Christina Henry

Alice has been in the mental hospital in Old Town for years. She doesn't remember why. All she can remember is a tea party long ago. Long ears and blood. Until one night she escapes, free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago. When Alice escapes, something escapes with her. And the truth she so desperately seeks is so much stranger than any madman's ranting. From the author of the Black Wings novels, the first in a dazzling and mind-bending new series, inspired by the twisted and wondrous works of Lewis Carroll.

Alice

Ashley Stock

My only wish is that this book were longer; it was horribly dark at moments in a sort of world building that I crave absolutely more of. Absolutely in love with this book.

4.5/5 stars. The third portion went a little faster than I appreciated, but overall, absolutely in love with this book. Dying for more.

Just below 4☆ but it is really, really close to it so I am rounding up.

This has been on my TBR for a very long time and it is a shame I don't remember where I got the recommendation from anymore. But either way, I finally got to it on a Sunday where I had chores to run - an audiobook is always excellent for such days and it helps if the run can roughly match the time I will need to get through them.

I very much expected that this would be gorey and gritty but even so I was taken aback a bit by the amount of violence and bleakness in the novel. The amount of sexual assault, in particular, coupled with the focus on human trafficking and forced prostitution was particularly harrowing to me. I still find the idea of exploring Lewis Carroll's Alice's more controversial subtext and meta elements a very worthwhile efford that was approached in an interesting way here - it just got a bit much for me at times.

Regardless, I found this to be one of the more interesting interpretations of the story. Not a straightforward retelling, it does a good job of playing with and rearranging the elements of the original story. Making Alice a woman in her mid-20s was also a refreshing change that allowed Henry to do a lot more with the novel. Overall, this was definitely the best "dark" retelling of a children's story I have read - these types of books generally tend to struggle with achieving a consistently creepy tone or tend to include things for shock factor only (a little bit like creepypastas), which I felt Henry managed to successfully avoid. I would also say it was one of the better retellings I have read, too.

I do wish that a bit more time had been spent on developing and fleshing out the characters; the plot could have also benefitted from some more building upon it. But I feel like the rest of the novel managed to hold my attention well enough to warrant the higher rating.

Just below 4☆ but it is really, really close to it so I am rounding up.

This has been on my TBR for a very long time and it is a shame I don't remember where I got the recommendation from anymore. But either way, I finally got to it on a Sunday where I had chores to run - an audiobook is always excellent for such days and it helps if the run can roughly match the time I will need to get through them.

I very much expected that this would be gorey and gritty but even so I was taken aback a bit by the amount of violence and bleakness in the novel. The amount of sexual assault, in particular, coupled with the focus on human trafficking and forced prostitution was particularly harrowing to me. I still find the idea of exploring Lewis Carroll's Alice's more controversial subtext and meta elements a very worthwhile efford that was approached in an interesting way here - it just got a bit much for me at times.

Regardless, I found this to be one of the more interesting interpretations of the story. Not a straightforward retelling, it does a good job of playing with and rearranging the elements of the original story. Making Alice a woman in her mid-20s was also a refreshing change that allowed Henry to do a lot more with the novel. Overall, this was definitely the best "dark" retelling of a children's story I have read - these types of books generally tend to struggle with achieving a consistently creepy tone or tend to include things for shock factor only (a little bit like creepypastas), which I felt Henry managed to successfully avoid. I would also say it was one of the better retellings I have read, too.

I do wish that a bit more time had been spent on developing and fleshing out the characters; the plot could have also benefitted from some more building upon it. But I feel like the rest of the novel managed to hold my attention well enough to warrant the higher rating.

