“Step through the looking glass. Slay the Jabberwock. Seek the King.
Alice is not prepared to face what awaits beyond the Tulgey Wood. When she and the rest of Team Heart enter the fourth and final Wonderland Trial, it’s up to her to lead them to victory. But this Trial is more than a game. If Alice and the others fail to defeat the Jabberwock and reveal the truth about Wonderland, more than points and fame will be lost.
Chess Shire never believed he’d make it this far. Now he’s stuck navigating a Trial he’s seen but doesn’t remember, all while searching for the brother he left behind. Not everything is as black and white as the game that shares his name. And if Alice discovers his deepest regret? Chess might just lose her too.
Apart, Chess and Alice scour the eight squares of the Heart Trial in search of memories, truth, and an Ivory King who seems more illusion than reality. Will they learn to lead together to face their greatest fears? Or will they remain pawns in a queen’s game, never truly seeing the Wonderland they’ve come to believe in?”
Series: Book #2 in “The Curious Realities” duology. Review of Book #1 Here!
Spiritual Content- It’s thought that there is an anomaly in some DNA called the “Wonder Gene”, those who have it are able to see Wonderland (called “Wonders” and those who do not are called “Normals”); There is a theory about Normals who can become Wonders, how that could be, and vice-versa *Spoiler* it is due to the power of belief in Wonderland and not an actual gene; A scientist says “We all choose what to believe. Our beliefs shape who we are. They change us. And that’s what having the Wonder Gene is all about.”; Those who choose to believe in Wonderland are able to see it *End of Spoiler*; The Ivory King is said to have created all of Wonderland *Spoiler* At the very end, it’s said that Wonderland is King *End of Spoiler*; 'H's are not capital when referring to The Ivory King; Alice asks the Ivory King to help her in a dangerous situation (twice); The author refers to her King with ‘H’s capitalized in the note from her at the end of the book; There is a puzzle almanac that is called “providence” (by Chess) because of how it’s helped the team many times; A mention of a garden-like place feeling like “Eden”;
*Note: While no actual magic in terms of spells or wands, this book takes place in a world that could be considered to be an alternate reality where all you have to do is to believe in something or image something happening (“In Wonderland, we can imagine many things. New clothes. A different hairstyle. We can even altar the colour of the sky. We can make bland food taste like tarts and treacle. Add a little flavour here and a dash of spice there with a flick of our Wonder minds. But, like anything imagined, it fades. Actual sustenance is different. If we were to conjure food out of thin air it would be just that.”); Rather than magic, there is a heavy focus on imagination and illusions throughout this duology; There are teas that can alter one’s appearance or health (such as a tea that can turn someone into an animal, make someone shrink, another that can keep aging away, and cause a deep sleep); We see Chess turn into a cat (semi-detailed) and mentions of others turning into different animals, some mystical; There are items that can talk (flowers and door knobs); Alice is able to go through looking glasses to see past memories.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘dumb’s, two ‘wretched’s, four ‘stupid’s, five forms of ‘idiot’, and seven forms of ‘blast/blast it all’; Made-up curses and insults like “Oh, my heart”, “for treacle’s sake”, “what in the cards?”, “you’re nothing but a pile of petals”, and “like thorns”, along with some normal words being exclaimed (“oh, feathers and treacle and tea”); A mention of a curse (said, not written, by Chess); Eye rolling; Saying goodbye to a dying loved one (up to semi-detailed); Being attacked & chased by creatures that mean harm and to kill (up to semi-detailed); An explosion, Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Being locked in a jail cell; Nightmares (up to semi-detailed); Eavesdropping; When going through looking glasses, Alice has a sensation that’s similar to drowning (barely-above-not-detailed); Recalling a parent’s verbal abuse, being hit by an object they threw, and wishing to just be hit instead (Chess, up to semi-detailed); A hint of someone who has been trapped for years almost wishing to die at times; The Jabberwock is a creature that takes on the appearance of whatever someone fears the most & others say it sounds like death and wants anyone near it to die as well (up to semi-detailed, *Spoiler* Some lost Wonders have turned into Jabberwocks as they let their fears consume them in the Trials *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of a car accident & deaths (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of fires, injuries, & deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of poisons, others being poisoned, deaths, & grief (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of jumping off a train into a lake & possibly being badly hurt or drown (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of