**I received this book from netgalley in exchange for a review**

"You were never supposed to be gone [Alice]."†

This is cute, light little read for fans of Disney's Alice in Wonderland. I have not read the other books in this series, and perhaps I should not have started with my absolute favorite. I have read a LOT of AiW retellings, so my standards are a bit high.

I found the linguistic wit to be a bit lacking in this version. Things were repeatedly dismissed as “nonsense”, which is of course the point of a Wonderland story... however, with most instances there wasn’t quite enough cleverness involved in the nonsense. It was just random for the sake of being random. Alice's internal monologue came across as quite childish, rather than the eighteen-year-old she is meant to be. I also wish the "inciting incident" for the tension in Wonderland had been something a bit better. [Getting all the toys? Really? (hide spoiler)]

I liked the way Braswell made parallel plotlines between Wonderland and the "real world". She tied the two stories together quite nicely.


†check against final text

I really enjoyed reading other books in this series so I was looking forward to reading this book! However, I have to admit this was not my favorite. Maybe it was because of the wackiness of Wonderland in general, but I found it hard to follow the story at first. It seemed like Alice and her rescue group were roaming around aimlessly for far too long. The last half of the book was better and felt like there was more purpose to what Alice was doing. I enjoyed that the characters were still true to the personalities the reader is familiar with, that the descriptions of Alice's surroundings in both worlds were very vivid, and that each character in Alice's world was found in Wonderland. It made the story more whimsical. I would definitely recommend this book for teenage and YA readers, especially if they are a fan of Wonderland!

So, this was my first Twisted Tale book, and while I enjoyed it, I felt like it was slow, like very slow. It definitely a book suited for readers that enjoy a slow-burn story. It did enjoy how twist on Alice In Wonderland. I liked the way the world unfolded, and I enjoyed all the descriptions of Wonderland.

I think readers that love Alice in Wonderland will enjoy this book!

I was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This was my first of the "Twisted Tales", and it was really fun! I liked spending time in Wonderland again, especially 14 years later.

I am a huge fan of fairy tales, so for that reason alone I really wanted to love this story. However, I found some parts of this story to be a let down. I thought the characters were engaging but the book was very political, which just made it feel out of place and more discombobulated. It was less of an escape to a fantasy world and more political arguments, which frankly, we already have more than enough of in the world. It really made the book a lot more dry and boring than it could have been. If I wanted to hear that, I could just turn on the news. I wish she would have stuck a bit more to the traditional story. I love the idea, I just wasn't so fond of the execution of the story. I would probably rate it about a 2.5 star but rounded up.

Author Liz Braswell curiously and courageously takes up the challenge of revisiting Alice in Wonderland in Disney’s newest Twisted Tale, Unbirthday.

As a fan of the Twisted Tale series, I had high hopes for this book. I was not disappointed.

What is Unbirthday about?
The story, essentially a sequel to the 1951 Disney film, takes place many years after Alice’s initial visit to Wonderland. Alice is now 18 years old and spends her golden afternoons in the ‘real’ world of Kexford, England, taking photographs, chatting with her Aunt Vivian or visiting the children in the Square, while avoiding her sister Mathilda’s matchmaking efforts.

When Alice develops some of her recent photographs of the townsfolk, she notices familiar faces from her past appear in the images. They are none other than those she met in Wonderland! Caterpillar, Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts. An eerie message from the allusive Mary Ann is also among them, and Alice will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of it… whatever ‘it’ is.

Jam-packed with adventure, dreaming and plenty of off-with-her-head red, readers will be transported back to Wonderland with Alice. But this time, it means saving the world. This one and that one.

Wonderland on Paper
The more I read, the more impressed I was. It is hard enough to understand what you are looking at when you see Wonderland and its various inhabitants on screen, let alone putting such images together on paper without the help of illustrations, but Braswell manages this with ease.

Braswell artfully uses the book medium to slip, tumble, fall, or roll down memory lane with the reader in a fresh, new way. Incorrect or “Nonsense” spelling is a great example of this, giving us a one-way ticket to Wonderland. For example:

Get yer nasty knows away from us… ‘Oo nose where it’s been?

This is just the kind of Wonderland Nonsense we expect, and yet not the kind that would be made clear on film unless written. Such writing techniques, coupled with consistent treatment of original characters, means readers are not only permitted to revisit Wonderland, but to reimagine it along with Alice in the context of her mission.

