I really enjoyed this Alice in Wonderland inspired twisted tale. I love when fairy tale retellings go beyond the original story and let the reader play with familiar characters. This was a perfect blend of new and old. Alice is no longer a child but an 18 year old woman who is drawn back into Wonderland as all of her old friends are in terrible danger. Problems and commitments call her from both worlds as familiar beloved characters and new provide the riddles that need solving to save both worlds.

This is by far the best Alice in Wonderland retelling I've read! It felt like I was reading the third Alice book. The writing was so similar to Lewis Carroll's, and the characters were so well done. I have loved every book in this series, and I can't wait to read more. If you're looking for a fun, fast-paced, Alice in Wonderland retelling standalone, definitely check this one out!

What happened to Wonderland after Alice went home? Eleven years after her fateful fall down the rabbit hole, Alice is still trying to find the whimsical parts of life. To her, Wonderland was just a delicious dream, one she tries to recapture in the many photographs she takes. But one batch of photographs show something very different than their benign subjects: figures from Wonderland, asking Alice for her help. Can Alice find her way back to Wonderland and save her friends?

This Alice in Wonderland-inspired story is part of the Twisted Tales series: books that put a spin on classic Disney movies. I like the concept of the series and of this particular installment, but the execution fell flat. Eighteen-year-old Alice may have grown up, but she acts just like the little girl who visited Wonderland. She bounces through town avoiding repugnant suitors and responsibilities. I'm all for unconventional heroines, but this Alice seems a little too childlike to be believable. The prose - and particularly the dialogue - is awkward, packed with adjectives and exclamation marks. And the tone seems suited to a middle-grade audience rather than the YA/teen suggestion from the publisher. I wish I could have embraced the whimsy of Braswell's book, but in the end it wasn't for me.

Review: “Unbirthday” is a Mad Return to Wonderland

A special thanks to Disney Publishing Worldwide for this ARC on Netgalley!

I’ve never read one of the “Twisted Tales,” but have always been intrigued by their concepts and spin on the classic tales, so it was awesome getting to read this ARC as my first one.

In this newest addition to the “Twisted Tales” series, this book takes a look at an 18 year old Alice who has taken up photography and goes around photographing people in Angleland. Things take a peculiar turn though, when Alice starts producing her photographs and she ends up with photographs of people from Wonderland, but they’re terribly distorted. Getting the sense that something terrible is happening, Alice returns to Wonderland to find it in chaos and the Queen of Hearts wreaking havoc. Determined to save the land she so loves, Alice goes on an adventure through the ruined lands to save it before the Queen of Hearts ends it all.

This was such a delightful and surprising read for me! Beginning the book, I wasn’t sure how dark the contents of the book were going to be, especially since “Alice in Wonderland” is already a fairly dark story already. It felt very Disney in the way it was written, allowing for a lot of reader interpretation in just how bad Wonderland has gotten, which kept it light but very dark at the same time.

This interpretation was a pro and a con for me personally. I was not expecting some of the events that happened in the book to happen, especially the public beheadings, which made it very dark but the descriptions and dialogue don’t let it become too dark or depressing. I would’ve liked more graphic details, but I imagine it was kept this way to maintain the Disney vibes and to keep it aimed towards a wider audience.

Another wonderful aspect of the book was the emotional attachment I had to a lot of the characters. You wouldn’t expect to feel for the dodo bird, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter or any of the other characters in Wonderland, but seeing the mess that they live in makes you feel for them. In addition, the characters back home in Angleland, especially Mr. Katz, were interesting to learn about. But on top of all that, it’s refreshing and exciting to see Alice grown up as a young adult and how she carried her curiosity and wondrous spirit since leaving Wonderland.

On top of all of this, it doesn’t matter if you’re a die hard “Alice in Wonderland” fan, a casual one or someone who barely remembers the movies or story. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, this is an enjoyable twisted tale. If you’re a fan of the series and don’t want to skip one, this is still such a nicely written book that you won’t want to miss out. I was hesitant since I don’t remember much of “Alice in Wonderland” but I found myself coming back to this book excited and wanting more.


The Verdict
“Unbirthday” takes a wonderful trip back to Wonderland, even if the Wonderland they return to is more mad than wonderful. From a cast of old characters to new, this book hosts a collection of loving characters with a new ambition we haven’t seen all of yet. Whatsmore, the ending and continuation of Alice’s story both in Angleland and Wonderland, provide a fresh and inviting return to a beloved character.

