Alice by Christina Henry

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Alice by Christina Henry


                It has been ten years since Alice was found stumbling out of the Old City, blood running from between her legs where bruises in the shape of hand prints could be found. She was screaming about the Rabbit, her face now held a long scar and her best friend Dor was nowhere to be found. No one believed her story about the Rabbit. But that was all Alice could remember: the Rabbit and the blue-green eye. Soon her family would place her in a hospital. Eventually they would stop visiting. Alice’s only friend would be the man in the room beside her, Hatcher. They would talk through the mouse hole in the wall. Hatcher warned her of the Jabberwocky but Alice thought he was just crazy like her. But the night of the fire, the night Hatcher broke out of his room, grabbed her and they escaped, she saw the Jabberwocky. Now the two of them must kill the Jabberwocky by making their way through the Old city and finding the one object that will destroy it.
                Are you in the mood for a dark, twisted, creepy retelling of Alice in Wonderland? If the answer is yes then this is the book for you. I was unprepared for the journey I would take while reading this story and the initial shock value was enough to suck me right in. Alice and Hatcher’s relationship was very interesting and I enjoyed watching it continue to develop. Both were really strong characters, whose lives were dramatically altered before entering the hospital and now all they have are each other. My interest intensified as I went deeper into the novel and I found that both of their realities was worst that what was originally imagined. The plot Henry created revolving around these two, never stopped moving. I never got bored. There was too much happening for me to get bored. Way too many questions that I needed to have the answers too.

                The combination of Henry’s world building, the intriguing plot and two main characters on a mission to kill a blood thirsty creature made Alice a story that I not only enjoyed but that I found fun. I loved the way Henry wove this story through Alice in Wonderland yet kept it fresh and intriguing. The unsettling tone persisted throughout the novel and I couldn’t stop reading. The ending wasn’t exactly what I was expecting but it does have a sequel which I am looking into reading. I give this story 4 out of 5 stars. 

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