Great writing, and a much needed story. The historical opening of Wonderland drew me in, coupled with more contemporary writing (i.e. the dialogue about Airbnb made me laugh). I look forward to reading more!

A quick and candid memoir folllowing the rough-and-tumble life of Nicole Treska, Army brat and daughter of a "mobster-adjacent" father from Boston. I enjoyed the story fine -- it was straightforward and honest, but also felt a bit drawn-out for being as short as it was, I didn't get the sense that the journey or story arc was particularly well-defined -- it felt more like a snapshot in time, if that makes sense. Some fun pieces about a unique, somewhat dysfunctional, and (to use her word) "mouthy" family though!

Wonderland: A Tale of Hustling Hard and Breaking Even by Nicole Treska was such an interesting story. Her honesty was refreshing and her storytelling full of her voice.

I DNFd this one. It was so discombobulated. I stopped at almost 60% and I can’t tell you what it was about.

This is an interesting story. I can understand and relate to many of the things she has gone through with her family. That being said, I didn't love the book, but I also didn't hate it, so I can only give it a 2-star rating. There were a few moments when I considered not finishing, but I decided to push through and see where her story ended up.

It took me some time to get through this one. I had a hard time connecting and investing in the story and characters.

The writing in this memoir was really well done, I listened to the audiobook and it’s narrated by the author and she does a really wonderful job.

However this jumps all over the place and just had a hard time keeping up with if we were in the past or the present, and the whole time I was listening I was trying to figure out like, why? I’ve read memoirs by people who aren’t celebrities, and they usually have really interesting stories and perspectives from their personal experiences.

I just didn’t really get that from Treksa. There wasn’t one particular thing the memoir focused on. It was her life, and while it was well written, it just wasn’t that interesting.

The writing shines in this, and the 200 page count kept it from being boring. It’s just an okay memoir.

Thank you @netgalley and @simonbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

First, Treska can write! She can craft a sentence that stops you in your tracks. Unfortunately, she didn't have great direction with those sentences or her story, and that's where this one fell flat for me. Overall, the story felt disjointed causing me to never really connect or care about her story.

The entire time I listened to this memoir, I kept thinking, “What's the point of all this?”

I finished, and I still don't know the answer.

Treska tells her story in vignettes, little snapshots of moments in a life. The timeline is all over the place. Consequently, her story feels disjointed, and it's nearly impossible to follow or make sense of things.

Treska is brutally honest, but not all that insightful. We don't do any sort of deep dive. I'm not sure if we–or she–learn anything of relevance along the way.

The author narrates the audiobook, and for me this was another case in which a professional should have done it. The experience is very much like listening to a person read a book, which is much different than being immersed in a story.

*I received a free audiobook download from Simon Audio and a free ebook download from Simon and Schuster.*

This one is a little bit hard for me to review, because while I loved the way Treska writes, the structure of this was just all over the map for me. I would have loved for this to be a little bit more linear in the storytelling. Because there was so much jumping back and forth, I had a hard time remembering the timelines and who the different people were. I also felt disconnected from the people in it because I couldn't keep track of their histories. I think I would have loved this book if it had been chronological.

I get that this wasn't meant to be a traditional memoir, but more of a slice of life from the history of her family. Having been to Boston a few years back, my favorite part was her accounts of places I've actually been to. But it just didn't feel like there was enough meat to dig into in this. Maybe a more traditional account of the different members of her family (and less about her romantic life) might have sunk in more from me. It was the perfect length though for this type of writing style. I would still probably read other things by Treska in the future, because I do think she's really talented. This one just didn't work for me.

Well written, thought provoking and most certainly captivating- its a quick read that takes you though the ups and downs of a piece of history.

This book is cathartic, both for Nicole Treska to write and for us to read. She talks of a very specific time in her life with the final transition to adulthood: realizing that, despite all of the growth you’ve undergone as a person, you are more like your family than you realize. It’s a particularly hard realization to have when you live away from your hometown, and especially difficult when your hometown is as tough and demanding as Boston. Trust me - I would know.