You can buy “Unbirthday” when it releases on September 1st and for other book reviews and articles, check back on my blog and social medias for more!

This was certainly interesting!

This was my very first twisted tales and I honestly didn't expect it to be so mature. I was immediately satisfied with the prose and storytelling. Many times, it took me out of the reality that I was reading an adaptation of a Disney novel.

Because Alice in Wonderland is a pretty solitary story, they could have gone two ways with this. 1- changed some of the characters from the Disney adaptation to be more "mature" in order to give Alice people to interact with, or beef up some original characters. The author went for the latter, which further removed me from the Disney-ness of it all, but I will say, I did LIKE the original characters and thought the inclusion of Jewish ghettos and complicated things going on in the world certainly added to the story.

The pacing overall was a bit slow, but I appreciated the effort made with a grown up Alice, and still giving her that "Alice"- ness.

If you like Disney and retellings (or this series) you will like Unbirthday - about Alice in Wonderland. I like the authors other books and enjoyed this one! Made me want to read the ones I have not read!

I was given this book in exchange of a honest review. If you love or even like Alicia and Wonderland, this book is a must read.... I enjoyed it so much I could not put it down until it was over... I am really enjoying the Disney twisted tales books.....

I have been super excited to read this book ever since it was announced months ago and Disney-Hyperion very nicely granted me the privilege of getting an early copy. I will admit I do like Alice in Wonderland but I'm not obsessed with it but this book has made me love it. Throughout the book, I kept getting faint vibes of American McGee's Alice and I love it but the book pulls very heavily from the Disney version.

So the Queen of Hearts is terrorizing her subjects and we find out later it's because she wants all their toys for some stupid competition though that is not the only thing happening in Wonderland. After Alice saves the Hatter, the Dormouse, and the Dodo bird from being executed we find out how grave things are in the land. When they get to the Grunderound they find out that Mary Ann who they were hoping to find has been killed. Wait for it her death is important. Alice also has the ability to go back and forth between her world and Wonderland.

When Alice goes back to her world she has an unwanted suitor who keeps pestering her and she is attracted to a Mr. Katz who is Jewish. The reason why this is important is that Ramsbottom and Coney are trying to get rid of all the foreigners in England. Mr. Katz is way more foreign than just being Jewish because he is the Chesire Cat's real-world counterpart and I ship Alice and Mr. Katz so hard. Oh, I forgot to say that a lot of Wonderland's characters have real-world counterparts that Alice discovers when she develops her film.

The last time that Alice goes back at the very end we discover that the White Rabbit wants to end the world and reset it because Mary Ann was killed and he wants her back alive even if she isn't with him. This book ends with everything settled in both worlds and Alice and Mr. Katz married and expecting a child. If you think Alice never went to Wonderland again you would be wrong.

I loved this book and I really want the Twisted Tales series to continue but there aren't any more in the line up that I can see. Hopefully, that will change in the future.

"Remember that," she marveled to herself. "Trust in yourself and Wonderland."
This retelling was interesting. I enjoyed the whimsical attitude of the book and found it as fun and nonsense as the original Lewis Carroll novel.

This book dragged at times, but all in all was a fun read. I was really intrigued and had a hard time putting it down when I needed to get some sleep! The author did a very good job of pulling the atmosphere of the original Alice In Wonderland. They deserve a ton of credit for that. There were plenty of quote-worthy lines as well, much like the original.

This is a must-read if you are a true Alice in Wonderland fan.

Full review: 8/10/2020

Liz Braswell disappointed me at the beginning of this series. I almost gave up, but she redeemed her self with the Beauty and the Beast Retelling and this book had the same vibe. She is getting better with each book and I get excited to read her books now!! She adds a darker twist which I love and appreciate. Loved the artistic way she brought Wonderland back to life and the woman Alice became. It’s a wonderful edition to the series and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did!!

Alice has a cat Dinah and a sister. I love Alice in wonderland. I couldn't get interested in the characters or dialogue

"I'm Alice!" she cried. "Always and forever Alice!"

