Alice

The Wanderland Chronicles

Young Adult - Fantasy - Urban
360 Pages
Reviewed on 04/18/2017
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

J.M. Sullivan is a Science Teacher by day, and author by night. Although known to dabble in adulting, she is a big kid at heart who still believes in true love, magic, and most of all, the power of coffee. If you would like to connect for a healthy dose of sparkle, you can find her on Twitter or Instagram @_JM_Sullivan.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Beth Katherine for Readers' Favorite

Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles is a dark take on the Lewis Carroll classic. Follow Alice Carroll as she leaves the safety of the Sector to find a cure for the (un)deadly Momerath Virus to save her sister, who has begun to show signs of infection. As Alice wanders through territory swarming with Momerath, she makes unlikely allies along the way—Chess, a mysterious young man who comes and goes unexpectedly; Bug, a surveillance expert with theories about the Momerath Virus and its origins; and Nate, a knight who works for the Red Queen. In a perilous dystopian world, where perhaps nothing is as it seems, Alice discovers that the Momerath aren’t the only things she has to be afraid of.

Author J.M. Sullivan’s debut novel ensnared me from the very first line and kept me captivated throughout. Alice reads like a film, in large part due to Sullivan’s uncanny writing ability. As you join Alice on her adventure, you cannot help but feel like you are there battling the Momerath with her! It is obvious that Sullivan put a great deal of love and thought into each character (even the baddies), as they all have their own fully developed backstory that unfolds as the story progresses. A novelty in the YA genre, Alice is a strong female protagonist who is human, flawed, and relatable. You will find yourself fully invested in Alice’s journey from start to finish.

I loved this book so much that I would have been remiss if I rated it any less than 5 stars. I would recommend Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles to readers who enjoy re-tellings, books with strong female protagonists, and those who like Easter eggs! (Sullivan artfully hid a secret message in the body of her work.) J.M. Sullivan is a talented up-and-coming author and is one to keep your eye on!

J. JULIEN

First of all, I was given an advanced copy of this novel for my honest review...and I'm so glad I got this privilege!! I've read many retellings of Alice or stories based on the beloved Wonderland I knew and loved that fell short of my hopes and standards. I wanted them to be different, unique, and share my favorite moments or lines from the oh so quotable creation it was. Yet, none shared any connection other than the name of Alice or location of some type of Wonderland. In comes my new friend J.M Sullivan and her Wanderland Chronicles featuring Alice. I was excited from the first moment I chatted with her about her novel and was eager to get my hands on a copy. I had high hopes for this retelling of Alice and I was not disappointed.

Not only does this author intertwine the memorable lines, characters, and personalities of the original story, but she was able to recreate the beautiful chaos of Wonderland in her post apocalyptic Arizona Wanderland that was infested with disease ridden beings. Instead of singing flowers and toked up bugs, Sullivan reinvented each beloved character in a dark, twisted, and superb way. I immediately fell down the rabbit hole with Alice and enjoyed every single moment! Sullivan kept the iconic lines we adults remember from childhood and played up the imagination of Wonderland for a wide range of ages to get into.

I highly recommend this novel to any Alice lover who may also have a evil side and enjoy a wonderful retelling of a fantastic childhood story. Alice is the fairytale I've been waiting for in my adult life. Complete with hidden gems, messages, and gore it's a novel that will drive you completely mad -- but don't worry, we're all mad here.

So go! Pick it up and read because it has seriously been the best retelling of Alice in Wonderland I've ever read!

Spencer

I loved this book. Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles is by far the best book I have read this year. (Although, to be fair, I've only read like, two books so far...) I remained captivated from start to finish, but I was especially enamored with chapters featuring Chess and Nate, Alice's friend from the Queen's military. What can I say? I'm a sucker for sweet fictional boys. Hehe!

K. Todd Ramer

This is a definite 5 out of 5 stars!

~ As a reader, I was pulled in right from the very beginning. I can't even begin to tell you how many great filmed comparisons I have for this novel: Resident Evil, The Walking Dead, X-Files, 28 Days Later, Land of the Dead, etc. The reason for the film comparisons is because this novel reads like a fully produced movie. It has action, adventure, intensity, lighthearted banter, sarcasm, AMAZING scenery, well choreographed violence and just a hint of a love triangle. You are literally WATCHING this unfold in your mind, not just registering words. Oh, and the cascade of Easter eggs and nods to Carroll's original masterpiece were masterful (I'm still digging for them all). This novel took off running and never stopped... Which has me already itching for the next installment!