Lessons in This World and That World
I always draw many great lessons from Braswell’s books and Unbirthday is no exception.

Two worlds collide when it comes to “winning” – the Queen of Hearts winning her game and the political candidates in the real world winning theirs. Despite the differences between Wonderland and Kexford, the similarities are ironic, exposing the challenges and also the nonsense of our own world.

Contrarily, Wonderland is “like tea with a toddler… messy but without guilt or rules,” while Kexford is fettered by etiquette and expectation. Wonderland is not only an outlet or dream-time adventure for Alice, but a source of inspiration – giving her courage to challenge injustices and find her place in both worlds.

A Work of Art and Heart
Ultimately, “[a]ll amazing and new things are difficult… but most turn out to be worth it. And everything else is Nonsense.” This is my favorite quote and takeaway from Unbirthday, among many. I now encourage you, dear reader, to find the lessons that most resonate with you in Braswell’s latest work of art and heart.

Thank you to Disney-Hyperion for sending me an ARC via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.75/5 stars.
I really struggled with what to rate this book, and it’s because I really struggled with reading it. However, I’m not entirely sure that it wasn’t a struggle because of me, and not the book. Basically, I think that I struggled because I wasn’t in the right mood to read the book. I did find that the last 20% (100ish pages) seemed to move much more quickly than anything else had. Again, I’m not sure if it was me, or the book itself, but it definitely felt like the excitement had picked up.
I liked the premise, but I did find that the plot unfolded very, very slowly. This made it feel like it was dragging on a bit at times. Also, at the beginning, the story felt like it had a bit of a creepy, almost Gothic vibe, and I was excited about it, but it seemed to disappear and never come back.
The writing was really good. The descriptions of Wonderland were vibrant and vivid. Alice was such an interesting character, and I liked how her passion for photography continually played a role in the story.
Unbirthday was not at all what I was expecting, so it was definitely a twisted Alice in Wonderland! I found it a bit off, originally, the back-and-forth between Wonderland and Angleland (the real-world), but it actually turned out to be quite interesting.
I would recommend giving this one a try if you like Alice in Wonderland retellings, or fairytale retellings in general.

Unbirthday is a charming sequel to Alice in Wonderland. Instead of this book focusing on her first visit, Alice has already been to Wonderland and back. Now she spends her days photographing her hometown in hopes of finding some hidden magic within her daily life. With this newfound hobby, Wonderland utilizes her photographs to seek help from Alice once again, and to bring her back down the rabbit hole.

I loved the characters and the hobby that Alice was given. It was interesting to see more of her hometown and daily life, as that wasn't really touched on in the classic tale. In terms of the story itself, I can't place my finger on it but it felt a bit lacking. I wasn't as drawn in as I was expecting so it felt like it sort of dragged at times. I also thought it was a bit weird how little we saw the Queen of Hearts. Even though she was the main villain, it felt like she was more of a side character in this version.

Overall, I enjoyed this tale and would recommend it to any Alice in Wonderland fan. This book is definitely a bit darker than the original tale though, so I would recommend this to a slightly more mature audience.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary eARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this opportunity!

**3.5-stars**

We all know the story of Alice's adventures in Wonderland, but what happened after? In this installment of Disney's popular Twisted Tales series, Liz Braswell examines just that.

Alice is now 18-years old and it has been many years since her last trip to Wonderland. In fact, it has been so long that the memories are starting to fade. There are times when she wonders if it was even real and just the vivid dreams of a little girl with an overactive imagination.

Living with her parents and her slightly overbearing sister, Alice's favorite past time is now photography. She has a wonderful camera and wanders all over taking candids of various people and places.

When characters she met in Wonderland start magically appearing in the photos she develops, she can't help but feel they are trying to get a message to her. After more and more images come up, it's clear, they need her help. Wonderland is in trouble and Alice is the only one who can save them.

Finding her way back to Wonderland is tricky, but she eventually succeeds and is able to reunite with old friends. It appears the Queen of Hearts is more out of control than ever, continuing her reign of terror and executing Wonderland's citizens seemingly for her own pleasure.

Does Alice have what it takes to defeat her once and for all?

Young Alice may have been afraid, but as an 18-year old, Alice is stronger and more willful than ever. You'll have to pick it up to find out!

