Author:AG HowardEdition: hardcoverSeries: noneReleased Date: January 1st, 2013Publisher: Amulet Books
Goodreads / Amazon Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family.
She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.
Once a week, Alyssa goes to visit her mother, who's in a mental health institute. She obsesses over teacups and ice cream, and freaks out at the slightest touch. Alyssa knows that her mother has the same curse she does: they both can hear the whispers of insects and flowers. After finally admitting to her mother of this talent, her mother warns her not to go into the looking glass. Determined to break her family's curse, Alyssa adventures into the grotesque land that inspired Alice's Adventures In Wonderland with her best friend Jeb.
I checked this one out from the library, and I honestly had no clue what it was about. I didn't even know what it was about until I opened it up and started to read. I read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland last year, and it didn't really interest me. I've tried reading a few young adult novels based on the story, but could never really get into them.
When I read the blurb on the inside of this book for the first time, I was a little bit wary. Reluctantly, I started reading the first few pages and actually got a little bit hooked on the characters! You don't normally read about a girl who loves skateboarding and her best friend has a lip piercing! I was intrigued, even as it started to get into the Alice and Wonderland part.
Alyssa's character is very adventurous, and she's determined to save her family. She wants everything to go back to normal, and she's willing to risk her life in order to do it. When she goes into Wonderland she kind of urns into a whole different person, and I don't really know if I liked it. I mean, she was still a good character, but some of her traits changed dramatically. Previously, she was shy and wouldn't stand up for herself,. In Wonderland that changed and she lashed out quite a few times. She just didn't seem very consistent to me.
Her best friend Jeb was a good character though. He was definitely interesting, that's for sure. I think they were better just as friends though, because when they're relationship started to progress it just created too many complications. The only part their relationship was actually good was at the very end of the novel.
This was one of those books where I fell in love with the villain. I don't believe that Morpheus and Alyssa should be together romantically, but I feel that they should stand side-by-side, if that makes any sense. He always had some hidden agenda,s but overall I kind of liked him! He was probably the most interesting character in this novel! Honestly, I would recommend reading this book just for him!
The setting was pretty gross. Don't get me wrong, it was a good idea, but it wasn't done very well! The Wonderland you're probably thinking of is happy and based off of the movies. The Wonderland in this book is a bit different, but it has a good reason for it. The creatures are half-human and their bodies are sometimes turned inside out. I feel like this book could have had an amazing creep-factor like Anna Dressed In Blood does, but instead they tried to lighten it up. Sometimes they seem to clash: the creatures would be gross and nasty but would have a carefree attitude. I feel like so much more could have been done with this.
After reading this novel I still don't know if I could read another Alice in Wonderland inspired book. I think this novel had so much potential, but it did fall a little short. There were a few scenes that brought the scoring of this novel up, so it wasn't too disappointing!