Treska’s writing is earnest without being flowery. It’s humbling (and heartbreaking) to read about the people she loved so much who also are the biggest sources of her pain. It’s one thing to know that her parents are affiliated with Whitey Bulger and the Winter Hill gang - it’s another to have them lie and steal to you directly.

Overall an amazing memoir and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nicole Treska, and Simon & Schuester for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I found this to be an unusual - and short- memoir but it was a great read. This was Treska's view of how her family's criminal activities impacted her, but it would have been helpful to have clearer picture of her family. Sometimes it felt hard to understand the family or family dynamic.

This is a beautifully written memoir about Treska’s fascinating and trouble family. It’s strength is in the descriptions of place, Boston, New York City, Hawaii, Florida. You feel these places viscerally while reading this book. Treska also examines family and how her own messy and complicated family lives within her even when she tries to separate herself from them. For such a short book, this isn’t a fast read but one to slowly read and enjoy the language. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

An unusual - and short- memoir that left me wanting more. This is Treska's view of how her family's criminal activities impacted her but it' s not a study of the family and I didn't feel that I knew them. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is literary non-fiction.

I don't like to be a poor man whole my life but I see a lot of poor man outside there. I really want to pursuit my goal not with my egoistic side of me, but I want to be an altruistic man who can influence other persons too.

This book is about the author separating herself from her Boston roots, examining her family ( especially her Father) and figuring out who she is in relation to them and the new world she seeks to carve out for herself. The author seems to have a solid dose of self-awareness, which is helpful as she relays tales throughout the book.
She works to establish boundaries, especially with her Father and to see him for who he is at a time in his life where his bad choices have begun to weigh him down in ways he set up throughout his life; his alcoholism, his gambling, needing to be married ( to anyone ). She asks herself “Did they need to change to be loved “ as she works to establish her own life as a young adult through her twenties into her thirties initially I railed against the Boston blue collar, mafia-tied, street-wise ways of her family. I am very familiar with the uniqueness of Bostonians… how many stay in the same area, in very close proximity of immediate and distant relatives in the immediate neighborhood they are familiar with growing up. How intertwined their lives become with people they’ve known growing up, related or not. But about 40 pages in, I was able to release that ( it makes me bristle going back to the ways of Bostonians ) and enjoy her efforts to move away from that as well.
Well-written, well-told story. I hope Nicole continues her journey of self-examination and self awareness. .

So, what do you think? Can people change? And do they need to change in order to be loved?

Nicole treska's memoir represents a new voice in American memoir, it is transparent without being nostalgic. Her inner voice remembers things from her childhood within the context of her present. Some things seem normal while we are growing up, but looking back, we realize how this memory represents what was different about our upbringing. Nicole's grandmother pressing a freezing cold emerald ring into her hand, the bevel intenting her palm, telling her to keep it a secret, a "gift" from her uncle, who hid stolen jewelry in ice cream boxes in the freezer. This is the kind of description that stays with you.

The Treska's range from outright felons to "the check is in the mail" kind of folks. And as an adult we can reconcile what we want to carry with us into our adulthood and what we are okay with letting go with grace.

This short memoir is big on long, interesting descriptive passages and brilliant sentence construction. This is Nicole's piece from a writing workshop, and I can tell it has been lovingly edited and re-edited until the sentences are just...so. She is presenting this as telling us what was different about her childhood, but I think the theme missed the mark just a bit. I would rather relate to her instead of her explaining to me over and over again how her experience was unique. I think so much of the story could have been instead presented as relatable rather than othering.

Willing to bet her next book will be the better read, and I will definitely read it. She is an amazing writer who hasn't quite found what she wants to say.
3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC.

This was definitely an interesting nonfiction read! I was not always fully invested in the story but certain parts of it, such as the history parts, really fascinated me.

This wasn't my favorite memoir ever. It was kind of boring honestly but hearing more about the history of Boston was interesting.