Alice Takes Back Wonderland

I got this book through NetGalley for an honest review.
First off, WHAT A BEGINNING. I was floored. I loved the Chesire Cat right away, and usually I find him a disagreeable character. This book sucked me in and held me and I loved it. As I went on, the mashup of different characters was fun but unfocused. I felt like there was a lot to be said trying to fit into one little book. The story itself might have benefited from being split up a little, letting readers have a sequel to look forward to.

I do wish I had seen more of Alice's sister before she was led back to Wonderland. And I wasn't really at all convinced that she had truly left Wonderland behind. But the Ace of Spades as a villain? The best--or worst--kind of tyranny.

If you like fairy tales and awesome beginnings, pick up this book. The rest of the book is good too, just not earth-shatteringly great like the beginning was. The first five pages are important, yes, but they also set expectations for the rest of the novel.

Overall, one of the better retellings. Fans of Wonderland and fairy tales will adore it.

As soon as I saw the gorgeous cover I was intrigued and knew I had to read this book! And I've not been let down as it was a delight to return to Wonderland, even if things aren't as we all remember them!

We follow Alice 10 years from when she left Wonderland and she is living in Missouri (or is that Misery?!) and is being medicated by medical professionals and her parents to stop her 'imaginings' that they all put down to ADHD and Schizophrenia.

But Alice knows there is more to this and when she continues to find herself in strange places she gets sick of everyone trying to control her thoughts - even any talk of white rabbits is banned!. So when a white rabbit appears and tells her to follow him to the rabbit hole she really has no option than to follow.

What then follows is a wonderful mash up of Wonderland, currently being ruled by Ace who is trying to remove all the Wonder from it and various other fairytale lands as Alice is on a Quest to return the Wonder to Wonderland Was so much fun seeing Neverland and the GRimm kingdom brought back to life in a different concept and having the characters of Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Snow White, Robin Hood and many others all coming together to overthrow Ace was a blast. It was all a bit silly at times but then so was the original story so it just worked.

There is even time for a little romance to develop for Alice and this is where it felt very close to the tv series Once Upon A Time as the different stories intertwined. Alice feels a duty to help save the Wonderland she once knew and it was a case of never stop believing - for Alice and me as a reader.

highly recommended for any Alice fans and fairytale addicts!

Ten years after Alice's trip to Wonderland we now have a seventeen year old Alice who struggles with her parents still not believing what she saw was real and have put her on medication to distinguish fantasy from reality.

One day the White Rabbit returns for Alice to get her help in saving Wonderland from being taken over from the Ace of Spades who is stripping Wonderland's residents of their Wonder and trying to make it more like our world. Alice takes a little convincing that what she's seeing is real after years of being told it's in her imagination.

Alice then embarks on a journey to find the Sleeping Beauty and along the way meets up with many other fairy tale characters who she tries to recruit to help save Wonderland.

I actually rather enjoyed this creative story using characters that we all know and love but not just copying their original stories. There were new ideas mixed in to each character along with an overall adventure to bring them all together which I found rather engaging.

When the story started off I had a bit of a problem connecting with Alice as a seventeen year old, she seemed to lack a bit of maturity. But in the end I think she grew and I believe the character actually needed that bit in the beginning to show her struggles through the years with no one believing her so in the end I had changed my mind about her.

As for the other characters being brought in to the story I rather enjoyed the creativity with them all. Things aren't exactly the way you'd think for each but there is a reasoning given in the story behind it. This made this one of my favorite retellings as I love when I get a whole new story loosely based on originals instead of the same story being retold again.