Denaiir

I thought it was going to be an awesome, badass and creepy retelling of Alice, but I was really disappointed.
All the reviews were mentioning how dark and gruesome it is, but I felt like something was missing for it to be really dark. True, there were a lot of gory scenes and violence, but I felt oddly detached from them, probably due to the way the author wrote the scenes in what felt like a flat and disincarnate voice. 
The characters were not very interesting, I didn't care one bit for Alice. I liked Hatcher ok but the villains were caricatured, simplistic and completely interchangeable. "Oh another area of the city, another villain!". 
The plot was both overly simplistic (moving to an area, challenging the villain, moving to another area) and crowded (so many villains in 200 pages!). There was no suspense, no tension building, no time to get interested in the plot before it moved on. I was not captivated to say the least, and almost DNFed it several times (the only thing that kept me going was that it was 188 pages). 
And finally, the ending was SO anti-climatic, I was really surprised! But not in a good way. I thought something could be saved in the last 10% of the book and I wanted to give it 3 stars, but after the last 5 pages I had to go back to 2 stars. 
Overall, very disappointing because it was not creepy, not scary, not disturbing, it just fell flat. I will not be picking up the 2nd one, it didn't pique my curiosity enough.

You want horrible, dark, creepy: read Mo Hayder. No Alice in Wonderland element, but that's what I call dark. I'll continue to look for dark retellings, and will probably forget about this one soon.

A mind-bending new novel inspired by the twisted and wondrous works of Lewis Carroll... In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside. In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn't remember why she's in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood... Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago. Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful. And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.

a dark & twisted adaptation of alice’s story, i loved it!! 

I loved this dark twisted version of Alice. It’s amazing and kept me sucked in! 

Jodie Reads

Intresting book. Very intense and heavy topics discussed. Fast paced but ending was a bit of a let down. 

maggie murphy

Me: wow I'm really loving this book it's incredible 

My brain: *chanting* reading slump, reading slump, reading slump! 

I went into this book really not knowing much about it, as always, it was a cover buy for me and I'm a massive alice in wonderland need so I had to have it when I saw it! Safe to say I was not disappointed!! 
This book is so dark and gory and just great in so many ways. The plot was super interesting, and a really unique take on the Alice story, I've never really read anything like this before I don't think. The writing style was one I really connected with and got into easily and how all the pieces of the story fit together was just so good!!

My actual rating is a 4.5/5, due to my reading slump just killing my pace finishing this book and kinda making the ending feel like a chore (worth it though!)
I flew through the first 2/3 of this book in a day or 2, not being able to put it down, taking it everywhere with me. It was just so intriguing and really my kinda book tbh. 

I really wanna read everything Christina Henry puts out, I really hope her other retellings are just as good as this one. (I wanna get to Red Queen so sooooon ((though I always say that and it takes a while hahaha)) I wanna buy it next!)

Marloes

Mahnoor🌟

This review contains spoilers!!

I'm torn over this book, I really am.

Because I was instantly sold by the blurb of the novel, and once begun I was immediately sucked into the world of Henry's imagining, where Alice's home is divided into the Old and New City, and the sweet cakes she was once served at a tea party turned very sour when their true purpose was revealed.

Throughout the novel I found myself gasping with delight as I connected the author's version of each character to their original - the feud between the Walrus and 'Mr Carpenter' as rival gangs in the Old City was particularly clever, I thought, and I looked forward to seeing more of their conflict as Alice and Hatcher (very droll) made their way through the perilous streets they hadn't seen in so long.

The story was dark, certainly, a gritty read compared to Lewis Carrol's original whimsical text, and until the very last chapter it was certainly enjoyable. Though I don't discredit those who have said the rape and violence in this novel is borderline gratuitous, I would argue that at times the portrayal of violence against women felt like a social commentary of sorts. Henry is almost satirical in her presentation of violence - her 'tell' rather than 'show' writing style actually works here, in my opinion, in revealing the horrors behind monstrous acts such as sexual trafficking and prostitution - it's there, it's horrifying, and you simply cannot look away. 

Therefore my issue with this novel is not the extent of the violence, or the twisted characters, but simply the way in which we were robbed of almost every confrontation between them! As the story progressed I couldn't help but feel each one fell flat - (view spoiler)[the Walrus, for example, (a huge, looming, seemingly indestructible creature, apparently) being felled by an enlarged rabbit rather than Alice (whom, it is revealed, was to be sold to the Walrus when she was first abducted) or even Hatcher - who was made to fight against the villain in a ring many years before. (hide spoiler)]

Everyone who isn't Alice or Hatcher is either a villain or killed off/never seen again, and not one was dispatched with any level of satisfaction - except, perhaps, (view spoiler)[the Caterpillar; though really it was only the scene prior to his death that was enjoyable, where much of both Alice and Hatcher's pasts are revealed, and we learn of how she came to be in the Old City in the first place. (hide spoiler)]

I forgave all of this, and continued reading, however, because I found myself caring for Alice more and more, and continuing to root for her and Hatcher - mostly, though, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the reveal of the Rabbit, who throughout was presented as the most menacing of all the villains in Alice's story, being the very man to abduct her and defile her innocence all those years prior. 

