I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

From Wonderland, With Love by Jeffrey Westhoff is a third person-POV Middle Grade fantasy continuation of Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. At twelve years old, Alice is no longer popular among her peers for her stories in Wonderland and even her own sister told her to create new stories. The Queen and King of Hearts offer Alice a chance to become a spy for them in the looking glass land, giving her another new adventure.

As the title implies, this is just as much of a love letter to the James Bond franchise as it is to Carroll’s work. Several chapter titles also make reference to well-known spy films and the scene where Alice gets her gadgets for the mission is reminiscent of the scenes found in Bond movies. I think older readers who are fans of both Bond and grew up on classic children’s literature could have a good time reading it to their own children or reading on their own.

The prose reminded me a lot of what I remember of Carroll’s prose. The absurdity of the inhabitants of Wonderland and the looking glass realm are highlighted without feeling overly exaggerated and there are callbacks to the original works beyond the world and characters. Because Alice is twelve, she does feel a bit older, but that same curious nature and that Victorian pattern of speech is still present.

I would recommend this to fans of both 007 and Alice in Wonderland and young readers who are looking for a fantasy where someone their age gets to be a spy

I fell in love with the cover and liked this Alice inspired mix of fantasy and mystery. Well plotted and compelling
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Loved the premise but I had a hard time getting into this one. I think it will appeal to many readers, just didn't quite work for me. Retellings can be a hit or miss at times, and I never quite got the groove with this book.

I feel a little let down by this book. I absolutely love everything Alice In Wonderland inspired. However this book didn't hit all the spots for me. In my opinion I feel like this book was a very slow paced read. I feel like there was so areas that were a bit dragged out. The overall concept of the book had me very interested but it just feels like it didn't deliver for me. I loved the characters. If I had to pick my favorite characters they would have to be Alice, The White Knight and Aronnax. I have never been so emotionally attached to an animal character in a book but there was just something about Aronnax that I loved. He was so kind and protective of Alice and it was just so sweet. The White Knight is the same way he was so kind and protective over Alice. I think where the book got really good was towards the end. Thats's when the action really started to pick up for me. I feel like if there was more action towards the middle of the book I feel like I would have enjoyed this a little more than I did. I am excited to here that there will be another book. So I will definitely see my self wanting to read it. I didn't hate this book but it was just not the speed that I was hoping it would be.

It took a minute for this to get into its stride and it missed perfect moments to add that wonderland magic but once it hit its stride it found the perfect balance.
Alice is back in wonderland as she embarks on a whole knew adventure or spies and espionage and treachery
With the return of beloved characters and the introduction of new ones Alice visits wonderland and looking glass land trying to complete her mission
Alice is older in this one and apart from the very start is actually quite likeable (unlike the original, yes I said it)
I really enjoyed this book and it reads really easily and quickly

Plot
I enjoyed the plot, and the idea of bringing the world's and characters back with a slightly more adult theme of espionage. I did however find it a little boring around the middle part, when not a lot of movement or action was happening, but this soon rectified itself.

Characters
Loved them all, no notes here

Narrative
Very similar to the true Alice writing style (not that anyone can compare to the original but this would a blooming good effort).

I really did not like this one. It felt flat

I so wanted to love it because I have loved many retelling but this I just didn’t like .

A nice children’s book, though sometimes a bit … flat?

I usually try to be as objective with these as possible hence I know they are children’s books, but this one made it quite difficult hence there was something missing, which I cannot define.

Still, a good and fluent writing style!

Getting to go back to Wonderland and with all the new twists gave me all the joy. I am excited to get this to add to my classroom and know the children will adore it.

I love an Alice in Wonderland retelling or reimagining. And this was so wonderfully on brand. We were back with our beloved characters and their personalities not changed, however they and the world were expanded. I’m excited for the sequel.

“From Wonderland, With Love,” by Jeffrey Westhoff

This was a quirky Alice in Wonderland retelling that is perfect for small and young children. I think this is a great book for elementary and middle school aged kids. It was fast paced with tons of banter and mystery and the book isn’t very long. I would say that the book isn’t for older teenagers or adults but perfect for young kids. 4 out of 5 stars.

-Alice in Wonderland Retelling
-Children’s, Middle Grade, YA

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I'm really trying to limit the amount of books I have more than once on the shelves. However, I do still collect Alice in Wonderland editions and all possible retellings I can find. So, when I discovered this book on Netgalley I had to have a copy. I was insanely happy that Ringtale Publishing granted me a copy. And then the file wasn't working for me. I ended up buying a copy, I would have done that anyway, and started reading as soon as it arrived.

This book is everything a sequel to the famous Alice in Wonderland books should be. We're meeting a lot of familiar faces, we're visiting a lot of familiar places and once more we're confronted with the lack of logic in both Wonderland and Looking Glass land. I love how the author captured the tone and atmosphere of the original books. I would also say that the adventures in this book totally deserve illustrations, just like the original.