Overall, fun read that I'd definitely recommend checking out.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is definitely YA. Literally, trigger warning. Lots of violence, lots of it gun violence, but not in a gratuitous way. It made sense to the plot and Alice really did have a HARD time in using guns to protect herself and her friends. I wanted to shake her a couple of times. I mean, if someone is shooting at you and your friends with a Gatling gun, I think you have the right to protect yourself and your friends. The first time she shot someone was an accident, she was in a panic and shot the guy who was trying to kill her. Justified, but it really threw her for a loop and it took a loooong time of Peter trying to explain to her that the gun was necessary for protection, but it didn't sink in until an evil character was trying to kill a newly made friend of her's. The bad guy was a man who had already killed a LOT of people and had already tried to have her killed. She wasn't blood-thirsty or a gun nut, but she was trying to save Wonderland and her friends, so she did what she needed to do.

So if you aren't into guns and the violence they stand for, then this book is NOT for you.

I was actually RELIEVED when Alice got over her issue with weapons and used it to save the life of a friend. No Deus Ex Machina, she did it herself. I've been reading a LOT of YA books recently where the MC REFUSES to hurt someone, even if that person is trying to kill them and those they care about. That's not realistic, at least not to me. It's a victim mentality and not everyone can be reasoned with, especially if they are in the process of trying to kill you. Conversation, at that point, is not going to be effective. I'm not saying kill the person, just use the necessary force to stop them from hurting you, big difference.

And in this book, not every "bad guy" Alice meets is met with a gun. There IS dialogue when Alice sees that's it's a viable alternative and she does try communication even when it's obviously not going to work. So it's not all shoot first, ask questions later.

Sorry, enough about guns. I wanted to get the trigger warning out of the way, as I know a lot of people have issues with gun use.

How were the characters? I actually LOVED how most of them were portrayed and how all of the fairy tales, stories and myths were woven together. The beginning was very shaky, but after page 50, I was hooked and read until I finished the book in one sitting.

Oh, and shout out to Lovecraft. WOOT!!! I LOVE it when authors introduce an obvious element from Lovecraft into their work and it fits. That was one of my favorite parts I think.

4.5 stars, rounded down to 4, because some of my more favorite characters were killed off and Wonderland wasn't the Wonderland I wanted it to be after all was said and done. I wanted my version of HEA, thankyouverymuch. (not saying there was or wasn't a HEA, just that I didn't get MY version of it.)

I admit, I was VERY hesitant to get this book to read. I have read some rather poor interpretations of Alice in Wonderland recently and was concerned that this would be more of the same. It wasn't. I enjoyed it and am glad that I did read it. I would recommend it if you like good re-visits of fairy tales and don't mind gun usage.

My thanks to NetGalley and Curiosity Quills Press for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Gobbled this one up! Any fairy tale lover will appreciate this addition to the Alice club. I need my own cheshire cat

I love stories that are inspired by Alice in Wonderland, but this one in particular really caught my attention when I read the blurb, since other fairy tale characters were mentioned, I mean... How could I not want to read this??

Alice is all grown up now, and the poor girl is considered to be crazy. She needs to take pills and go to therapy, so that she can stop talking about Wonderland and understand once and for all that it's just part of her imagination.

Just when she's starting to believe that Wonderland's not real, the White Rabbit pays a little visit, and takes Alice back to his world. But things are not the way they used to be. Creatures are being chased by the Ace of Spades and getting their wonder taken out of them, making them just plain, normal people... And let's be honest, that's just depressing.

Now Alice has a mission: awaken the Sleeping Beauty and take back Wonderland from Ace.

I must say I loved seeing all these fairy tale characters together in just one place, it was really wonderful. It kind of reminded me of Kingdom Hearts a little bit, and I love Kingdom Hearts to death. But this was very different, the fairy tales are not exactly the way they're supposed to be, and not everyone's as happy as we've always thought them to be. Their stories can certainly be more scary too.

Along the way, Alice gets to meet characters like Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Snow White, Hercules and many more. There's also a little something going on between her and one of these fairy tale characters. And it's adorable.

There's a lot of action and fighting too, which I really enjoyed.

In the end, this book is a bunch of nonsense, just how it should be. I've read other stories about Alice in Wonderland and some of them have just been a mess, I think it's not an easy task to be all nonsensical like Lewis Carroll was in the original story, but Hammons manages to do it really well!

