As a reader obsessed with everything Alice, I had this one on my most anticipated list so I was glad to be able to snatch it up as an audio offering from my local library. It was a bit of a slow starter and I did actually contemplate setting it aside, but I'm glad I persisted. Once the games really got started, the plot took off in a hurry and got me very invested.

This is a clever, futuristic and fantastical retelling of Alice in Wonderland that combines elements of the original with moments and structures occasionally reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Harry Potter. There is a lot of introspection and underlying allegory/symbolism that I found intriguing. I did not realize going in that this is actually noted as Christian Fiction, but I will say that it is not heavy-handed in anyway and most readers likely won't feel like the religious themes are anything beyond what you would expect in any other fiction novel.

There are a lot of very clever references and I quite enjoyed the character development. The ending is a whopper of a cliffhanger and I am definitely needing to read the second novel soon.

Like its predecessor, this graphic novel is full of heavy and emotional reading with a lot of topics to consider. The presentation of this information in a graphic format is just as impactful as reading a traditionally published memoir or biography, but allows for the story to be more easily consumed and accessible to a wider berth of readers.

This story and others like it are important parts of history that should be presented in the educational system as a way to teach our children about humanity, including its occasional dark sides. It is important that we can see what happens when we fail to feel empathy and respect the differences between us so that we can develop the skills to live in harmony and learn from one another.

Banning this book seems so incredibly wrong and contrary to the point of literature. Along with Maus I, this graphic novel is one that I think should be considered for permanent use as a part of required secondary education. Teenagers are mature enough to understand the content and to use it to better understand the world. They are capable of seeing and comprehending what happens when societies fail to support one another. It is imperative that younger generations are able to learn from the mistakes of history and learn to respect and appreciate the differences in other cultures rather than center ideologies of hate.

An emotional read with a very interesting approach. Though I have read several accounts of WWII, including both fictional and nonfictional accounts of Holocaust survivors, this reads just as raw as a standard biography but with the ability to be accessible to an additional range of readers.

I admit that I am rather dumbfounded as to why this book is so frequently at the top of banned books lists. These types of stories are becoming more and more important to share and to learn about as the number of survivors remaining dwindles and the ability to obtain first-hand information of these events decreases. This is important historical information and it is imperative that younger generations are able to learn from the mistakes of history and learn to respect and appreciate the differences in other cultures rather than center ideologies of hate.

Rather than being banned, I think this graphic novel and its companion should actually be part of the required reading in American high schools. It is a relatively easy read in terms of comprehension difficulty and it has such a heavy impact. There is a lot present in these pages to unpack and discuss and the potential rewards to society by comprehending the suffering of others could be highly beneficial for all.