Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

One of the classics of children's literature, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is world-famous and has inspired a culture all of it's own. It's a fixture in the childhood of many Western children, myself included. 

I've read a fair few books this year that I enjoyed the film versions of as a child, but if I learnt one thing it is that the book is always different. At least I thought so until I read this book. Disney's animated version seems to sum it all up if I am perfectly honest. There are a few minor changes and additions to the story, but ultimately if you watch the film you really have read the book. 

Focusing just on the book itself, the pace felt very slow despite Alice's constantly changing predicament which I think is mostly due to the fact that I didn't understand what was going on. Although I can recall most of the plot I still didn't really 'get' it. I've heard before that Alice's Adventures has prose full of adult humour, that could potentially bore children. If this is true then I must have the mentality of a child because I was often bored. 

Carroll's nonsense poems also proved a sticking point for me as I could not understand what they were for. I like that the book encourages the imagination and demonstrates that sense and logic should not always be thought higher of than creativity. In this respect Carroll's novel is very much responding to it's time when Romanticism was for the most part over and science was beginning it's ascent to the pedestal. That being said, I like logic and the story lacked logic, at least in my opinion.

Another issue that I had was with Alice herself. I found her character to be bad-tempered and pretentious. She seemed to me to be argumentative and a little prissy. Dorothy at the end of her adventure in Oz had made many friends, but Alice really hadn't made any. It was very apparent that as a character she did not belong in that world and maybe that's also true for me. 

As a classic I can appreciate its merit and understand why it has stood the test of time. However, much like Peter Pan this just wasn't for me. Perhaps this is a children's book I really should have read as a child. However, I am glad that I read it and completed my goal of reading five children's books that had fantastical worlds and can now give away my copy for someone else to read.

Rating: ★★

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Peter Pan is the infamous story of the boy that never grew up and so naturally you would think that this book contained a jolly, childlike wonder to it wouldn’t you? If you did just as I did when I started this book then you would be wrong. In my opinion Peter Pan focuses on all the negatives of being a child.

The children are often subjected to ‘make-believe meals’ which even as I child I’m not sure that I would find the upside to. There is also the obligatory smattering of sexism with Wendy being the mother and a girl and therefore taking on all of the domestic chores, such as the mending and the sewing. Whereas the Lost Boys as boys are able to build a house for the Neverland family.

The narrative voice I found incredibly irritating and I was always left with the impression that I was only getting half the story. There is so much time taken to comment that ‘that’s a different story’ and ‘there was that time, but we don’t have time to talk about it now...’ instead of actually a good solid amount of adventure. Sadly, the story seemed to be lacking in adventure. There is of course the overarching adventure of the children flying from their home in London to Neverland, but once there it all seems quite domestic. I felt as though Barrie’s efforts might have been better spent focusing on the time in Neverland instead of the long introduction of the Darling family which I fail to see much purpose for.

Captain Hook is an incredibly interesting character and one that I would be interested to read more about. In fact a lot of the characters were fascinating such Smee, Tiger Lily, and all of the Lost Boys who had an abundance of personality. It was them that seemed much more fleshed out than the Darling family and even Peter himself. It's a shame that the secondary characters weren't made more use of as they really captured my attention in a way that the protaganists failed to do.

The characters that I was less interested in, like Peter Pan and Tinker Bell are often thought to be popular because they have been made quite popular by Disney. I grew up on Disney and I am always shocked by the differences between the Disneyfication of classic children’s stories and the originals. I always expect slight plot changes and tweaks in character and such, but it always the feel of the story that is the most significant difference for me. It was that that is most shocking for me when it comes to Peter Pan. I felt that I didn’t want to be a child if it meant being like Peter Pan. Being in Neverland almost felt more like an imprisonment than an adventure at the end. Wendy, John and Michael all forget about their previous lives and struggle to remember who their parents are. A blessing for some I'm sure, but not what I would have wanted as a child.

Barrie also includes the Darling parents in the narrative throughout the story and so as readers we can see the effect that Peter’s actions are having on them. As an adult I felt deeply for the parents whose children went missing and living in modern times the idea that Peter Pan had kidnapped these children didn’t sit well with me. Obviously this is very much me reading this book in a contemporary context and therefore it is unlikely that this is what Barrie intended and yet I still cannot view Peter Pan as a hero.  

I am discovering on my journey through children’s literature that books for children are often dark in some way and don’t tend to shy away from the harsher side of life. In Peter Pan the darkness comes not only from the pain and suffering that is portrayed in the Darling family, but also in the murder of Hook and his entire crew. Unlike in the Disney film Peter is actually responsible for the demise of his arch-nemesis.