Definitely, definitely give this a chance if you like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and/or fairy tales in general :)

I love anything that has to do with Wonderland, however, I am a tough critic when it comes to Alice as well. That being said.... I LOVED this story.. My very favorite cat was written purrfectly and from there, it was a wildly mad ride that refused to let go until the very end. I am hoping there is maybe another in the future as this one left me feeling empty inside. even though the novel is stand alone and has a complete ending. I just loved the writing and the story that much.

Readers who love the Once Upon a Time mash up of characters will enjoy that type of writing in this story. There is violence, which is also very Wonderland for anyone who has read the original classic. however, most has to do with firearms. I wasn't very put off by it and think most youth wouldn't as well. If you are like me and love you some Alice,. pick up this book. You will not be disappointed in the least bit. We're all mad here....

Action packed. This story had smiling, laughing, and questioning. I received this as an ARC for review and while I like fairy tales and fantasy, I probably wouldn't have picked this up on my own. I'm glad I read it. It's a great addition to a YA collection. Teens 12 to 15 will enjoy it.

I absolutely adored this book, I am a giant Alice in Wonderland fan as it is, and I just absolutely loved this story. I loved how all these different characters which I know and love from the fairy tales kept popping up. I loved how it was completely different from the usual Alice in wonderland stories and I just loved how it was written. I just loved absolutely everything about this book, it is just wonderful. I would recommend this to any Alice in wonderland fan or any Disney fan really. It truly is just wonderful.

[image]

This pretty much sums up my thoughts on this book. I simply LOVED it!! If you've been here before, you'll have probably realised by now that I love fairytales and retellings with a passion. So this mashup of all the major fairytales was right up my alley. And boy, did I enjoy reading it!

[image]

Ok, so you probably don't want to hear me go on and on rambling incoherently about all the things I liked about this book, so I'll try to keep it short and make some sense.

The premise is very interesting: after Alice left Wonderland, the Ace of Spades took power for himself, and started taking the wonder away from Wonderland in order to make it a more logical and rational world. When things start taking a terribly dark turn, the White Rabbit decides to go fetch Alice again, so that she may bring back everything that Ace has taken away. Of course, this isn't all too easy for poor Alice, who in the meantime has been labelled as crazy in her own world and had just managed to stop believing in Wonderland. And things take an even crazier turn when she discovers that the only way to defeat Ace is to journey to other mysterious lands where all the fairy tales she grew up reading are very real indeed, and very different too.

[image]

I really enjoyed journeying with Alice. I especially liked to see her develop so greatly throughout the book. She starts out being very insecure, constantly questioning herself and her ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy, and feeling like she isn't up to the task that she's been entrusted with. But as she journeys on and makes new friends, Alice grows to be the leader she is supposed to become, a strong-willed woman who's not afraid of doing whatever it takes to save the ones she loves.

"It's okay to be scared. You just can't let it keep you from doing what you need to do"

The other characters were great, too! I particularly liked the new spin the author gave on old stories, and I had a great time trying to recognise the characters from the little hints to their identities spread throughout the story before they were fully revealed. It was really great to see all my favourite stories come together, Peter Pan with Pinocchio, Snow White with Robin Hood, all coming together in one great story. I really liked the romance as well, how it developed slowly and didn't take over the whole book, but was still cute enough to have me root for my ship until the very end. My only complaint (because I really should have at least one) is that I would have like to see more of the villains. I mean, there were several and they all had their role to play, but they weren't quite as villanous as I would have expected them to be. That being said, it did still all work very well within the story as a whole.

Overall, this was definitely one of my favourite reads this year, and one of the best retellings/mashups I have read! Really relatable characters, great world building and an adventurous quest make it a must read for all fairytale lovers out there.

And if you've already read this, you'll certainly understand why we must say goodbye like this...
[image]
"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

Thank you netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange of a honest review!

