at letting the suspense and horror build slowly, thereby creating a feeling sense of dread and fear.

Stage’s Novel Baby Teeth was one of my favorite of last year and Wonderland is a great sophomore reply. Stage is a master at the art of taking the mundane, a small child or in this case nature and creating something totally terrifying. Well done! Stage is one to watch and a possible great in the making. I look forward to reading more from this unique author of the macabre. Thank you to Nethalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC for an honest and fair review.

I have not read Baby Teeth so I can't compare but this just wasn't for me. It started out great and I was interested in the characters and why they were moving and how even though it was a mutual decision, Orla wasn't happy about it. I loved the description so much but it was just so very slow going I couldn't really get into it and quickly my interest faded and I just wanted it to be over. I so much wanted to enjoy this one but feel this is one of those books a person is either gonna love or not.

As someone who relocated with my family from a city to a rural area, this story really resonated. There is a sense of vulnerability in not having everything right outside of the door. It's actually something that after more than ten years of living in a small rural town that still catches my breath and sends my heart racing racing from time to time. Ironically, I feel it most when the snow starts to fall. There are parts when the weather and isolation in the story was so real to me I had to take a breather and remind myself it's over ninety degrees and I was okay. So, bravo, on getting that just right.

I thoroughly enjoyed the supernatural addition to the dread, which layered on in slow sweeps, always there, but the weight building as things unfolded. Orla was a unique character in every way, I especially enjoyed the way she interacted with her children and husband. The choices she faced were heartbreaking, and the despair came across as things continued to look more and more hopeless. The end came as a surprise, which is always nice.

A good, creepy, supernatural tale.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Upon her retirement from a professional ballet company in New York City, Orla is ready to settle in to care for her two sensitive children, Eleanor Queen and Tycho, while her artist husband gets his chance to focus on his work.
Her husband, Shaw, has handled most of the child-rearing up to this point, as Orla's career required long hours outside of the home.

The couple decide to move to Northern New York, an area closer to where Shaw grew up. They are thinking the open space and slower lifestyle will be good for the children. Plus, the beauty of nature is really what Shaw wants to encapsulate with his art.

They decide on a beautiful old farmhouse with plenty of acreage, far from neighbors, or even a town. It's already the holiday season and snow covers the ground, giving the children something exciting to focus on. It seems to be exactly what they wanted, until it's not.

The seclusion quickly gets to them and mysterious events start occurring on the property, like the appearance of the Aurora Borealis, 10-feet of snow falling in one night, and the trees seem to be creeping closer to the house. Additionally, Shaw and Eleanor Queen both seem to be channeling some sort energy from the woods. It's all a bit overwhelming.

When things turn dangerous, Orla must do whatever she can to protect her family from the entity trying to trap them. Dark and dangerous, this book explores some weighty and thought-provoking subjects. Wonderland is a slow burn and one that you need some time to think about. I think the longer I sit with this, the more I will grow to appreciate it.

The quality of Stage's writing, cannot be denied. I love it, but also realize this book will not be for everyone. I do feel the end dragged on a bit more than it needed too and began to feel monotonous because of that. Overall though, I think this is a wildly creative and thoughtful story. I will keep coming back for anything she writes.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Mulholland Books, for providing me a copy to read and review. I genuinely appreciate it!

I was looking forward to reading this book because I enjoyed the author’s debut, Baby Teeth. The comparison to Shirley Jackson and The Shining made me even more excited.

It started strong with a creepy, winter atmosphere. Orla and her family moved from NYC to an isolated home in northern New York. Strange things started happening right away, and I was wishing that I had waited to read this on a snowy day this winter. Unfortunately, the pace of this one was very slow and not a lot actually happened. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been shortened to a novella.

Overall, it was a fine horror book if you don’t mind slow pacing. I think the snowy atmosphere would be more enjoyable to read in the wintertime.