~ As a writer, I was enveloped in the world building. I feel that stood out for me the most, though every aspect was impeccably structured. The worlds are all so incredibly colorful, each one it's own unique variation, richly designed and built from scratch. The character building was impressive and rich. Alice's tone and snark was refreshing and on point. The pacing was high speed, forcing you to run right along with Alice as she stumbled and fought her way through each dynamic world. Everything was so florid and dark and intense, from the momerath to a myriad of villains to heroes & antiheroes.

I have already begun recommending this to pretty much everyone I know because I don't really know anyone who would NOT like this. It's such a modern, fresh take on a classic, while holding true to the feeling of the original. You're basically getting a brilliant amalgamation of old world fiction and modern day story telling.

Absolutely brilliant. More please!

K.

Leslie

This was my first retelling, and J.M. Sullivan sold me on them! What a ride this book will take you on. There was never a dull moment. I enjoyed many things about this book, but I especially enjoyed Alice's strength. From fighting the momerath and Matt Hatta to her verbal spars with Chess, she's definitely a strong female whom readers will admire. Well done.

J. Julien

First of all, I was given an advanced copy of this novel for my honest review...and I'm so glad I got this privilege!! I've read many retellings of Alice or stories based on the beloved Wonderland I knew and loved that fell short of my hopes and standards. I wanted them to be different, unique, and share my favorite moments or lines from the oh so quotable creation it was. Yet, none shared any connection other than the name of Alice or location of some type of Wonderland. In comes my new friend J.M Sullivan and her Wanderland Chronicles featuring Alice. I was excited from the first moment I chatted with her about her novel and was eager to get my hands on a copy. I had high hopes for this retelling of Alice and I was not disappointed.

Not only does this author intertwine the memorable lines, characters, and personalities of the original story, but she was able to recreate the beautiful chaos of Wonderland in her post apocalyptic Arizona Wanderland that was infested with disease ridden beings. Instead of singing flowers and toked up bugs, Sullivan reinvented each beloved character in a dark, twisted, and superb way. I immediately fell down the rabbit hole with Alice and enjoyed every single moment! Sullivan kept the iconic lines we adults remember from childhood and played up the imagination of Wonderland for a wide range of ages to get into.

I highly recommend this novel to any Alice lover who may also have a evil side and enjoy a wonderful retelling of a fantastic childhood story. Alice is the fairytale I've been waiting for in my adult life. Complete with hidden gems, messages, and gore it's a novel that will drive you completely mad -- but don't worry, we're all mad here.

So go! Pick it up and read because it has seriously been the best retelling of Alice in Wonderland I've ever read!

Raven Avery

I know it’s only May but it’s pretty safe to say that I think Alice is one of my top books in 2017.

I loved it!

For my first venture into retellings, I stumbled onto a winner, I love Alice in Wonderland the C.S.Lewis book and of course, the Disney movies and I’m sure I’ve seen some TV adaptations as well, so I was looking forward to seeing what direction this book was going to take.

I have to say I was really surprised by it, it merges the classic characters with the popular genre of the zombie apocalypse and it’s a match made in heaven. I wish I could give some comparison that would do it justice so you would know how amazing it is but I feel they all fell a little short.

When I realized that it had this zombie element in the momerath virus it did cross my mind that it might fall into patterns that are too similar to other books/shows/films, but I’m happy to say that whilst it had all the elements you expect it had other exciting differences as well.

I think what makes this story so incredible is how clever it is. To me it seems like everything has been thought out meticulously, nothing seems thrown in and there aren’t any subplots that lose focus and don’t lead anywhere, everything has a purpose. It was like doing a jigsaw, you have the pieces of the puzzle but they were only revealed when it got to the point in the story you needed to match them up.

The snippets of the original story are worked in so well that they don’t feel out of place and it was so much fun coming across them. I’m sure there are some that I haven’t picked up on but it just means I get more surprises the next time I read Alice, as I will definitely be re-reading.

The writing was brilliant, it had an easy style and was able to build the world of Wanderland effortlessly, you were drawn straight into the action and I really found it hard to tear myself away from what was going on. I could have easily devoured this book in one sitting, unfortunately, the fact that my eyes just would not stay open hindered me in that respect, but there was the perfect amount of adventure and suspense to keep you immersed in Alice’s story.

Of course, the biggest pull of the book is the characters, Ms. Sullivan did a wonderful job taking characters from a well-loved story and making them her own. It was strange, in some instances, it felt like a natural progression, like in the case of Alice, how she was portrayed as a young adult and how her personality came across felt like she could easily have been the same Alice that visited Wonderland as a child. However whilst some characters shared some characteristics with their original they had this dark and edgy twist that made them all the more interesting. Even when I hated a character I felt drawn to them, itching to know what they were going to do next.

This is a book I would shout about from rooftops and I really hope that if you do read it that you get the same from it as I did. Personally, I cannot wait to find out the rest of the story and to get my hands on any more books that Ms. Sullivan writes!!