This book had one of the most original plot I've ever read about. I mean, sure, I have read fairy tales retellings, and I am starting to grow fond of them, but they have never turned out like this one. Alice takes back Wonderland was one of the most freshest read I've had, and while it didn't start as good as I thought it'd be, the plot development quickly compensated for it.

Personally, I found that the beginning was rather slow, and I found pre-Alice-back-in-wonderland rather pitiful. Having returned from Wonderland as a child, she has since been perceived as "crazy" and is forced to take pills in order to overcome her "delusions". Except her said delusions weren't delusions. They were real. But after Alice came back to Wonderland, let's say that I warmed up more and more to her character and struggles, and I really enjoyed reading from her perspective.

I first thought that this book was going to be centered on Wonderland. Well, it looks like I was wrong. Rather, this book talks about diverse fairy tales' worlds, and while for a few chapters I was disappointed to have seen not a lot about this "new" Wonderland, I really like what the author did with the other fairy tales, and I guess that is what made the book so original and interesting to read about.

The world building was fascinating, as well as the twisted tales, and I was more than enchanted to find out that they were also some myths included. I am a sucker for everything mythology, so... :P

I also loved the way the romance blossomed, and I can also say that I have smelled it for pages, but nevertheless that didn't stop me from loving it all.

On the overall, this read was amazing and enjoyable, and if you like fairy tales retellings? Well, you should absolutely try this one out. It's amazing. I swear.

First off, Alice in Wonderland is one of my all time favorites, I had high expectations for this book. I'm a huge fan of Once Upon a Time(TV series) and was excited to read this once I read multiple reviews commenting on similarities between the book and Once Upon a Time. It's like a mashup of several fairy tales in one, it wasn't what I expected, yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you're into mixing up the fairy tales, weaving them together and making awesomeness, this book is for you!

Usually, I read ebooks in the order my request to review them is accepted. However, I had to make an exception for this as it’s based on Alice in Wonderland – my favourite story. I was given the chance to review this book by NetGalley, who provided me with a free copy in return for my review.

Alice Takes Back Wonderland by David D. Hammons – eBook (Galley), 270 pages – Published September 28th 2015 by Curiosity Quills Press

This is a great, original book. It combines dozens of fairytales in one story, each tale and character with their own little twist.

17-year-old Alice from Missouri is on medication for ADHD and schizophrenia, which she was diagnosed with after an alleged visit to Wonderland ten years ago. She’s spent all this time trying to accept that Wonderland isn’t real – until the White Rabbit turns up at her house and pushes her back down the rabbit hole.

With the help of the Mat Hatter, Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and many others, Alice has to defeat the Ace of Spades, who is removing the Wonder from Wonderland, and trying to turn it into the human world. Alice travels between Wonderland, Neverland and even the Grimm Kingdom, gaining allies and developing a plan. Along her way, Alice rescues Tinkerbelle from Hook (or Captain Gepetto, the father of Pinocchio who’s been mistaken for the crock’odial for quite some time), brings down the Gingerbread Man (a villain in Grimm), reunites Queen Cinderella Charming with her daughter Snow White, and even falls in love with Peter Pan.

Basically, this is a cross of all my favourite stories. I’m now in love with the idea of Alice and Peter Pan being an item, with each of them being one of my uttermost favourite characters. The idea is that echoes of Wonderland, Neverland, Grimm etc reach the human world through the rabbit hole, inspiring the stories we grow up loving. But as they are only echoes, many details aren’t quite right.

There’s a lot of action in this novel, especially toward the end. Like I said, all the characters are wonderfully unique, and have nice little quirks. Some of the writing is kind of… simple, but still descriptive. It’s also rather repetitive at times, though this is sometimes used to it’s advantage – certain quotes are repeated from the original book by Caroll, entwining this modern story with the older novel.

I didn’t find this as easy to read as I would’ve liked, though I did get into it in the end. The plot is great, and the characters too. I’d give this book 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 if need be.