What a let down. 

What a let down.

(view spoiler)[In a mere chapter both the Rabbit and the Jabberwocky (remember that imminent threat coming for everyone's lives? nope, neither do I) are explained away - the latter being more of an afterthought and hasty tying of loose ends (I honestly forgot he was even there) and the former turning out to be a dying old man wearing face powder, who's magic was stolen by Alice when she first escaped. 

And how did she escape you might ask? By stabbing and pulling out one of the Rabbit's eyes (Oh, hello Tim Burton!) with a vorpal dagger (Hiya Tim) that was promptly lost, and therefore useless as it was apparently the only thing that could slay the jabberwocky (Oh, Mr Burton, do stay for some tea~)

And if the Rabbit's reveal wasn't offensive enogh, he wasn't even killed by Alice in the end, rather Dor, her friend who first tried to sell her to the Rabbit when they were 16! An absolute disgrace. After Alice's escape Dor(mouse) was trapped and used for years in the Old City by the Rabbit, and it apparently only occured to her to throttle her rapist when his first and preferred play-thing returned, along with her mad boyfriend who then sliced her head right off. :| (hide spoiler)]

In short, it was the most anticimactic ending, and I was sorely disappointed. Both "bosses" were done away with in a mere few pages; a fact that prompted me to flick through the entirety of the book once more, reignite my annoyance at other parts I had brushed over, and decide I feel cheated out of what had the potential to be magnificent.

Overall, this book wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't all I hoped either. I did enjoy it up until the last chapter or two; it was a nice short read that I needed to get out of a slump. All being said, I will be reading the sequel (surprise! there's more), as I am intrigued to see Christina Henry's take on the Queen of Hearts, and I definitely believe there was so much potential with 'Alice'. I won't be buying anymore of these books, however - after this, it's far too much commitment; away to the library I go!

Amina Madadi (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ)

Warning, readers who wish not to lose the innocence of their "Alice In Wonderland", stay away from this one.
It's a world between ours and wonderland, two opposite places, The New City, with its clean streets, examplary citizens and classy way of life, and The Old City, where all the events took place, filthy, poor, sad, full of crimes and horrors..
One day, Alice went missing, but when she returned, it wasn't really as her parents expected, she had a huge scar on her face, her dress was torn and there was blood all down her legs (you get the picture), she didn't recall anything of what had happened to her, except "a man with long furry ears, a man that looked like a rabbit and who was responsible for her mess".. Considered mad, she was put in an institution, for ten years, where through a mouse hole in the wall, she got to know Hatcher, her only friend.. One night, a fire in the hospital sets them free, but not just them, once out, they look back to see a huge shadow of a monster, The Jabberwocky, it was out of his prison as well.. Only one way to get rid of it, for that, Alice and Hatcher are forced to get into the depth of The Old City, where girls are snatched from their families and sold, where the land was devided into territories and where you can only survive if you're faster to do the suffering before it was done to you..
We meet again with some of the fairytale names, The Carpenter, Cheshire, The Walrus, but these folks are now horrible and terrifying characters, thanks to miss. Henry..
Through blood, suffering, misery and a lot of cruelty, Alice, finds love and manages to recover her memory and something else, dimmed many years ago...
It makes you see the world a little differently.. Waiting for the next release!

Jayme Bosio

I didn't enjoy this as much as Henry's other book, The Lost Boy, mostly because I'm one of the few people who never read Alice in Wonderland (or even saw the Disney movie which I assume is wildly inaccurate anyway).

laura

Chriss

This book is such an interesting turn on Alice in wonderland. It's bizarre and creepy with violent descriptions of characters and situations. The scenery feels familiar but yet so twisted and foreign.

