For our October book club, we had the pleasure of reading ‘Wonderland’ – Juno Dawson’s radical and contemporary retelling of Alice In Wonderland.
This compulsive and immersive novel provides the perfect literary rabbit hole we all need right now, all while tackling themes such as mental health, gender & sexuality with remarkable tact.
Find out how the team got on with this whirlwind tale of privilege, secrets and lies.
Alice lives in a world of stifling privilege and luxury – but none of it means anything when your own head plays tricks on your reality. When her troubled friend Bunny goes missing, Alice becomes obsessed with finding her.
On the trail of her last movements, Alice discovers a mysterious invitation to ‘Wonderland’: the party to end all parties – three days of hedonistic excess to which only the elite are welcome.
Will she find Bunny there? Or is this really a case of finding herself? Because Alice has secrets of her own, and ruthless socialite queen Paisley Hart is determined to uncover them, whatever it takes.
Alice is all alone, miles from home and without her essential medication. She can trust no-one, least of all herself, and now she has a new enemy who wants her head…
Lareese
I well and truly fell down the rabbit hole with this book! Seriously, what did we do to deserve Juno Dawson?! Admittedly, I don’t read a great deal of YA, so I would have missed out on this delight if it hadn’t been for book club. This contemporary and intelligent retelling of the classic Lewis Carroll tale was utterly compelling, which just goes to show how reading out of your comfort zone can totally pay off sometimes! Juno Dawson borrows the familiar dark dystopian setting we all know as Wonderland and brings it bang up to date with her 10/10 wit, relevance and effortless skill. Content warning: it handles many nuanced topics such as gender, attempted rape, suicide, cancel culture & mental health and doesn’t shy away from raw teenage experiences. Alice’s character is a pansexual transgirl and I love how, as a narrator, she doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to talking about her identity and the ups and downs of her transition. No spoilers but there’s one standout scene in a toilet towards the end of the book that’s incredibly powerful. Wonderland is a wild ride of a novel and an utterly addictive one at that. I’m going to call it, it’ll be turned into a binge-worthy series before we know it.
Rating: 5/5
Would you recommend? Yes
Danielle
I LOVE a modern re-telling of a classic story and Wonderland did not disappoint! Sometimes modernising something only includes a few texts and slightly out of date slang but Wonderland truly tackles really important subjects that often go ignored in YA fiction. The book is narrated by Alice – a pansexual transgender girl who takes absolutely no prisoners. As always I listened to this one on audible and the fact it’s narrated by Juno Dawson herself made it all the more important. The fun doesn’t stop there, the whole book is wild, Alice crashes a super-luxe secretive high society party, the characters are packed full of sex-positive pals. The book is political is the very best of ways, Juno has smashed this story I really couldn’t put it down.
Rating: 5/5
Would you recommend? For sure!
Darcey
Well what can I say! Wonderland is a truly amazing re-telling of the classic Wonderland we all know. I really enjoyed reading a book which tackled very modern day societal issues. Juno Dawson left no stone unturned, discussing difficult topics such as sexual assault, attempted rape, mental health and gender. I adored Alice the main character and getting to know her so well throughout the book, you are taken on Alice’s sexual awakening and also the awakening of her true-self. You can really see her character develop throughout the book and I found myself always rooting for her. The ‘Wonderland’ party of course is absolutely wild and the attendees even wilder, you discover some juicy secrets in this book and some real twists happen! One thing I would say is I wish there was more about the hunt for Bunny, especially when Bunny does something CRAZY involving a gun (no spoilers) and I was ready for a man hunt, but there didn’t seem to be one. Overall though I really enjoyed reading Wonderland and would definitely recommend it!
Rating – 4/5
Would you recommend? Yes
Charlotte
Sometimes a slighter shorter or more digestible book actually appeals to me more than a hefty hardback option, especially one with a cover as enticing as this! I was super intrigued by the plot and had quite high expectations before starting after hearing how much Lareese had loved it!
The tale was so cleverly told and I loved how witty and funny it was in parts. It discussed numerous heavy themes which I have to say I found quite triggering at times, which is my only fault of the book. I loved how intricately linked it was to the original Alice in Wonderland story, and as the first re-telling of a classic I’ve read, I really enjoyed this element of the story’s structure.
It was such an addictive read, and once I got into I really struggled to put down. It reminded me of the TV show ‘Skins’ in many ways because of the issues it tackled and relationships between characters, with the same addictive quality of a series you can’t wait to get to the end of.
The ending was a little disappointing but I don’t think this detracted from my overall enjoyment of the book, and I would still recommend it!
Rating – 3/5 (only because of the triggering issues that were sometimes hard to read)
Recommend? -Yes