BookMarked

Pacing: This story progresses quickly. It takes place in a matter of a few days and, with something always going on, there’s never a dull moment. The constant action keeps the book moving. What happens in a few days seems to happen in a matter of hours with how fast the book moves, making it a quick read.

World: The world in this book is more of the plural sense. Multiple different worlds make appearances. For that reason, only small chunks of the story take place in each world, practically snatching them away before the reader realizes they’re there. Even so, each one is described in full detail. The precise imagery paints a clear picture into which the reader can simply fall and journey through with Alice.

Writing: The writing itself has a fantastical style about it, adding to the magic of the story. It offers enough detail to fully imagine the world(s).

Non-Spoilered Plot: Alice, conditioned to believe she’s insane and that Wonderland doesn’t exist, fights with herself when she’s swept back to Wonderland by the White Rabbit many years later. However, it’s a much changed place. In fact, it’s lost all of its wonder because someone’s removing it from all the creatures and surroundings. Longing to protect the memory of the place she loved as a child, and the wonder of the creatures that make them who they are, Alice sets off to save Wonderland from this drastic change, but she can’t do it alone. She’ll need an army at her side, and an army she finds.

***{SPOILER ALERT}***

Character: The main character, and narrator, of the story is Alice of Wonderland, an older version. That being said, her voice is far more mature than it was in the original story, but it still holds the same fantastical wonder and maddening phrases she picked up from her first trip to Wonderland. Though, the logic imbibed from her world has taken a toll on her. Now, she questions Wonderland rather than embraces it and tries to make it disappear as just another fantasy, but it doesn’t.

Plot: Alice is no longer the child she was when she first visited Wonderland. Unfortunately, this has given her world to time squash her memories of Wonderland, passing them off as insanity and putting her on pills to discern for her the difference between reality and fantasy. That is, until the White Rabbit kicks her down the rabbit hole and back to Wonderland. Yet, it’s a place much changed.

Ace of Spades has removed wonder from everyone and everything. He wants it to be as plain and controllable as Alice’s world, but he still needs a name for his new world. This is what he requests of Alice and in return he’ll offer her friendship, but Alice refuses. It breaks her heart to see the wonder taken from everyone. It’s making them into something they’re not, a notion that Alice can relate to all too well. As a result, Ace of Spades offers her death.

To save herself and that of Wonderland, Alice shoots off to find an army that’ll help save Wonderland. Yet, she continues to tell herself none of this is real. The impact her world had on her, of mental hospitals and medications, left a lasting impression, one which follows her throughout the book. It worms its way into her brain when Peter Pan illogically flies in Neverland, and when she meets Snow White in the land of Grimm, but her dedication to Wonderland manages to overrule all of her doubts.

Her dedication pushes her through the worst parts. Even when fear cripples her, when her life is in danger, when she’s forced to make tough choices, when she’s forced to kill. Her devotion to Wonderland, and who she is, is what wins her an army. It’s what sways Queen Cinderella Charming to wake the sleeping beauty. It rallies all the worlds together to take back Wonderland from Ace of Spades and restore it with the wonder it once possessed.

Even in the end, with Ace of Spades dead, the war won, Alice stays true to herself. She doesn’t want power. She doesn’t want glory. All she wants is to save those around her, including Peter Pan. Selfishly unable to live without him, she sacrifices any possibility of her life in Wonderland by returning through the rabbit hole with Peter Pan to save him from a gun wound.

It’s for her sacrifice, her selfless dedication, her strong voice, and her ability to remain who she is, combined with the amazing world-building that allows me to leave ‘Alice Takes Back Wonderland’ with five stars.

Interesting premise. Not usually a fan of science fiction but as a fan of Alice in Wonderland, I found this incredibly creative and fun.

First of all, I'd like to thank Curiosity Quils Press on Netgalley for giving me a chance to read and enjoy this beauty in exchange of an honest review!