Although this book is a continuation of the original books, and I would strongly advise to read the original novels before diving into this one, the book does one thing that the original novels do not: Add a plot. Alice is not randomly running around trying to get home. Alice has a task and a goal. I would say she's still not very efficient when it gets to doing what she's supposed to do, but it would have been weird if it had been different.

I also love how insanely bonkers this book is. There is a lot going on, a lot of things don't make sense and there were so many moments I was laughing out loud. Characters were being their stupid selves, the famous T.A.R.T.S. might be the most insane weapon I've ever encountered and although it's a real challenge for your brain to keep up with everything and to understand every nuance, I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel! What's going on with our favorite Hatter?

Last time Alice was in Wonderland, she inadvertently allowed the Knave of Hearts to escape his trial for stealing tarts but when she is recalled there to help track him down, Alice finds out that he wasn't stealing delicious sweet pastries but a very powerful weapon called T.A.R.T.S (Totally Automatic Random Targeting System). This missile system could cause havoc in nearby Looking-Glass Land even perhaps provoking a war between the two countries, so Alice is sent in as a spy. What could go wrong?

I loved this, what a great book for middle grade readers. Original characters such as the Cheshire Cat & Caterpillar etc feature but it's not a retelling more an addition. It's a fairly short read for adults but plenty long enough for younger readers & the storyline moves along at a fast pace. It was a refreshing change from the darker fare I usually read. Recommended.

My thanks to Ringtale Publishing/Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This was so whimsical and nostalgic and very very alice in wonderland. The silly sayings and everything. I admit it's not what I thought it was going to be, I thought it was going to be a full retelling but based more modern and the spy storyline was parallel to the story in the original, I think that was my fault though for not fully comprehending the blurb. Very fun book though I'm happy I finally got round to reading it.
Thank you Net Galley and Jeffery Westhoff for this ARC <3




Quotes/annotations:
Stop that's so cute it's written the same was as Lewis carol with the brackets like further developing Alice's thoughts and feelings
"'Goodness' Alice said, 'This must be important business for then to sign their names in latin'
'It is extremely importand' the White rabbit said 'Didn't you read the part about 'utmost national security'?'" Please I forgot how nonsensey alice in wonderland was, love it
"'Do you mean the rabbits in your land are nudists?'"
All the code names and stuff being acronyms that corelate to the land there in is quite nice like C.A.R.D.S For wonderland bc it's the queen of hearts and everything and then C.H.E.S.S for looking glass bc the entirety of Alice thorugh the looking glass was a chess game with the Red(black) and white chess sets
Tweedledee and Tweedledum being villains
EVEN THE.CHAPTER HEADINGS VEING RELATED TO THE OG Alice's Gambit
AWW THE CHESHIRE CAT SPOKE TO HER CATS SO CUTE
"'What sort of assignment?'
'Its the hater' the Cheshire cat purred 'hes madder than ever'"

Just not for me in just find the writing to be a bit childish and immature. I pretty much DNF the book. It may not be for me but someone else might like it.

I’ve read a few retellings of Alice in wonderland and always enjoyed them, I really like the vibes of wonderland and the sillyness and word play. The author has done a great job of capturing the essence of wonderland and really wrote Alice very close to the original. My issue is that I actually found Alice a dislikable character so this was a negative for me. I also didn’t like how much nonsense was in the original so prefer toned down retellings. If you liked the original give this a try

Returning to Wonderland is always a favorite time for me. To return with a story that's written so well as a sequel, that's something new! Westhoff's writing is so well done that half of the time you're reading it seems that Lewis Carroll himself wrote this book.

The banter between characters is as random as ever. Alice has grown by a few years (she's 12 this time around), but the story sets off right back when she originally left Wonderland.

I loved returning to Wonderland with a brand new adventure and can't wait for the next installment in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the e-arc.

This was a quick read and was very good. I was immediately immersed into the story and it felt new not really a retelling. If you are a fan of Alice in wonderland I would give it a go. It's a nice pallet cleanser.

4.5 stars for this Wonderland-ful book! Alice has grown up a bit since her last adventure down the rabbit hole. Fans of Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass will love being reintroduced to the characters they know and love, as Alice goes in search of the secret weapon: T.A.R.T.S. Humorous, quirky, adventurous, and overall a good read, you will love adding this to your children’s reading collection.

I enjoyed this cute retelling of Alice in Wonderland! I was older than the intended audience, but I still enjoyed the imaginative storytelling. The secret agent plot mixed with the familiar characters was fun mix of mystery and nostalgia. The book als0 reminded me of the SPYKIDS movies from my childhood and it was a fun walk down memory lane.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ringtale Publishing for the eARC of this book!