I felt that the book failed to live up to it’s reputation and this may be one of those books that really needs to be read as a child for the meaning and magic to still be there. Sadly, I did not feel as though as an adult there was much that I could get from this book or in fact that it had much to teach me either as a child or as a grown-up.

Rating: ★★

Matilda by Roald Dahl

When I was growing up Matilda was one of my favourite films and I don't think that as a child I had any awareness that it was in fact a book. As I grew older this is something that I became very much aware of and am surprised that it has taken until now to read it!

As with so many of the children's books that I have read this year the film version has been very much in my mind and so the shock of the differences between the two are always the thing that I am confronted with first. I was pleasantly surprised to realise that this book is very much British and I was completely enchanted with the quaint English village setting of the novel.

Matilda was charming and endearing throughout the whole of the novel and appeared in the prose so much younger than the actor who portrayed her in the film, as of course she was. The thing that struck me most was that even though she was 4 years old she was still relatable! Driven by a passion for learning and incensed by injustice Matilda reminded me of myself or at the least the best version of myself. The talent is clear in Dahl's ability to make a twenty year age difference seem like barely nothing or perhaps it's that I'm still a child at heart.

As is expected in a Dahl novel the adult characters were mean and horrid and yet recognisable in adults that we remember from our own childhood. There is some dark content in the book after all Matilda is consistently emotionally abused by her family. Not to mention the physical abuse that we read was inflicted on Miss Honey as a child and indeed the children at the school where Miss Trunchbull is Headmistress. If those aren't dark enough themes Dahl even suggests that Trunchbull is a murderer! This one of the most important points of praise for Dahl in my opinion as he doesn't shy away from issues that really effect children or hide them from the children themselves. These are after all children's books are most definitely subject matter that should be presented to children in a though-provoking way.

Roald Dahl books are still popular among children today and this story just helped me to realise why. The long-lasting popularity had been earned in my opinion and despite there being a darker side to Roald Dahl, he is a master of entertaining children with his writing. 

Rating: ★★★★

Breathless: An Anthology Pre-order!

Cover real for the upcoming
erotic romance anthology.

Last night I found out that one of my favourite series was going to be continued in the form of a short story. Aleatha Romig's Consequences series is one that I absolutely love, although I have not yet finished it. I know that half the reason that I was putting it off was because I didn't want it to end, but now I know that I will find what happens beyond the end of the final novel I am more than excited to finally complete the third book.

I am not a huge fan of romance series continuing on beyond a trilogy and usually they could just stop at the first book, but this series is so much more than just another romance and Romig's writing is so addictive that I think that this series transcends the trilogy trend. There will be more of me sharing my love of this series in a future post.

I'm not familiar with the other authors in this anthology or what they have written, but I might look into a little more before the ebook lands on my Kindle app. Yes, my Kindle app! The only problem with this book is that I could only get it from Amazon! I loved this series so much that I broke my boycott for it and that is something that I'm just going to have to deal with.

Breathless: An Anthology is released on 1st September. 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum | Adventures in Oz #1

This is another of those children's books that I never read when I was a child. I suppose I thought that I had because I had watched the film a lot, but it seems that 'somewhere over the rainbow' isn't actually in the book. Though this is a pity as it is a brilliant song, I have to say that next to nothing disappointed me about this book.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz tells the story of Dorothy and her dog Toto who are caught up in a tornado one day in their home of Kansas and transported to the magical world of Oz. During their landing into Oz the house that they were travelling in accidentally lands on the Wicked Witch of the East and kills her, much to the relief of the inhabitants.

The first thing that I noticed about this novel were the differences in plot from the 1939 film. The witch of the North is in fact quite an old lady, not the glamourpuss of the '39 film and the ruby slippers are silver! After realising both those things I quickly got rid of the picture of Judy Garland in my head and began to picture Dorothy as she was in the book: a child.

This book was actually quite dark for what I had expected of a children's story including several instances of murder and cruelty. There was a giant spider, rabid wolves, killer bees and enslaved flying monkeys! I liked that Baum didn't shiy away from things such as this in his book and fully embraces them. The feeling of genuine danger makes for a quick pace and great atmosphere. As a reader you feel as though that you don't know what is going to happen next which exactly what is needed from a good adventure.

I think the overall moral of the story, that the power is within you to achieve what ever it is that you want, whether it be feeling as though you have brains, a heart etc, is within you at all times was both engaging and uplifting. It was a very empowering message and one that I thought was demonstrated enormously well.

