Alice in Wonderland High by Rachel Shane Review!

 

Sixteen-year-old Alice suppresses her need for rebellion after a petition to start a farmer’s market receives more snickers than signatures. That is until Whitney Lapin, a girl who speaks in cryptic riddles and spends her free time turning abandoned warehouses into beautiful gardens, leads her on a rabbit trail into the underground–aka secret society–of Wonderland High. Curiouser and curiouser.

Even though Whitney’s group of teenage environmental vigilantes operates on the wrong side of the law, Alice has never felt more free to be herself. Soon she stomps on her good girl image by completing a series of environmental pranks to impress them: flooding the school and disguising a pig as a baby in order to smuggle it out of a testing facility. But the group refuses to help with the farmer’s market or reveal their hidden agenda. She wants to trust them, and she especially wants to trust (or maybe kiss) Chester Katz, a boy with a killer smile, a penchant for disappearing, and a secret that will really turn Alice‘s world backwards. When one group member tries to frame Alice for all the pranks, she must figure out their secret before she ends up in front of a jury that’s screaming, “Off with her head!”

 Alice in Wonderland High had a very interesting start. It was enough to intrigue me into reading further and once I got to know Alice as character more I was interested to see what would happen in this book. Alice's story seemed heart breaking and it made me cheer for her. I had no idea what was going on at first just like Alice, and that was a great way to suck the reader into the story. As the story goes on I can practically feel Alice's frustration with Whitney and Chess's "secret club" and I was ready to know what it was. However, I think the buildup was good for the story. The mystery of what was happening in Whitney, Chess, and Kingston’s group is what drove me to keep reading. I wanted to know what was really going on because I was just as clueless as Alice when it came to them, and it was beyond frustrating not knowing what was going on. Finally, things start to become clearer and begin to make sense. Alice starts to understand what is really going on and that's when the story really sucks you in. One thing about this story that was a little frustrating is that it takes all kinds of turns and leaves you confused a lot of times, but I thinks that's how the reader is supposed to feel. I have to say this book really does capture the confusing nature of wonderland.

Aside from that, I liked reading through the book to try to figure out which characters resembled the classic wonderland characters. It added a bit of fun to the book for me. I really disliked Di and Dru right off the bat. They were the characters that I wanted to hit nine times out of ten.  However, I liked most of the other characters, especially Chess. He was both infuriating and hot. It's an interesting mix, but one that is pretty much irresistible. He and Alice just fit together. Plus, the chemistry between them was undeniable. Then we have Kingston. He is a character that you love to hate until the end of the book, and in the end, I really did end up loving him. Kingston adds character to the book that for sure. He stirs up the readers emotions and he also draws the reader in. Plus, he adds to the confusion of the story. He is probably the most unpredictable, unstable, and mysterious character that I have ever encountered. It goes without saying that Whitney was awesome too. That band of friends was a confusing and sometimes infuriating mess, but you can’t help but love them in the end.

Alice in Wonderland High didn't lack in crazy missions and huge risks. It was fun to see if Alice's crazy missions would get crazier. This book had me confused and questioning everything until the very end; it was a fun read. It threw me through all kinds of loops and when every mystery came to light I was in shock. I never saw that answer coming. This book had me hungry for answers that is for sure. It had an abundance of mystery, action, and a little romance sprinkled in. Alice in Wonderland High left me feeling happy and content. I highly recommend it to contemporary lovers, Alice in Wonderland fans, and those looking for a book that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end. I give it three out of five stars.