Wonderland – Juno Dawson

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alice lives in a world of stifling luxury and privilege, but none of it means anything when your own head plays tricks on your reality. When Bunny, Alice’s troubled friend goes missing, Alice becomes obsessed with finding her. Whilst on the trail of Bunny’s 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 Alice find Bunny there? Or is it really a case of finding herself? Because Alice has secrets of her own and socialite queen and ruthless Paisley Hart is determined to uncover them, whatever it may take.

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 that wants her head.

Wonderland is a whirlwind of a book that I couldn’t put down. It is the trip down the rabbit hole that we are all needing at the minute. Juno has written a book full of pure escapism, mind-boggling mystery and just pure wonder. I’ve adored Juno’s previous books so I was beyond excited to read this one and let me tell you, I loved it!

It has been years since I read the original Alice in Wonderland but I do remember a lot of the story. Even if you haven’r read the original you can dive right into this book. It is full of references to the original, such as the famous quotes and the famous characters. All the beloved characters are in this book, Alice, the white rabbit, the queen of hearts and the caterpillar but they have all be shaken up with a modern twist. Alice is as charming as ever in this modern retelling and I adored her. She is a trans woman, learning her place in the world whilst dealing with her mental health. Alice is witty and relatable and just a pure gem, I loved her. One thing I absolutely loved about this book is the way that Juno made all the characters new, exciting and modern in clever ways.

Juno takes a classic story and makes it brand modern and intriguing, with themes that I wish were discussed in books more. Juno never shies away from the darker sides of teenage life and at times it is uncomfortable but it is something that needs to be read. Juno does an amazing job of writing about sex both negative and positive and I’m sure many teenagers need this in their lives at the minute. There is sex, drugs and violence in this book, as well as an upsetting and possibly triggering scene of sexual assault, but Juno writes about all of them with care, consideration and thought behind every word and that is incredible.

Although this is the weirder of Juno’s books that I have read, this is something that was done intentionally. It is a retelling of a weird, wonderful and illogical story and I was here for all the weirdness. It allowed me to escape the world for a while and it was just what I needed.

Overall, I cannot recommend Wonderland enough. It has an intriguing plot, amazing characters and the talent and wonder that is Juno Dawson’s writing. When this book is released into the world, very soon, I highly recommend that you get yourself a copy. Give it a go and fall into the rabbit hold of escapism and mystery!