"I'm Alice!" she cried. "Always and forever Alice!"

I'll preface this by saying that, as much as I love Disney, I'm not an Alice in Wonderland fan. Maybe it's the less than iconic soundtrack, maybe it's because I'm a 90's Disney fan who doesn't care too much for the classics, maybe it's the fact that I only ever saw the movie whenever I was at the dentist. Whatever the reason, it just doesn't big up fond feelings of nostalgia, and the only childhood memories I associate with the movie are of getting cavities filled.

Even reading the classic was more of a self-assigned duty that I slogged through instead of an entertaining read.

Anyway, the point of this very long intro is that if anyone was primed to hate this book, it'd be yours truly. And for a bit, I thought I'd regret requesting this. There's some uneven pacing in early on, and the story tends drag on for a while. Also, it took a while for my Serena Valentino prejudice to go away. But once the story picked up I was right there next to Alice falling down that rabbit hole.

It's just such a smart book. From what little I know about the Twisted Tales collection, it seems to be a kind of "what if..." reimagining of the Disney classics. Braswell doesn't attempt to retell either Disney or Carroll's stories though; instead, she brings grown-up Alice back to Wonderland. The move might offend some of the purists out there, but because I'm not a fan of the original, I personally loved it.

The story is just so well-written. I have like ten quotes that I wanted to open this review with but refrained because spoilers. But seriously, I was mentally freaking out by the end because Braswell just creates so many little clever moments and I'm such a sucker for clever things.

Part of the magic of this book is that Braswell captures the utter of Nonsense of Wonderland so perfectly. I'm not a huge fan of puns but love some good wordplay, something that’s found in spades here. Braswell manages to not only recreate Carroll's style but also his illogical Wonderland. She paints the world and its topsy-turvy logic so vividly. It’s creative and clever and fun. Seriously, I'm starting to understand the magic and appeal of the Wonderland now.

Because most of the heavy lifting in terms of world building has already been done, Braswell is able to focus more on the plot. It's been years since I've seen the movie--and I'm not even sure if I've ever seen it all in one sitting--but I feel like the original story is basically Alice falls down a hole, meets a bunch of random weirdos and embarks on a psychedelic adventure. Not the most compelling of stories. In Unbirthday, there's a clear conflict and story arc. It's darker and hits a little closer to home. Don't get me wrong, Wonderland is still a crazy and fantastical place, but the fact that part of the story takes place in England also helps ground the story. The plot helps guide the narrative, and “real life" is such a great foil for the Madness of Wonderland. Braswell does throw in some (not so thinly veiled) social commentary into the narrative, but aren't all good books supposed to spark discussion?

The love story was cute but not super necessary in my opinion. Thankfully it was fairly minor and didn't detract from the overall story.

This was such an adventure, I'm almost convinced I should give Alice in Wonderland another chance, but really, I think I'm just going to see what Liz Braswell book I can get my hands on next. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna try to climb through my mirror to see if I can find Wonderland.

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

I am a huge fan of The Twisted Tale series and I have been waiting for Liz Braswell to do Alice in Wonderland and she did not disappoint in this one. I loved how she took the modern approach and made Alice 18 years old and how she was "exploring" her possibilities for the future and then unexpectedly, the Cheshire cat, mad hatter, the queen of hearts and the rest of the Wonderland characters and even a new person named Mary Ann invade her real life as a cry for help for Alice to finally return to Wonderland and dethrone the Queen of Hearts once and for all but she might be very late for an important date. I was smiling from ear to ear throughout the entire book and did not want to put it down.

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

Absolutely phenomenal! I had such a wonderful time reading this original take on the Alice in Wonderland story! The story picks up at the moment when Alice is 18 years old and trying hard to remember Wonderland, when she suddenly starts developing some of her photos of people in her life only to see people from Wonderland in the photos asking for Alice to come help them. Throughout the story Alice is struggling to remember how Wonderland once was and who she was in it and adjusting to her life in reality. The citizens of Wonderland are under attack from the Queen of Hearts who is just straight up murdering and imprisoning people all to bring about the END of Wonderland, Alice is trying to find her place in Wonderland and in Angleland (Her Reality world) all the while we get to interact with some of our favorite characters such as Cheshire (wink wink), Hatter, Dodo, and so on. There is adventure, madness, and above all a round house of a splendid time. I absolutely loved this story and take on Alice so much. It was fresh and fun, with a splash of morbidity and romance!
* Thank you Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This is the most amazing nonsensical madness that I've ever read.

Unbirthday is a continuation of the beloved Alice in Wonderland film that we all know and adore but with a much darker twist. Alice is now an eighteen year old young lady of proper English society and has almost all but forgotten about her somewhat disastrous trip to Wonderland from her youth. Until one day she comes face to face with her friends from Wonderland again through her photography. Many of her old friends are showing up in her pictures asking her to return to Wonderland and save them all. It turns out the Queen of Hearts has let loose her murderous tendencies across Wonderland and Alice is the only person who can stop her.