This novel is definitely an interesting one. It felt very different than the other books in the series; heavier in a way. It follows Alice after her time in Wonderland, so there is no twist per se, to the original tale. It's more of a follow-up, in my opinion.

A large chunk of the story follows Alice in our world with her interactions with her sister, parents and potential suitors. There is also a large political element, as Alice's sister is involved in local politics and tries to drag Alice along even if she is not as interested, or has conflicting opinions. There was quite a bit of social commentary on nationalism and discrimination against minority groups and immigrant populations.

These are definitely important topics to explore in literature, but I must admit I was surprised to see it here in such depth. I have read six other books in this series and this is the only one that I can recall having that type of narrative element. Normally, I am all for incorporating such discussions, but part of me feels like it was out of place in this story. It sort of made it feel disjointed for me.

The reason I say this is that when picking this up, I was expecting a magical jaunt through a nonsense world, spending time with some characters I know and love. While I did get that, the story switched back and forth between the adventure in Wonderland to a very serious, more modern world, where the pace was slowed down quite precipitously. It made the book seem like it was too long.

With this small critique out of the way, overall, I did enjoy Unbirthday. It was nice to be back with Alice and the whole gang. If you are a fan of Alice in Wonderland, you should definitely pick this up and give it a shot!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

I absolutely adore this series and will continue to pick them up for as long as they are released!

This is probably my 3rd Alice related book I have read this year. I am liking the new versions and twists on the original.

The cover is a bit weird but over all I think it was a good book. Maybe my 12 year old will read it, maybe not. Thanks for giving Alice a hobby! I loved that part!

It's total nonsense, with a twist! Thanks to Disney Hyperion and Netgalley (even though I am incredibly late for a very important date) for allowing me access to this ARC prior to release for review purposes. If you are a fan of Alice in Wonderland, I think you will thoroughly love the return to the nonsense that is Unbirthday. Although it took me a bit of time to get through it, I found it to be a pleasant read; however, I wanted a little more. I can't put my finger on just what was missing, but it fell a tiny bit flat in some areas and overdone in others. The epilogue does tie up some "what comes next" questions, which I thought was a nice touch as well.

I love these Twisted Tales! This one is about Alice in Wonderland, and I would not recommend it for anyone under the age of 14. It's much less Disney-fied than the movie. Alice has already been to Wonderland and now she spends her time taking photos of people. Through her photos, Wonderland reaches out to her, seeking her help. There are a lot of dark themes in this book, which is why I recommend it for older or more mature readers. This is less of a retelling and more of a sequel but I enjoyed it for its uniqueness and imagination.

“ What if Wonderland was in Peril and Alice was very, very late?

Unbirthday is the next installment in the Disney Twisted Tales series following Alice, from Alice in Wonderland. Alice is sucked back into the world of Wonderland in hopes to help save its creatures from the evil Queen of Hearts but of course, problems arise in the human world and Alice takes it upon herself to not only save Wonderland but her home town as well.

I’m a HUGE Disney fan and have been for my whole life so the fact that these twisted tales even exists brings me pure happiness. Alice in Wonderland was my top favorite movie when I was very very young and still to this day, reminds my mom of me so this story from the very start felt very nostalgic for me! I loved being back in Wonderland but also seeing a older more mature version of Alice (even though her thoughts are reminiscent of her younger self.) I also really enjoyed seeing more of her home town and how Alice lives her life outside of Wonderland, I really loved that perspective.

Alice finding a love in photography and the way the characters from Wonderland used her photos to contact her was very creative and I was so excited when I started to see more from the characters I know and love be brought to life in a new story. The new characters that popped up in the version of Alice were also really enjoyable, especially Katz and I was not shocked to know why I enjoyed his personality so much.

Even though I of course loved the characters and this story holds so much nostalgia for me, I found it to drag a bit. I expected this first Twisted Tale that I read and finished to be a new favorite of mine but it never actually “grabbed” my attention. Also, I feel like the Queen of hearts probably should have had a slightly bigger role. She’s the villain of this story obviously, but we barely actually saw her!

Overall, I think the story made sense (as much as nonsense can make sense 😉) and I loved seeing new content of my childhood favorites but I wish the story just grabbed more of my attention. I do definitely recommend this to fans of this series and of Alice in Wonderland, I found the ending to be very satisfying.