verbal abuse from a parent & them accidentally throwing an item at their child (Chess); Mentions of pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of nightmares (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of missing people & others feeling grief and guilt about their loved ones; Mentions of parents fighting (verbally) & a mother leaving (implied that she wouldn’t come back); Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of alcohol, drinking (including social drinking at a party), someone who is tipsy, & someone being sober; A few mentions of murders & crimes; A few mentions of a kidnapping; A few mentions of breaking in & thieves (Alice says she use to be a thief/pick pocket and we saw that in Book #1); A few mentions of cheating at a game; A few mentions of rumors; A few mentions of a tattoo; A couple mentions of a plan to throw someone in a lake (to do away with her); A couple mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of animal droppings; A mention of possibly being eaten by a lion (barely-above-not-detailed);
*Note: Alice says at one point that they “all have the potential to do perfectly normal, human things. We lie and cheat and steal and swindle. I used to pick pockets, for goodness’ sake.” (no regret is visibly shown from her about that in this book or the first one, but does add that they all made “choices we regret”).
Sexual Content- Four hand kisses, a cheek kiss, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Butterflies; Wanting to kiss (not-detailed); Wanting to hold hands (barely-above-not-detailed); Recalling an embrace & the other’s scent (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing; A few mentions of blushes & winks; A couple mentions of crushes & looking at someone in admiration; A mention of jealousy; Some love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;
*Note: When an older teen boy winks at an older woman, Chess thinks “I can instantly tell he sees age as only a number.”; Chess notices that a captor is female (noticing her soft, feminine curves); A mention of a girl being curvy (thought by Alice).
-Alice Liddle, age 16
-Chess Shire, age 17
1st person P.O.V. switches between them
336 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
I always feel a bit guilty when I finish an anticipated new book in a day. Especially since I know it took the author much longer than a day to write it. So sorry about that. :)
This duology has really covered the whimsical, magical (without actual magic) part of Alice and Wonderland so well. Maybe even a bit too well at times, but that could just be me struggling with the fantasy elements of this series. I almost wanted to reread this book as soon as I finished it because of all the details and reveals at times. I felt like I had to read this book much slower than my normal speed because of it all. Since I’m not a big fantasy fan, I really had to push through the first book because of the fantasy parts—both my first read through of it and the reread I did prior to starting this sequel. (On that note, I’m very glad that I reread the first book as I think I would have been even more utterly lost at times in this one.) There were times I was confused at what was going on, but to be fair, Alice and Chess were also confused then too, so that made me feel a bit better and continue to go ahead. I do think it was supposed to be confusing and nonsensical at times, though, but I would almost count that part as a negative personally because I had to reread many parts to try to understand what was going on. A lot of things were tough for our main characters, but then explained simply that felt a little bit like a cop-out at times because of Wonderland whimsical-ness.
There’s a slightly allegory that I’ll admit that I thought before going into this book would be a bit stronger. It was more along the lines that if you knew the author was a Christian, you may pick up on it, but elsewise you probably wouldn’t. The truth is an important theme in this book, not only telling the truth but our group trying to figure out just what is the Truth. It’s based on choosing what to believe in—especially if it’s something that you can’t see with your eyes.
As for our group, I think this duology (particularly this sequel) could be under the Found Family trope and I really liked how much we see them all. I liked the importance of teamwork and working together throughout this novel. Like the first book, I can’t say that anyone stood out in this sequel either to me (which could be because it’s a larger group than most fantasy books or because I was focused on trying to keep all the information straight in my head), but they worked together well and had their strengths make up for another’s weakness. A well-rounded team—or well-played deck of cards, I suppose you could say. ;)
I think this is just a fun read. It’s silly at times and definitely Disney-influenced and has a whole lot of nonsense, but it’s an entertaining book. It’s so incredibly different from what I typically read or enjoy, but that’s part of the fun.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
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