Rating: 4.0/5
Summary: Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of plants and insects and in order to shut them up, she makes collages of them. She also fears that she is going insane, since all her female relatives have been committed to asylums. When her father is going to take excessive measures to treat her mother, Alyssa makes her own decision to find wonderland. However, when she ends up there, with childhood friend jeb, it is not at all what it seems to be.
I liked Alyssa’s character, she was sweet and did everything she could for her mother. Now I love quirky characters and Alyssa definitely fit the bill with the talking to plants/bug thing; however, I would’ve like to see more interaction between her and the plants/bugs. It didn’t happen very often, and it’s a cool ability, though it does kind of make her seem crazy. Alyssa is also a strong character, while the teasing of her classmates hurts her, she still stands up to them, and doesn’t take all their shit to heart.
The plot of the book was like medium-slow, especially the beginning since it has to lead up to her finding wonderland. I enjoyed it, because purple font is the coolest thing ever and I liked exploring Underland and her relationship with Jeb is complex yet realistic. I liked how they had chemistry, but neither of them could admit it/they struggled with it. It felt very realistic in that sense and I appreciated that.
Once Alyssa did get to wonderland, things began to pick up. There were all these new characters popping up, along with mysterious heads in boxes, and a quest to get back to the human world. Oh and don’t forget, Alyssa begins to turn into a netherling. The adventure in wonderland was thrilling and kept me on the edge of my seat for the most part. I flew through the middle part of this book! Besides all of the cool things that were happening, the language in the book was beautiful and poetic. The way the world was crafted was magical and it kept me pulled in for the whole ride.
The reason I gave this four stars was because while I really enjoyed this book, I didn’t completely fall in love with it. I’m super curious as to what will happen next and will definitely get the next two books (hopefully soon). I want to know how Morpheus is going to get Alyssa back to Wonderland, I know he will, he’s a devious little moth.