Booktastic Bookaholics discussion

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence.

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.

Questions:

What was the star rating you gave it?
What did you think of the characters?
What did you think of the story?
Did you enjoy it? If so, why? If not, why?
Would you recommend this to others?

So I have already read this book and to be completely honest...I LOVED this book. I was not prepared for the twist that it had at the end. I mean I literally never expected it. It was a great book to read and I hope everyone else enjoys it.

Yay! Can't wait to start this one.

I've read this book before but I will be reading it again. Loved it the first time.

Anyone else find it odd that the print is in purple? lol

I read this awhile back and liked it, didn't love it, but I liked enough that I read the whole series!

Jacquelyn wrote: "Anyone else find it odd that the print is in purple? lol"

I didn't notice it was purple until I was half way through the book. lol. I am horrible like that I just got so into the book that I didn't notice the print until my husband pointed it out lol

I enjoyed this book in the beginning but now I can't seem to finish it. I'm at The Feast of the Beasts (page 206). Did anyone else have this problem?

Just started this. Liking it so far. Idk what color the print is since I'm listening to the audiobook. Lol. I'm at the part where she enters wonderland now.

Megan wrote: "Just started this. Liking it so far. Idk what color the print is since I'm listening to the audiobook. Lol. I'm at the part where she enters wonderland now."

That's a good idea, I might try audible to finish it! I can't tell if I don't like the book or that I'm just in a book slump.

I'm an audiobook addict. So far this is pretty good on audio. I'm enjoying it.

Megan, I enjoy Audible as well! My boyfriend thinks it's cheating since it's not technically reading. I think he's just jealous that I read more books. :) lol

Ok, I finished it. Sorry that my thoughts are scattered.

What was the star rating you gave it? Three stars (leaning toward 2.5)
What did you think of the characters? I found that it was hard for me to relate to the main characters. I am the complete opposite of Alyssa, especially in style-I lean more towards "preppy."
What did you think of the story? I enjoyed how imaginative the author was and I loved that she was able to talk to bugs and plants as well as the twist at the end. My favorite part of the story was the small parts about Alyssa and Allison revolving around their relationship.
Did you enjoy it? I liked the beginning and the end. The parts in the middle were too whimsical and nonsensical for my taste. I preferred the family dynamic and learning how many sacrifices Allison made for her daughter.
Would you recommend this to others? I would recommend it to my step sister Emma, she reminds me a lot of Alyssa and loves twisted fairytales.

I loved the twist at the end of the story.

This is one of my favorite retelling of Alice and Wonderland because it's supposed to be very whimsical. I scored it higher. :)

Yeah I think this type of book just isn't for me. (:

Jacquelyn wrote: "Megan, I enjoy Audible as well! My boyfriend thinks it's cheating since it's not technically reading. I think he's just jealous that I read more books. :) lol"

Totally not cheating!!! If anything it takes longer to listen to a book then actually read one because you can't skim or skip parts. Lol I say poo to all the people who tell me that which is a lot of them!

I ended up really liking this book. There were some slow spots but I powered through and I liked the atmosphere of this version of wonderland. Interesting twists. Not the usual spin on the story which I also liked but if you've read The Looking Glass Wars you will see some similarities. I definitely liked this better though. It was much more engaging. It took me months to a year to get the the other and I've been working on the second book in that series for over a year now. They're just so dull. Maybe they would be better on audio but I have the actual books and they don't have them at the library so I'm not paying for them. The only reason I keep going is because I'm an Alice-aholic! Lol
Anyway I actually liked Jeb. I was surprised at how sincere he actually was. I have a feeling that Morpheus will work at ruining anything he and Allie have moving forward whether intentional or not. However there were time that I thought both Jeb and Allie were pretty ignorant and naive when it came to their decision making in wonderland. They would do exactly what they weren't supposed to or take stupid risks or believe things they knew couldn't be true and yes I get that it's a book but please. Give me a break. Use your head people.
All in all I thought it was a good book and look forward to getting into the next one. ****

Megan wrote: "I ended up really liking this book. There were some slow spots but I powered through and I liked the atmosphere of this version of wonderland. Interesting twists. Not the usual spin on the story wh..."

I'm glad you ended up liking this book!!! I do agree that sometimes the characters didn't use their heads very well...