Liz Braswell does an incredible job of mimicking Lewis Carroll's confusing writing style. During the parts of the novel where Alice is actually in Wonderland, the writing style changes to that whimsical and nonsensical style of writing that is very familiar to anyone who has read the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland book. It really felt like I was reading the same book but with a darker and more grim atmosphere. This book also heavily draws from Through the Looking Glass which I loved to see. It was so much fun to see things that I recognized from the original book. When Alice was not in Wonderland the writing style changed to a normal, more understandable one. A reader can easily get lost but that is the fun of this book! Wonderland is not supposed to make any sense. There is no logic to that world so it makes perfect sense for this book to take those same liberties. I really loved how the writing matched the setting Alice was in. Such genius writing!

We get some interesting new characters in this book, both in Wonderland and in Angleland, but one in particular was my favorite. One Mr. Abraham Joseph Katz esquire, a somewhat odd lawyer. Being a law student I absolutely loved seeing a character who was a lawyer but also a bit mysterious. He would make jokes about how serious lawyers were but he had a sense of humor and an odd air about him that just really spoke to me. For those who aren't aware law school quite literally sucks out your soul and every fun bone in your body. So it was really meaningful to me to see a lawyer character be, dare I say it, a little...mad. Anyways, Katz is a very helpful source when Alice needs it, which is quite often since it IS Alice, so he pops up a decent amount throughout the book.

Alice is very similar to how she was in the movie but she is older. She still acts somewhat childish while in Wonderland but I think dealing with all that nonsense gives her a pass. It was really funny to see her talk about how rude she was during her first trip because that is a thought I often had watching the movie as well. Seeing her traverse her own world as well was really interesting. Alice is certainly an odd one out amongst English society but she doesn't stand out as much as you would think. She merely has more imagination than others and has colorful ways of fending off unwanted gentleman suitors (iconic).

This book is also surprisingly political! It deals with topics such as the Jewish people immigrating to England and how a certain political party does not want foreigners on English soil. So not unlike the current political climate. When Alice wasn't saving Wonderland she had to deal with these issues and it was really nice to see the book go from nonsense to more serious topics. It was all balanced really well.

I really loved this book. I definitely recommend it to everyone, not just Disney fans. This book was just so much fun, madness and all. It really reminded me that not everything in life has to be so serious all the time. A little bit of nonsense doesn't hurt.

would highly recommend them to anyone who loves fairy tales. I started this book knowing my hatred of Alice in Wonderland runs deep. It is the one fairy tale I have tried (and failed) to love. Liz Braswell's writing is still magnificent in this book. I really felt like I was in Wonderland and I empathized with many characters throughout the story. I found grown-up Alice to be incredibly likable, something I didn't feel in the original story. However, if you don't love Wonderland, you may want to skip this one. I couldn't get over my own bias against the setting of the story. I look forward to another book in the series, especially if it is anywhere but Wonderland!

I absolutely live and breathe for these stories. This author is killing it with all these twisted tales. This one especially as Alice in wonderland is one of my favourites, I think everyone will enjoy this story Disney fan or not

I really love twisted tales (despite being a 32 year old woman!), and Liz Braswell writes the best ones. In this text, we meet a grown up Alice who has to try to save wonderland (and perhaps try to save a sliver of herself too?). This book also has a slight political edge to it- perhaps some modern day commentary- that I thoroughly enjoyed. Who doesn't like a feminist Alice?! Thanks to Disney-Hyperion and netgalley for providing me with this ARC!

I am a huge Disney fan and have seen every Disney/Pixar movie so I was extremely excited to get this advance copy. I thought it was super cute and loved the different perspective on Alice in Wonderland. And the cover is absolutely beautiful. I am now interested in reading the others in the Twisted Tales collections.

It has been eleven years since Alice first visited Wonderland. She is now 18 years old and dealing with her sister who wants to fix her up with suitors. But Alice can't quite forget Wonderland, even though it has been a long time since her last visit. When she starts receiving messages from memorable Wonderland characters, she knows that she must find a way back.

I love twisted tales and this one does not disappoint. 11 years after Alice originally "dreams" of Wonderland, she finds a way back in and is tasked with saving the world. She starts seeing similarities between Wonderland and England. Does her world need saving too?
I love how Alice is portrayed in this retelling. Often, she's shown as quite literally being mad. This Alice is a forward thinking feminist up for speaking her mind.
Thanks to #netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read an arc of #unbirthday

This is everything you could ask for in an Alice adventure; Braswell stays true to Carroll’s writing style while adding her own spins alongside of nods to the original tales and Disney retellings.

A feminist Alice fights xenophobia and oppressive men in the real world while tackling tyranny in Wonderland; what isn’t to love? You will revisit the beloved cast while delighting in the reimagined eighteen year old Alice and the ways in which her years have shifted her perspective.

Did I mention a wonderful love interest?

I can’t wait to add a copy to my personal collection, as well as my classroom library. Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC! A very merry Unbirthday indeed.