Unbirthday by Liz Braswell

Like a moth to a flame, I found another Alice in Wonderland retelling and just had to pick it up. Being published through Disney Hyperion, the book is clearly going to be a retelling from their movie instead of the original novel. This was a big draw for me as I love the silly nonsense of Disney's version.

My hopes were dashed when the first few chapters proved this novel was going to be entirely focused on politics. Alice is now 18 years old. In Victorian England, that means get married or be considered an outcast. Her sister attempts to help her by setting her up with a gentleman caller, but Alice would much rather spend her time taking photos of the immigrant children in the park.

As Alice's real world is spinning out of control, she receives a message from Mary Ann through her handy-dandy camera, which shows her real world compatriots as citizens of Wonderland. She has been called to save Wonderland from political upheaval.

The Queen of Hearts has gone even more mad than the Wonderland standard and has become genocidal. The only part I enjoyed was the trek to meet the Queen of Clubs because it had the feel of the original novel. Alice and Dodo must traverse the Snakes and Ladders board (Wonderland reality version) in order to leave Hearts realm. It had the most Wonderland whimsy and sense of adventure out of the whole story.

The beginning and the end were just politics. So much politics. And then there is Aunt Vivian, can't have a modern book without a character like Aunt Vivian. I don't want to read political grandstanding in a Disney book. I just want whimsy and childhood adventure that Lewis Carroll placed upon the story.