"She could see in the underside of the glass tabletop a reflection of the impossible wonderland, a looking-glass simulacrum that could entice without either endangering or offering reward."

I enjoy reading fairytale and classic renditions of my favorite stories, including Alice in Wonderland. I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway and it turned out to be nothing like I expected. I read "Wicked" by the same author and found his diction to be polished and intricate. Gregory Maguire comes up with the most fantastical, clever ideas for stories, yet the plots seem to be more complex than the original stories that they're based off of. I'd have to reread passages multiple times over just to make sure that I was following along with the story. With reading "After Alice," I found myself doing much of the same thing. However, I found "After Alice" to be more captivating than "Wicked."

As an ardent Wonderland fan, the numerous references included from Lewis Carroll's original "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" just made the book. Some of my favorite characters are in "Looking Glass," so when that story was referenced, it convinced me that the author really had done his homework. The White Queen, the Lion, Unicorn, and the Sheep that knits are characters that I love almost more so than the Mad Hatter and Alice herself. Not to diss the Disney adaptations of the Alice stories, but there were many details left out about Alice's adventures, especially when it came to the plot of "Looking Glass." Personally I find the Disney versions entertaining, but it was nice that "After Alice" wasn't a copy of the Disney films. This book stands out on its own.

Like "Wicked," the plot of this book gradually builds up to the climax. The story started off almost too slow for me to continue with it, but now I'm glad that I did. The court room scene in the last fifty pages was worth it. Let me just say, that wow, the addition of the jabberwocky was too cool. I've always found the Queen of Hearts annoying and a waste of time to be honest. I think that the Jabberwocky is the true villain in Wonderland. The dark poem about it is enough to freak anyone out (I had to memorize the poem for school at one point, which was amazing)! In "After Alice," when the White Rabbit says ominously "Beware the Jabberwock, my son!" the lines of the poem came rushing back into my head. It felt like Maguire was reminding the reader that we've been taught to imagine the Jabberwocky as a terrifying creature. Then he goes and defies expectations by making the Jabberwocky totally unexpected. How Ada used this transformation to her advantage and was able to make a break for it made me want to give her a pat on the back. Sure, Wonderland is quintessentially Alice's domain, but Ada seems to make her mark in this book.

Speaking of the character of Ada, she does remind me of Alice. In the first hundred pages she seemed like her twin. Till Ada fell down the rabbit hole, she was described as "underfoot and making of herself a nuisance." That's when everything changed in how I viewed her character. It was a welcome change to have someone visit Wonderland who wasn't mad or insanely curious. Ada's logical mind was a refreshing addition to the story. Ada has more spunk, like when she says "Alice is a flaming eejit." I think as readers we're so used to being guided through Wonderland by a curious and naïve airhead, so to have the question answered of what would happen if a rational person fell down the rabbit hole was an interesting take on the classic story.

A few other references I enjoyed: Lydia reading "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (my favorite Shakespeare play; as soon as Lydia dismissed the story, I found her to be a teenager filled with angst), Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby is my favorite book and Gatsby is one of my all-time favorite characters in literature), and Captain Jas. Hook (Peter Pan is my favorite play).

What I found to be the most fascinating aspect of "After Alice" was the point of view the story was told in. Instead of seeing Wonderland from the perspective of the legendary daydreamer, the reader follows Alice's journey in the background. The reader follows the journeys of each of the characters, in England and Wonderland. In Wonderland, the reader follows almost all of Alice's original experiences, while being exposed to new characters and locations with Ada. She's Alice's shadow, and the effect this had on the story is difficult to describe, but it's mesmerizing. After I finished this book, it left me with a similar feeling I had after reading "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" for the first time. I was sad to leave Wonderland and go back to reality, but overjoyed at the same time for having visited there.