Books for Christian Girls: "The Wonderland Trials" by Sara Ella

About this book:

“Solve the clues. Face your fears. Survive the Trials.

All Alice Liddell wants is to escape her Normal life in Oxford and find the parents who abandoned her ten years ago. But she gets more than she bargained for when her older sister Charlotte is arrested for having the infamous Wonder Gene—the key to unlocking the curious Wonderland Reality.

Soon, Alice receives a rather cryptic invitation to play for Team Heart in this year’s annual—and often deadly—Wonderland Trials. Now she has less than twenty-four hours to find her way into Wonderland where nothing is impossible . . . or what it seems.

The stakes are raised when she discovers players go missing during the Trials each year. Will she and her team solve the clues and find the missing players? Or will betrayal and distrust win, leaving Alice alone in a world of her own? Follow the White Rabbit into this topsy-turvy fantasy where players become prey, a sip of the wrong tea might as well be poison, and a queen’s ways do not always lead one where they ought to go.”

Series: Book #1 in “The Curious Realities” series.

Spiritual Content- Alice visits an old chapel and is reminded of something Charlotte said, “A church is its own sort of fairy tale, don’t you think? It’s the one place where believing in something unseen isn’t a curious notion at all. Quite the contrary. Here, believing is expected. Here, nothing is impossible.” and Alice also thinks that “In churches where rich or poor, young or old, all hold to the same beliefs that something unseen can be really, truly real.”; Mentions of churches (including abandon ones and the Westminster Abbey); A few mentions of the king’s love being powerful to save everyone (see my final thoughts about a possible allegory connection); In the Author’s Note, she lets the readers in on a secret—“the King is real, friend. The true Wonderland awaits. All you have to do is believe.” And signs off with Hebrews 11:1;

*Note: There is a tea that someone can drink to turn into an animal (cat, mouse, etc., though they can still talk like normal) and another tea to turn back to a human; Mentions of magic (in regards to: 1.) some people calling the Wonder Gene incredible, extraordinary, and magic. 2.) that some people say the Gene is magic, too powerful, witchcraft, and dangerous. 3.) something being a part of someone’s Wonder magic (though, it’s not really magic but imagination), and 4.) the slight of someone’s hand being like magic); A mention of someone looking like a goddess.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah, blah, blah’, a ‘blast’, a ‘blimey’, a ‘get me the blazes out of here’, an ‘idiot’s, a ‘worked my tail off’, two ‘darn/darn you’s, A couple made-up curses (“What in the cards is wrong with me?” and “For the love of cards”); Mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Alice pickpockets & stealing money from someone (we see it twice, but it’s been an ongoing thing for her to raise money to go to London); Alice goes to an underground card game place and places bets with money; Alice says that while she’s a pickpocket, she’s not a cheat and would never cheat at a game; Alice lies to her sister & gets upset at her protectiveness (Alice rebels against some of her rules); Many mentions of missing teens, their families grieving, & tragic accidents; Many mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of a fire, death, & the body not being found (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of those with the Wonder Gene being chipped, treated terribly, and required to drink a prescribed cordial that would keep any symptoms of the Gene subdued; Mentions of a possible kidnapping/abduction; Mentions of injuries & pain (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of illegal actions, activities, & criminals; Mentions of thieves, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of (illegal) gambling & betting on card games; Mentions of cheating & cheaters; Mentions of poison, allergic reactions, & someone being in a coma from one (plus the stress of a loved one having to see a friend go through it and being distraught); Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of a nightmare; Mentions of alcohol, drinks, drunks, & pubs; Mentions of tattoos & piercings; A few mentions of those who test positive for the Wonder Gene were murdered (“unborns were eliminated if they tested positive in the womb. Young children were drowned in the River Thames if their behaviour led their parents to believe they might grow out of control.” There is also a mention of a cook at a children’s home treating to throw naughty children in the Thames and her locking children up in small closets if they screamed); A few mentions of burglars & break-ins; A few mentions of knives & acting threatening; A couple mentions of smoking & cigarettes/cigars; A mention of wars; A mention of the possibility of treason, imprisonment, and execution; A mention of the possibility of someone’s throat being silt when being robbed; A mention of graffiti.

*Note: A couple comments by Alice and said to Alice about her parents’ abandonment must mean that they didn’t want her, and she thinks that that’s right and maybe they didn’t care about her at all (this really isn’t resolved in this first book, though one apologizes to her for saying such harsh words); Alice struggles with what a “real” family member is.

Sexual Content- A couple almost hand kisses & a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed), four knuckles/hands kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Remembering a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to be kissed; Touches, Hand holding, Warmth, Embraces, Dancing, Smelling, & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing & Staring; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of girls swooning over a guy, looking at him up and down, & being told a guy is quite the ladies’ man; A couple mentions of charming and smooth-talking boys being the very reason that all-girls schools were invented; A mention of a hand kiss; A mention of making eyes at someone; Some love, falling in love, & the emotions;

*Note: A mention of a girl being curvy (thought by Alice); A mention of testosterone.

-Alice Liddle, age 16

1^st person P.O.V. of Alice (Epilogue in Chess’s POV)

368 pages

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Pre Teens-

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My personal Rating-

{ Ratings are not accounting for certain comments that could be trigger for adoptees, please see the Note in the Negative Content section. }

There’s something about the story of Alice and Wonderland that’s always captured my attention. The obsession with tea, the talking flowers, the overall nonsense that is Wonderland. It’s fun, it’s different. So, I was very curious about this book being Alice and Wonderland reimagined in a dystopian setting, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying the whole book.

It’s not secret that I’m not a big fantasy reader, but dystopian books are some of my favorites. I’ve been branching out more this year in fantasy and while I still had to reread some parts a couple times to make sense of certain things, events, or technology in this novel, I think I did a good job keeping up and was very engrossed into the story.

I can’t say that any characters stood out to be a favorite for me, but I liked how they all had their strengths and weaknesses that they bring to the story plus their own backstories that we aren’t always privy to and how it affects them. I did absolutely adore all the names and the manner of speaking throughout the story. (All the British English was quite enjoyable, I am confused on why, though, Yorkshire pudding was portrayed as a dessert? It’s an unsweetened pop-over, not an actual pudding.)

I went into this book not expecting any Christian or faith content and that helped my enjoyment of the story, I would say. There’s slight alluding to believing in the King and being able to access a hidden kingdom in addition to mentions of a chapel/church, but nothing directly mentioning God. It is possible an allegory route will be more apparent in the next book. In the Author’s Note, she lets the readers in on a secret—“the King is real, friend. The true Wonderland awaits. All you have to do is believe.” and signs off with Hebrews 11:1.

Overall, I was very impressed with how clean this book was in terms of content and how it pulled me into the story, wanting to know the answers to my questions. While the book doesn’t end on a major cliffhanger, there’s still a lot unanswered, so I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel.

(As a note to families concerned with any magical elements: I would say that there is no magic or magical parts in this book, though there are a couple mentions of things feeling magical or being like magic. The fantasy aspect of this novel comes from alternate universes and a lot of imagining—that is, thinking of something and it appearing in front of you. There is a tea that someone can drink to turn them into an animal and another tea to drink to turn back into a human.

Not magic related, but Alice does go to a place where people are playing card games and betting, which she takes part in.)

2023 reread: Like the first time I read this book, I had to reread a lot of different parts (okay, basically the entire 100 pages...multiple times) to be able to figure just what in the world (what in the Wonderland?) was going on. My brain isn't a big fan of fantasy and all that comes with that genre, but this book is fun and different, so pushing through to get answers is how I read this one, both the first time and now this second time. Side note: still not a fan of Chess.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!