JoLee

Christina Henry took me on a twisted, wild adventure in this dark fantasy right along with Hatcher and Alice. The background settings and links to Alice In Wonderland so twisted and good. Alice is a grown woman still stuck in a 16 year old mind. All she has ever known is the asylum that she was sent to for many years after she was found covered in blood and talking madness about a rabbit. Has no memories of this incident just flashes of horrible things. Hatcher her cell neighbor has no memories of his past. Once able to escape cause of a fire their journey is rough in the old city. Adored both characters. Hatcher so protective and attentive towards Alice that I loved so much.

Madison Hinz

I loved the dark take on Alice in wonderland. Maybe check trigger warnings before reading! Huge page turner, I could not put this book down.

Emma Motze

Overall I absolutely loved this book. It’s very rare for me to rate a book 5 stars, especially when something as major as the ending was a bit of a let down, even if I do understand why it was left as it was. I wish I could see inside Christina Henry’s mind because the relationship she built between the two main characters is so strange and intense. They each balance one another out, even when they are both a bit… looney. Ugh anyway great book, loved it, 5 star whoop whoop Alice in Wonderland retelling are the bomb

Sophia De La Garza

Well, this was interesting. 
I’m a huge fan of dark retellings and this book was great at taking Alice and making the story darker than it is. The build up for the main ‘battle’ was well done and I was excited to read on. 
This book was ok it’s way to being a solid 4 stars ... until the ending. You got this great build up and receive a totally lack luster ending. I honestly wish this book had been longer so we could have gotten more world building, more of the romance as it wasn’t very well established, and a better ending. 
I’m still going to continue with the authors other works (hopefully the sequel for this book has better result). Overall, 3 stars.

Jennifer

Welp, this is definitely not for me. I appreciate retellings when an author fleshes out a work from a unique vantage point to strengthen an important messaging or makes good use of the essence from the original work. Unfortunately, in Christina Henry's Alice I feel like the sinister & dark elements came across sensationalised. It feels like merely the shell of the original Alice in Wonderland remained in this deeply unsettling and uncomfortable read that's marred with copious violence and abuse.

I don't endorse when books sensationalise violent content at the expense of everything else (for example: characterisation, meaningful central mesages / themes, and the writing). I think it's wrong and harmful to potential readers. Therefore, due to the unnecessatily sensationalisation I do not recommend Christina Henry's dark retelling Alice.

N.B. This novel contains following triggering content: violence (both physical and sexual), abuse (both verbal and sexual), NSFW, and hospital visits / medical stuff.

Kendra Jones

TW: lots of talk about rape and flashbacks to a rape scene, violence and gore, and animal abuse
This dark re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland follows Alice and Hatcher as they escape from an asylum in the Old City where they have been trapped in for years, until one night, a fire allows them to escape. However, they are not the only ones who escaped that night, and now they must find what this creature wants before it hunts them down.
The writing was fast paced and not overly descriptive, however, it felt very basic and I did not like it all that much. There was a few sub-plots that were woven nicely into the main plot of the story, and I liked seeing more sides of the characters because of them. I wanted to know more about the Magicians and how they could use their powers, but I think that will be addressed in the second book.
Alice had a nice character growth throughout the story. She began the story as very timid and scared of everything. But throughout the story she had many 'a-ha' moments. I liked how she stood up for what she believed in and explained to the reader how she hated all of the horrid actions that were taking place in the Old City. Alice was told repeatedly that she was so-and-so's and she continuously shot back at whoever said that and told them that she was no-one's.
I think I might hate Hatcher. He is extremely possessive and violent, and tends to put Alice down. At one point in the book, Alice told another character that she did not belong to anyone, Hatcher agreed, yet he almost immediately turned around and said that Alice was his. He had no growth over the story and I detested the love story between him and Alice. I understand that they would have formed a connection in the asylum where they were the only ones they could talk to, but Alice really should have stood up to him more and questioned their love for each other and whether it was real or just a way to cope through their traumas.
Chesire I need more of. He was cunning and ambitious, and everything he did was deliberate and had a reason behind it. I loved him. 
Pipkin the rabbit is, to put plainly, the best and I need more of him in the next book!