I'll preface this by saying that, as much as I love Disney, I'm not an Alice in Wonderland fan. Maybe it's the less than iconic soundtrack, maybe it's because I'm a 90's Disney fan who doesn't care too much for the classics, maybe it's the fact that I only ever saw the movie whenever I was at the dentist. Whatever the reason, it just doesn't big up fond feelings of nostalgia, and the only childhood memories I associate with the movie are of getting cavities filled.

Even reading the classic was more of a self-assigned duty that I slogged through instead of an entertaining read.

Anyway, the point of this very long intro is that if anyone was primed to hate this book, it'd be yours truly. And for a bit, I thought I'd regret requesting this. There's some uneven pacing in early on, and the story tends drag on for a while. Also, it took a while for my Serena Valentino prejudice to go away. But once the story picked up I was right there next to Alice falling down that rabbit hole.

It's just such a smart book. From what little I know about the Twisted Tales collection, it seems to be a kind of "what if..." reimagining of the Disney classics. Braswell doesn't attempt to retell either Disney or Carroll's stories though; instead, she brings grown-up Alice back to Wonderland. The move might offend some of the purists out there, but because I'm not a fan of the original, I personally loved it.

The story is just so well-written. I have like ten quotes that I wanted to open this review with but refrained because spoilers. But seriously, I was mentally freaking out by the end because Braswell just creates so many little clever moments and I'm such a sucker for clever things.

Part of the magic of this book is that Braswell captures the utter of Nonsense of Wonderland so perfectly. I'm not a huge fan of puns but love some good wordplay, something that’s found in spades here. Braswell manages to not only recreate Carroll's style but also his illogical Wonderland. She paints the world and its topsy-turvy logic so vividly. It’s creative and clever and fun. Seriously, I'm starting to understand the magic and appeal of the Wonderland now.

Because most of the heavy lifting in terms of world building has already been done, Braswell is able to focus more on the plot. It's been years since I've seen the movie--and I'm not even sure if I've ever seen it all in one sitting--but I feel like the original story is basically Alice falls down a hole, meets a bunch of random weirdos and embarks on a psychedelic adventure. Not the most compelling of stories. In Unbirthday, there's a clear conflict and story arc. It's darker and hits a little closer to home. Don't get me wrong, Wonderland is still a crazy and fantastical place, but the fact that part of the story takes place in England also helps ground the story. The plot helps guide the narrative, and “real life" is such a great foil for the Madness of Wonderland. Braswell does throw in some (not so thinly veiled) social commentary into the narrative, but aren't all good books supposed to spark discussion?

The love story was cute but not super necessary in my opinion. Thankfully it was fairly minor and didn't detract from the overall story.

This was such an adventure, I'm almost convinced I should give Alice in Wonderland another chance, but really, I think I'm just going to see what Liz Braswell book I can get my hands on next. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna try to climb through my mirror to see if I can find Wonderland.

This book was received as an ARC from Disney Publishing Worldwide - Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am a huge fan of The Twisted Tale series and I have been waiting for Liz Braswell to do Alice in Wonderland and she did not disappoint in this one. I loved how she took the modern approach and made Alice 18 years old and how she was "exploring" her possibilities for the future and then unexpectedly, the Cheshire cat, mad hatter, the queen of hearts and the rest of the Wonderland characters and even a new person named Mary Ann invade her real life as a cry for help for Alice to finally return to Wonderland and dethrone the Queen of Hearts once and for all but she might be very late for an important date. I was smiling from ear to ear throughout the entire book and did not want to put it down.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Absolutely phenomenal! I had such a wonderful time reading this original take on the Alice in Wonderland story! The story picks up at the moment when Alice is 18 years old and trying hard to remember Wonderland, when she suddenly starts developing some of her photos of people in her life only to see people from Wonderland in the photos asking for Alice to come help them. Throughout the story Alice is struggling to remember how Wonderland once was and who she was in it and adjusting to her life in reality. The citizens of Wonderland are under attack from the Queen of Hearts who is just straight up murdering and imprisoning people all to bring about the END of Wonderland, Alice is trying to find her place in Wonderland and in Angleland (Her Reality world) all the while we get to interact with some of our favorite characters such as Cheshire (wink wink), Hatter, Dodo, and so on. There is adventure, madness, and above all a round house of a splendid time. I absolutely loved this story and take on Alice so much. It was fresh and fun, with a splash of morbidity and romance!
* Thank you Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This is the most amazing nonsensical madness that I've ever read.