"Alice Takes Back Wonderland" was one of my last reads from 2015 that I really enjoyed! Even if the beginning was kind of slow for me, I loved everything that happened through the book! Specially when Alice leaves Wonderland in a quest for help!

Before officially starting my thoughts, I'd like to point out how good David D. Hammons writing was! I was able to create and keep a clean mental image of everyone and everything that happened, and I completely loved that! So, thumbs up for David!

Plot: I really enjoyed lots of things about the plot of this beauty, but I'll be quick and just mention a few! Like I mentioned before, I loved how everything was paced and detailed, and that we could have a clear image of what was happening around every page. I also loved the way the setting kept changing as the plot kept growing and evolving. Definitely the fact that through the story we got to meet lots of other great characters from different fairy tales, not just Alice. The way the author made it possible for you to connect with Alice and what was happening all around her. And last, but not least, I LOVED MY SHIP, which sailed far,far away!

*cough* PETER PAN + ALICE = LIFE *cough*

Characters: We get to meet lots of characters through this book, but don't worry, we already know them all (or most of them)! As the plot evolves through the pages, besides the characters from Wonderland, we also get to meet Peter Pan, The Lost Boys, The Pirates, Tinkerbell, Pinocchio, Jack from the famous Jack and the Beansalk, Snow White, Cinderella, The Huntsman, Hercules, AND A LOT MORE! And the best thing was that I had no problems with any of them, and that they all did a great job making this story wonderful!

In the end, I really enjoyed this fun ride, and I hope you guys do so to! So yeah, go check it out, don't miss out the fun!

Alice is living in Missouri and has stopped believing in wonderland altogether , that is until she goes back down the rabbit hole again .Wonderland is in trouble and Alice must save the day. There are numerous characters from other fairy tales that appear and help along the way.. I liked all my favorite fairy tale characters in one book. fun read

Well first off I was really excited to read this because I love all things Alice in Wonderland so once I started it I liked it. It seemed to go slow at first. I liked the book but I am not sure if it is because I love the Disney movie but it just didn't stand up to my expectations. I would say that anyone who likes the Disney version to read this book but not to think about the movie when you do. Keep an opened mind!

Actual rating: 4.5 Let’s get one thing straight. I absolutely love Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland. Which means, every time I find a new retelling, I have to read it. Actually, I’ll read any retelling, as long as it sounds good. I love retellings.

So when I found this, naturally, I was really happy. I couldn’t wait to start reading it, and at first, it was just as good as I’d hoped it’d be. Actually, it was throughout most of it, it was awesome. I loved that it was not only a retelling of Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, but a lot of different stories, like Peter Pan, Snow White, and a whole bunch of others, except they were very different. For example, Snow White and the seven dwarves were criminals.

I don’t know what I expected it to be like, but I was very happily surprised. I liked that it was a little dark, but not too much, and that the stories existed in the “real” world, but they didn’t get it completely right. Every time Alice and her new friends encountered a new story, she was confused and shocked, as was I. When I thought I couldn’t be more surprised, something happened, and I was yet again surprised.

It kept a pretty fast pace throughout the whole book, and I got through the first 80% in no time. At 80%, though, something happened. I’m not sure what exactly, but the last 20% took longer time to read than the rest of the book combined. I don’t know why the end didn’t keep my attention the way the rest of the book did.

What I loved the most about this book was that it wasn’t predictable. Retellings rarely surprise me, because they keep too much of the original story, but this just kept the base structure, barely that. It was a story of its own, and it kept surprising me.

Another thing I loved was the romance. Often in YA fantasy and romance novels, the romance gets the main focus, and there is less focus on the plot, but in this book, the plot gets the main focus, and that made me love it even more.

To sum it up, I loved this book. It was one of the best retellings I’ve read, possibly the best. The only thing that I didn’t love was the last 20%, that didn’t manage to keep my interesting alive quite as well as the rest of the book. But the ending was still surprising, just like the rest of the book. So, if you haven’t read it yet, you should, especially if you like retellings.