Closer to 4.5 stars.

I'm a sucker for anything Alice in Wonderland, and this book was definitely an interesting take on the story! At first, I wasn't sure if it was meant to be a sequel or a retelling, as I wasn't totally sure if Alice was remembering the events of the original story or not. It became clearer as it went along though!

It is a really dark, sometimes graphic story. Thankfully, there was not a lot of detailed descriptions, though there is discussion of rape throughout the book. I prefer to not read about things like that, but since it was written by a woman and I was otherwise interested in the story, I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. The themes of sex trafficking and class were woven throughout, which added an interesting dynamic to the story. 

The only real gripe (and it's a big one) that I have is (view spoiler)[Alice and Hatcher seeming romantic, despite him being old enough to be her father and her expressing her fear of men, intimacy, etc. Hatcher is very respectful of her, which is good, but I'm still kind of side-eyeing the implications of them forming a relationship. She also said she loved him in the way that a girl would love her hero, not in a romantic way, but the end hints differently? (hide spoiler)] I suppose I'll have to read the sequel to see what happens and see if my gripe is entirely justified or not! Might adjust my rating depending on that :)

Also, I LOVE the book cover!

danielle bush

** spoiler alert **
           This is definitely a dark and twisted retelling of Alice and Wonderland. It actually reminds me of the PC game American McGees Alice. We see some of the same characters like catepiller,the walrus, cheshire, and the white rabbit, but here they are just people who are crime bosses that rule their territories of the Old City with an ruthlessness. Alice was taken and assulted by the white rabbit, and was going to be sold to the Walrus to be eaten alive.. However Alice escapes before the walrus gets her and finds her way out.. She was put into an institution, she makes friends with a guy that is in the room next to hers. He is named Hatcher because he was found standing around a bunch of bodies that were killed with an axe.. while holding said axe.. One day Hatcher says that the Jaberwocky has woken, and hes trying to escape he is a monster with an appetite for killing people... Later on that night a fire starts at the hospital and Hatcher and Alice escape and make there way throught the city of Old town looking for an old woman.. 
Turns out Hatcher can feel when the Jaberwocky is close and its his and Alices job to stop him.. 
We go on a journey to get information on the Jaberwocky, through Old town to all of the crime bosses that have had a hand in the past that both alice and hatcher can't remember. Hatcher has his trusty axe and has no problem with hacking people to death, especially if they threaten Alice.. 
This is a book full of horribly terrible people who have no problem doing heinous things to others to get what they want, then we have Hatcher and Alice who are slowly dimantling their empires through a little killing of their own, and rescuing the innocents they can. 
I really enjoyed this retelling and will be starting the next book in the series very soon..

Adrianna Giunta

I don't really know how to talk about this one. It was fun but also very anti-climactic. The ending scene kind of felt tacked on and not really thought out well. I didn't see some of the twists coming but the way they were revealed was not as exciting as it could have been. For example a massive plot point was discovered in an offhand remark made by another character during an otherwise tedious conversation rather Alice discovering it herself through practice. I enjoyed the characters Alice and Hatcher and I do want to continue the series. Overall I enjoyed the book but I won't be raving about it. It was more of a disappointing read than a bad book and I will continue to read Christina Henry's other work because I enjoy her writing immensely.

Anastaciya

a nice attempt, but... 2,5 stars I don't want to round up to 3. Shall read the next one, just out of curiosity.

Sarah Jackson

*3.5*

Alice by Christina Henry is a new and exciting adaptation of the story of Alice in Wonderland. I loved the incorporation of characters that are normally forgotten such as the Walrus and the Carpenter and the personification of all the "animals" Alice meets.

The thing that really pulled my rating down was that I felt like there was such a great build-up for each of the villains that Alice had to face but then the climaxes were too simple. For the way Henry built up each rising action I was searching for something more than a quick kill to solve all the problems. This same thing can also be applied to her 'magic'. I wish this had been developed more considering it played such an important role in the (anti-climactic) final battle.

Alice

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