I declare that every reader must have tea time until their reading time is up! This was my first read in the Twisted Tales series and I am really impressed! I am so excited to read the rest of the books by Braswell!

I really enjoyed the Wonderland/Angeland comparisons and political strife/nonsense from all sides. Also that each character was represented in both worlds. Though I do admit that I did not connect who Mr. Katz was and felt really dumb upon the reveal.

There are a zillion retellings out there and it is hard to find unique ones. I was impressed that Unbirthday seemed to fall right in line with the classic tale and was like an extension of the original writting instead of a duplication. I would recommend Unbirthday to any fan of Wonderland as well as fans of retellings. the world building was witty and wonky, characters were multidimensional as well as true to their original personalities.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me early access to this fantastic tale! All thoughts and expressions are my own.

Alice would be content to focus on her photography and spend her time frittering away at her aunt's house, but her sister Mathilda would rather see her married and acting as a proper member of society. As a child, she dreamed of a fantastical and strange land, one full of wonder where she had marvelous adventures. She is shocked to learn that those dreams may be more rooted in reality than she imagined when Wonderland's inhabitants begin to appear in her photograph in a plea for help. As Alice drifts between her world and the world of Wonderland, she must figure out how to put a stop to the corruption and destruction brought on by the leaders of both lands. Soon, Alice learns that it is politics and real life that is the most nonsensical thing in both worlds, and that it may require a little bit of madness to fix the problems that face Wonderland and Kexford.

The author starts off Unbirthday with a disclaimer that this book is a work of nonsense, and she is very right about that. Let me start off by saying that I am a big fan of Braswell's previous work in the Twisted Tales series, and I had high hopes for this. I'll say that I found the political intrigue in Kexford and seeing Alice's world outside of Wonderland really interesting. I also liked the idea of dual worlds intermixed with each other. It was cool to see who in Alice's life melded with characters from Wonderland. But unfortunately, the plot in this book was a bit too nonsensical. I am all for the whimsy that comes along with Alice in Wonderland, but the amount of nonsensicality the author injects into the plot especially when Alice returns to Wonderland made it really difficult to understand what on earth was going on, as well as making it hard to keep track of the overreaching plot. I also wanted to see more of the Queen of Hearts and her evilness in the story as well. So while there were parts I enjoyed, the fact that I had a hard time understanding what was happening as I was reading lessened by enjoyment of Unbirthday significantly. I'll continue, of course, to read and enjoy this series, but this one is not my favorite.

This was a DNF for me. I don't exactly know why but this book didn't capture my attention. The same thing happened when I was reading another book in this series. This book definitely isn't for me, but it might be for you

Unbirthday, by Liz Braswell, is a charismatic twisted tale for fans of Alice in Wonderland who remain “curiouser and curiouser!” It is an enchanting spellbinding story based on the familiar characters of Alice in Wonderland, but not the Wonderland as we may know it.

Although Alice’s dreams of Wonderland are so vivid that it’s easy to believe Wonderland is truly real, over the past eleven years she’s outgrown such unlikely and unbelievable dreams. As a young adult, she can hardly remember all the glorious details and somewhat wishes that she hadn’t told the dreams to go away. She loves her mother, father, and sister, but is able to relate more closely to her quirky Aunt. While her older sister is more concerned with trying to find a suitable match for her, Alice would rather go on adventures with her most prized possession-her camera! When her family is seated to eat breakfast and her sister brings up the topic of a nice young man that Alice might like to meet, Alice quickly grabs her toast and rushes out the door with her camera. She wanders the streets of her town taking pictures of both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Before going to her aunt’s house to develop the prints, she meets a young man she had never encountered before, Mr. Katz. She is quite taken by his appearance and intelligence and hopes that they will meet again. At her aunt’s house she developed the prints and is shocked at what she sees! Although other people see the images she actually took, when she looks at the prints she sees images from Wonderland! Most startling of all is the message “Help Me!” She is also quite taken aback when she sees an image that looks like her with a sign saying “Unbirthday.” As eerie as it is to see images in the prints that others cannot see, what’s most disturbing is the look of desperation, helplessness, and rage on the faces in the pictures. At that moment she is determined to find the rabbit hole that she once thought was only a dream so that she can return to Wonderland and help them.