Unbirthday is a continuation of the beloved Alice in Wonderland film that we all know and adore but with a much darker twist. Alice is now an eighteen year old young lady of proper English society and has almost all but forgotten about her somewhat disastrous trip to Wonderland from her youth. Until one day she comes face to face with her friends from Wonderland again through her photography. Many of her old friends are showing up in her pictures asking her to return to Wonderland and save them all. It turns out the Queen of Hearts has let loose her murderous tendencies across Wonderland and Alice is the only person who can stop her.

Liz Braswell does an incredible job of mimicking Lewis Carroll's confusing writing style. During the parts of the novel where Alice is actually in Wonderland, the writing style changes to that whimsical and nonsensical style of writing that is very familiar to anyone who has read the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland book. It really felt like I was reading the same book but with a darker and more grim atmosphere. This book also heavily draws from Through the Looking Glass which I loved to see. It was so much fun to see things that I recognized from the original book. When Alice was not in Wonderland the writing style changed to a normal, more understandable one. A reader can easily get lost but that is the fun of this book! Wonderland is not supposed to make any sense. There is no logic to that world so it makes perfect sense for this book to take those same liberties. I really loved how the writing matched the setting Alice was in. Such genius writing!

We get some interesting new characters in this book, both in Wonderland and in Angleland, but one in particular was my favorite. One Mr. Abraham Joseph Katz esquire, a somewhat odd lawyer. Being a law student I absolutely loved seeing a character who was a lawyer but also a bit mysterious. He would make jokes about how serious lawyers were but he had a sense of humor and an odd air about him that just really spoke to me. For those who aren't aware law school quite literally sucks out your soul and every fun bone in your body. So it was really meaningful to me to see a lawyer character be, dare I say it, a little...mad. Anyways, Katz is a very helpful source when Alice needs it, which is quite often since it IS Alice, so he pops up a decent amount throughout the book.

Alice is very similar to how she was in the movie but she is older. She still acts somewhat childish while in Wonderland but I think dealing with all that nonsense gives her a pass. It was really funny to see her talk about how rude she was during her first trip because that is a thought I often had watching the movie as well. Seeing her traverse her own world as well was really interesting. Alice is certainly an odd one out amongst English society but she doesn't stand out as much as you would think. She merely has more imagination than others and has colorful ways of fending off unwanted gentleman suitors (iconic).

This book is also surprisingly political! It deals with topics such as the Jewish people immigrating to England and how a certain political party does not want foreigners on English soil. So not unlike the current political climate. When Alice wasn't saving Wonderland she had to deal with these issues and it was really nice to see the book go from nonsense to more serious topics. It was all balanced really well.

I really loved this book. I definitely recommend it to everyone, not just Disney fans. This book was just so much fun, madness and all. It really reminded me that not everything in life has to be so serious all the time. A little bit of nonsense doesn't hurt.

I absolutely live and breathe for these stories. This author is killing it with all these twisted tales. This one especially as Alice in wonderland is one of my favourites, I think everyone will enjoy this story Disney fan or not

I really love twisted tales (despite being a 32 year old woman!), and Liz Braswell writes the best ones. In this text, we meet a grown up Alice who has to try to save wonderland (and perhaps try to save a sliver of herself too?). This book also has a slight political edge to it- perhaps some modern day commentary- that I thoroughly enjoyed. Who doesn't like a feminist Alice?! Thanks to Disney-Hyperion and netgalley for providing me with this ARC!

I am a huge Disney fan and have seen every Disney/Pixar movie so I was extremely excited to get this advance copy. I thought it was super cute and loved the different perspective on Alice in Wonderland. And the cover is absolutely beautiful. I am now interested in reading the others in the Twisted Tales collections.

It has been eleven years since Alice first visited Wonderland. She is now 18 years old and dealing with her sister who wants to fix her up with suitors. But Alice can't quite forget Wonderland, even though it has been a long time since her last visit. When she starts receiving messages from memorable Wonderland characters, she knows that she must find a way back.

I love twisted tales and this one does not disappoint. 11 years after Alice originally "dreams" of Wonderland, she finds a way back in and is tasked with saving the world. She starts seeing similarities between Wonderland and England. Does her world need saving too?
I love how Alice is portrayed in this retelling. Often, she's shown as quite literally being mad. This Alice is a forward thinking feminist up for speaking her mind.
Thanks to #netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read an arc of #unbirthday