Alice Takes Back Wonderland by David D. Hammons Pages: 283
Published by Curiosity Quills Press on September 28, 2015
Genres: Young Adult, retelling, Fantasy & Magic
Source: eARC from Publisher
After ten years of being told she can't tell the difference between real life and a fairy tale, Alice finally stops believing in Wonderland. So when the White Rabbit shows up at her house, Alice thinks she's going crazy.
Only when the White Rabbit kicks her down the rabbit hole does Alice realize that the magical land she visited as a child is real.
But all is not well in Wonderland.The Ace of Spades has taken over Wonderland and is systematically dismantling all that makes it wonderful. Plain is replacing wondrous, logical is replacing magical, and reason is destroying madness. Alice decides she must help the Mad Hatter and all those fighting to keep Wonderland wonderful.
But how can she face such danger when she is just a girl?
Alice must journey across the stars to unite an army. She discovers that fairy tales are real in the magical world beyond the rabbit hole. But they are not the fairy tales she knows.Fairy tales have dangers and adventures of their own, and Alice must overcome the trials of these old stories if she wants to unite the lands against Ace.
With the help of Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Snow White and heroes old and new, Alice may have the strength to take back Wonderland.
Alice Takes Back Wonderland by David Hammons is a young adult fairy tale mash up, that will remind fans of a younger version of Once Upon a Time. I have a love for all things Wonderlandian, so it is no wonder that I was immediately drawn to Alice Takes Back Wonderland. The book starts out when Alice is about 7 and is somehow in Wonderland. But she is not the Alice from the story, she is an American Alice from the Midwest. Her first trip in Wonderland is short, but it left a lasting impression on her. Fast forward 10 years, and she Alice has almost convinced herself that it was just a dream. But then the Rabbit shows up at her door and takes her back to a very different wonderland.
Although I found the start of the story a bit slow, I really did love the set up. I loved that this was not the Alice from the story, and I loved the idea that the Villain in this story- the Ace of Spades, didn’t want to just take over Wonderland. He wanted to change Wonderland into something more ordinary. Something more like Alice’s world. What a fresh take! I have never read a story like this one. Author David Hammons did a great job with nonsense. I don’t mean that in a negative way, nonsense is essential in a story about Wonderland. And Alice is a very nonsensical girl. I felt like she truly belonged in Wonderland.
Alice Takes Back Wonderland brings us characters from many different story worlds, and they overlap in delightful ways. I had never guessed some of the pairings that David Hammons treated us readers to. The literary geek in me was super excited to see some of the crossovers. This is why I love Wonderland as the backdrop for fairy tale mashups and re-imaginings, because there is so so much that can be done with this fantastical setting. Alice Takes Back Wonderland is a really interesting read. Fans of fairy tale re-tellings and of Once Upon a Time should check it out. And keep reading, if you found the beginning a bit slow like I did, keep going because it really picks up speed after Alice’s return.
P.S. Yesterday Book Briefs was interviewed by Netgalley! we talked favorite covers, trends in new adult that I am loving and that I am so over,and advice for new bloggers.
You can check out my interview HERE
I’m interested to know your thoughts too. What are some of your favorite covers right now? and What are some trends in YA/NA that you are loving or that you are so over?
Let me know in the comments below!
kindlemom1
This does sound like a fun read and I like the Once Upon a Time comparison, plus, that cover is fantastic!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I’m such a fan of fairy tale retellings! I’ll definitely have to check this one out because it sounds like a really unique take on the story!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Lekeisha
I love retellings of any kind. This cover is pretty and it goes well with the title of the book. To answer your questions, I’m loving all of the covers on epic/high fantasies these days. For some reason, they just stand out among other genres. And I’m so over the billionaire/ordinary girl/ bdsm tropes in NA. It’s been done a thousand different ways and I’m sick of it. Let Christian Grey and Gideon Cross have all the glory. With YA, I’m just not too fond of love triangles anymore.
Yunnuen Glez
Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite books. Loved the cover and I immediately wanted to read it. Love Alice retellings but then I read your review and, for being honest, I was disappointed that Alice was American. I don’t know why?
Anyway, thanks for the review. 😉
Sui Generis
I alway read a lot of retellings of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. This will be my first time reading a retelling of Alice in Wonderland and I’m very excited!
Melanie Noell Bernard
Oh! I loved this book and your review really hits home on a lot of the good elements of the story including, the most important, the nonsense. Some people think that is so easy, but it’s really not. Because it can’t just be nonsense. It has to be nonsense that makes sense, but only to the characters because it is their version of sense. Yeah. Hope that made… sense. :p Loved the book and nice review!