While rushing through the town in a desperate search for a rabbit hole, Alice once again finds Mr. Katz. She’s exhausted from looking everywhere she can think of trying to find the exact rabbit hole and tree from all those years ago. She asks him to tell her a story from his homeland before his parents immigrated to England and is slightly embarrassed when she feels herself getting drowsy. While laying back and peering at the ducks in a nearby lake, she has a sudden realization about Wonderland.

The next moment she is back in Wonderland, but nothing is as it once seemed. When she arrives it is only moments before the Queen of Hearts has executions planned for three of her familiar Wonderland acquaintances. She wastes no time in creating a distraction so that they can escape, but it still doesn’t solve their problems. Since Alice is 11 years older than she was when she first visited Wonderland, has finished her education, and has stopped growing, the only way she can be of any help is to forget everything and go back to the way she was. Is that even possible?

Readers will get lost in the beautiful and wonderful tales of Alice and her experiences in Wonderland all over again, but most important, Unbirthday will twist your mind around a completely different version that you’ll love just as much! I highly recommend this book, and am grateful to Liz Braswell, Disney Hyperion, and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading Unbirthday. My review expresses my honest opinions.

I've seen these books around before, but I never picked one up because I was unsure about their reading level. Were they just going to read like those movie tie-in editions I loved in elementary school? The answer is: NOPE! It was just as thrilling and at the same level of reading/action as the other young adult novels I've read. (I'm sure I'm going to go back and pick up some of the other books in the series.)

I've both watched and read Alice in Wonderland a few times, so I'm pretty familiar with the story. I think this book really captures the whimsical spirit. When you're reading Alice in Wonderland, it really does feel like you don't know which way is up and which is down. I also liked the idea that people and things had counterparts in Wonderland, it was a great tie-in. I will say, sometimes there were some parts of the journey where it did seem like the author was kind of just looking for something generically silly instead of being extremely imaginative, but this was infrequent.

In addition, I liked the commentary that the book had on politics. The main villain in the 'real world' is a xenophobic politician that Alice's family and friends have various connections to and it was great seeing Alice trying to do something about it. There was a big focus on perspective and it didn't seem too preachy. I also liked how there was a conflict in each world, it promised excitement. Sometimes, this excitement wasn't delivered, as there were some slow moments, but overall, I raced through the book.

I would recommend this book if you are a Disney or Alice in Wonderland fan or in the mood for a whimsical read.

Unbirthday is my first venture into the Twisted Tales series and if the rest of the books are anything like this, I will have to pass on them. I love Alice in Wonderland so my expectations were pretty high, plus there’s a lot of hype around these series. I did like that Alice is 18 but she might as well have been 12 because I felt like I was reading about a child. I also liked the dark and twisted elements as well as the weird aspects of Wonderland. That's why I kept reading it but I had to skim if I'm being completely honest. The book did not need to be over 500 pages.. It starts slow and continues to be that way through it all. Braswell can write but there's just far too much description with a lack of dialogue and that drove me a bit crazy.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and to Disney-Hyperion Publishing for the advanced copy (even though I read this after the release date).

Everyone has been RAVING about this series, and I figured: I love fairy tales, I love Disney and I love Alice in Wonderland, so why not?

I wasn't as enchanted with this book as I had hoped. It was a really cool re-telling/addition to Alice in Wonderland's lore, but it just didn't hit all the right chords with me.

Let me explain:

1. This book is 500 pages long. It is WAY longer than it needed to be and droned on at times. That made this book super slow, and I am a fast paced kind of reader.
2. The Queen's executions and property stealing seemed random yet planned. I don't know why, but that part of the story kind of threw me off. It was weird. And we didn't even get to see too much of her...
3. The plot didn't grab my attention, if I'm being honest.

What I did enjoy:
1. Katz was a cool character. Alice having a love interest was new and very intriguing! I have to admit, I kind of liked it? Especially since this book didn't go full romance either. Just cute plot suggestions to add to her story.
2. Alice is a strong female lead with likes and dislikes and hobbies. I like that.
3. The story telling and writing style of Liz Braswell is wonderful. That definitely helped this story a lot.

Overall, this book makes me want to read the rest of the series, especially based on the reviews of other readers. Disney fans will enjoy it for sure!

Three out of five stars.