Loved it! I loved everything about it. The underrepresented characters, the whimsical, crazy Wonderland depiction and the fact that it kept making reference to the original work by Lewis Carroll. It made me want to re-read the original works and find the passages that were referenced in the book. Great work. I recommend it to everyone, but particularly to those who only know Alice in Wonderland via the movies.

#netgalley #thelostwonderlanddiaries

This book was full of adventure and fun! I loved it! The characters and the plot were amazing, this is a great read for young readers!

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the ARC!

So, while this is obviously a tribute to Alice in Wonderland, you don't have to have read it before you read this. There are some fantastic references, and much of what is in here is very true to what is going on in Alice in Wonderland, but this book stands as its own story.

I really liked both main characters- they felt believable with their own strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, and feelings. But, they also have things in common that help them relate to each other. I like that the difference and the similarities cause some conflict between them, but also allow them to strengthen each other.

Overall: this is a fast paced story with loads of quirkiness. Honors the original source, but also finds new ways to tell its own story, not just be a retelling of something else. Characters are likable, have realistic reactions to unrealistic settings (which is the point of fantastical fiction), and manage to grow throughout the story.

Definitely one I would recommend, and can't wait to see what happens in the future!

The Lost Wonderland Diaries is a clever, fun, and daring adventure! I can't wait for more from this author!

This book was received as an ARC from Shadow Mountain Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books of all time and when I saw there was a book about Lewis Carroll's real diaries of wonderland I had to jump at the chance and read this book. Celia and Tyrus have found Lewis Carroll's lost diaries of wonderland and get transported in and realize that darkness has fallen over wonderland and it's now run by monsters. Now it's up to Celia and Tyrus to save wonderland and the real world in limited time or they will be trapped inside forever. My inner child was going crazy while reading this book and I know many of our library community will love it too.

We will consider adding this title to our JFiction collection at our library. This is why we give this book 5 stars.

Celia and Tyrus are both different from other kids their age. When they discover four mysterious diaries belonging to Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, they learn that Wonderland is a real place. But the Wonderland they’ve been transported to is different than the one they have read about. Things are not well in Wonderland, and this pair must work together, each using their special gifts, to turn things around before it’s too late.

This is a fantastic fantasy for middle-graders or anyone who loves children’s fantasy. It has all the fun characters and lovely nonsense of Wonderland. I loved all the word and logic riddles. It takes full advantage of all the potential in Lewis Carroll’s writing in such an enjoyable, creative way. And apparently scholars really are missing four of his diaries!

Celia and Tyrus are relatable characters. Watching them grow through this journey was such a pleasure. There are some scary moments of peril, and it gets dark in some places. I felt that those made the message that much more poignant, however. And it’s such an important message. This book is going on the recommend list for all my kids and their friends.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for letting me have the chance to read and review this ARC. This is an amazing and wonderful story written by J. Scott Savage. I've read and enjoyed a few of his other books and I love this one so much!
Also to note here, I didn't think it was possible because of how much I have always disliked, rather strongly, Alice in Wonderland for as long as I can remember, but I have found a version of an Alice in Wonderland story that I like. I enjoyed this story so much, I don't feel like I hate Alice in Wonderland as much now and there were so many great aspects to this story. I can't recommend this story enough. I wish I'd had these books when I was younger, but hey, at least I get to read them now and I can share them with my kids as well.
I learned quite a bit from this story about dyslexia and things that I didn't even realize so this was a good eye-opener to some things and a good story to give me a different perspective into Alice In Wonderland stories that I didn't know I needed.
This story starts with Celia, who's sitting at the library doing homework and playing Minecraft on her phone etc. while her mom, who is the librarian is working and after her Mom assigns her books for her daily reading, which she doesn't like because of her dyslexia issues, Celia notices a boy her age sneaking around in the library.
Celia decides to follow the boy to try to find out what he's doing and catches him messing with the library books and calls him out on it. The boy introduces himself, his name is Tyrus, and we find out along with Celia that he's helping to shelve the returned library books because he loves books and the library so much!
Celia and Tyrus return to the front desk area and start talking and find out they're both new to the area and will both be new to the school that starts soon there so they start talking to each other about being friends and getting to know one another.
As Celia and Tyrus are talking, Celia's mother comes over and asks who he is, they talk with her for a minute and Celia decides to ask her mother if they can help shelve the library books since Tyrus likes doing it so much and her Mom gets all excited and sends them off to shelve library books.
While Celia and Tyrus are shelving the library books, they hear someone calling for help and follow the voice and end up in the office in the back where there's a chest that they have to figure out a puzzle to open it and then they go through the chest and come out the other side, falling down or is it up into Wonderland, where the adventure and fun really begins.
As Celia and Tyrus find themselves in Wonderland and meet various characters and find themselves at the Mad Hatter's tea party, you get a taste of the wonderful whimsy that comes with Wonderland and the character's personalities and stories and such. There is good and bad, both, in Wonderland, of course, and they meet the Queen of Hearts at the castle and while Tyrus is terrified of her, Celia feels like they could be friends until the Queen asks for their help with the chest that Charles Dodgson left behind because he had said that whoever came after him would know how to open the chest and save Wonderland from the haunted monstrosity that is terrorizing everyone.
When Celia says she's not the Alice, that she doesn't know how to open the chest or help, the Queen seems to lose it and through them in the dungeon and then the King pardons them and sends them on their way to find the key to come back to open the chest. They are also traveling with a companion, Sylvan, a rabbit, who was sent to get Celia to help save Wonderland.
As they travel through Wonderland, meeting others, solving puzzles and figuring things out for themselves about everything going on, the haunted monstrosity and themselves, they learn all sorts of things, have lots of fun and grow while having their adventure through Wonderland.
They learn how logic and imagination together make things better and how the two solve problems better together than apart or alone. They learn how to embrace and love themselves and who they are and to not discount themselves or their unique talents. They help others as they go on their quest to find the key to open the chest to save Wonderland and in helping others, help themselves.
This is a wonderful, whimsical, magical tale of a lovely Wonderland with great characters and a lot of good morals, lessons and things to learn and share for yourself, your kids, your family or whoever. I love these kinds of uplifting, feel good, fantastic, magical tales that you can simply enjoy or you can glean a lot of info, morals, and lessons from it as well.
Also, one of the things I enjoy looking at myself as well as with my kids or others is the reading guide they put in the back of these books that help you discuss things and further learn, research, enjoy and expound on the topics in the book as well.
Make sure you put this one on your list, preorder it and get ready for a new favorite awesome book! You don't want to miss this one!

As a fan of Lewis Carrol, curiosity drew me to this title. I recently read Alice in Wonderland with my high school daughter from a British literary standpoint, so it was fun to reenter the world of Wonderland with child like wonder. Scott Savage brings the world back to life in a fun and imaginative way. I loved all of his references to other great literature like A Wrinkle in Time, The Hobbit, and the Harry Potter books.

Two unlikely friends, Celia and Tyrus, stumble upon some lost diaries of Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carrol, and get transported to Wonderland, but things have changed. Just like the original Alice, this book is strange and can be dark at times. However, the light that shines through the beauty of Celia and Tyrus working together to save Wonderland surpasses it.

Scott Savage is a clever wordsmith and brings so much fun and whimsy to this tale. I can't wait to share it with my kids!

I received this book from Netgalley for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!