The theme of 'home' is also something that was explored well in this novel. Of course Dorothy wants to get back Kansas, but she isn't the only one looking to get home. It seems that everyone is searching for a place to belong or are looking to reclaim the place that they once called home. The way in which all of Dorothy's party all ended up finding a place of their own was very organic and at times quite subtle so that it isn't until the end that you realise it has all worked out for the best.

This book is where my knowledge of the Land of Oz ends, but knowing that there are 12 canonical texts makes me so happy. Unfortunately I don't have the second story in my possession nor does my local library have it so I'm bumping that one up to the top of my wish list.

Rating: ★★★★

Next in series: The Marvellous Land of Oz

Sabrina the Teenage Witch by David Cody Weiss and Bobbi JG Weiss | Sabrina the Teenage Witch #1

I remember growing up watching the sit-com Sabrina the Teenage Witch and whiling a whole summer not too long ago re-watching it.  Not to mention that I completely adored the films. At the time I did't realise that there was an entire series of novels based on the show, but was lucky enough to discover this when a friend was clearing out some of her stuff.

So now I am the proud owner of about 15 Sabrina novels, none of them consecutive. I don't really mind this much as I have watched the whole of the show and am treating the books like bonus episodes from several different seasons.

This is the very first one in the series and a book that I was aware I wasn't going to love. As a novelisation of of the TV series and of course the original movie, the book could only be a retelling of a story I already new quite well.

One of the problems that I had with the book was that it was like watching an episode, in fact the first three, only in slow motion as events were taking place much slower because I was reading. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, but I think that I was very aware that this is in fact a novelisation and not an original story or material in it's own right. If I'm perfectly honest I found it to be a little boring.

Having said that, the tone of the TV show came across in the book as did all of the humour. All of the characters sounded and acted very much like their TV counterparts and stories flowed quite well from one to the other. I accept this book for what it is and look forward to reading some of the others in the future. 

Rating: ★★

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce | Retold Fairytales Series #1

The cover of the copy I read.

Once upon a time when they were children, sisters Scarlett and Rosie March's live changed forever when their grandmother is killed by the legendary Fenris. This changes the two sisters irrevocably and turns them both into werewolf hunters. 

One of the things that I absolutely loved about this book was Scarlett and her sense of responsibility. Being one of the few people to know about the Fenris she sees hunting wolves as her duty to mankind. I admired this a lot because although I know that this is in a fantastical setting, personal responsibly is something that I am a believer in and was thrilled to see portrayed in a young adult novel. Having said that, she does have her flaws and her fear of abandonment leads her to act in a less than noble way towards her sister and best friend. This does, however, show that she is human. It made for a more well-rounded, more relatable character and made me like her even more.   

It was also great to see a comment on the predatory nature of men in such a novel as well. I very much felt that the wolves were a metaphor for rapists who prey upon and destroy vulnerable, yet beautiful women in the pursuit of power. The Fenris are always male and their victims always young, attractive women and I feel that even if this was not a deliberate feminist comment being made by the author it does show that there is something within the female psyche that tells them they have something to fear in the dark. I especially like how the wolves' action are never justified, that they are never portrayed as sympathetic characters. We feel pity for the people that they used to be, but once they are changed, Pearce makes the distinction between good and evil very clear. The magic of transformation from human to wolf is never really explored in any way that gives answers, but I got the feeling that wasn't the 'point' of the story and I was somewhat satisfied with that.

The way in which the narrative was told is also something that I liked and loved that I got the perspective of both sisters. Rosie is very different from Scarlett and has a distinctly different voice which I felt Pearce did well. The thing that I admired most in this character was her love for her sister. The internal battle that we get to witness in Rosie between the love for her sister and the need for her to find herself even in a world with Fenris felt, despite the fantasy aspect, to be genuine. Rosie is only 16 and this book reminded me of the challenges of being who you are when you're that age. I was very happy with the compromise that was made at the end of the book. 

Now, there were some problems that I had with this book. The first thing and the most off-putting was the dialogue. I found it very uncomfortable to read. It felt as though Pearce was trying too hard to make it sound like something that you would read in a book and not enough like something that someone would really say. I thought that it would get less jarring as I read on, but it still proved to be a problem for me even at the end of the book. 

The new cover

One of the other problems that I had was the plot was the predictability of it. I guessed about three chapters in the big thing that would be revealed to the sisters later on in the novel. I felt as though Pearce was a little too obvious with the hints that she was including and I think that young adults will be smart enough to get it. The Fenris being on Silas' doorstep was the thing that told me the plot twist and the less than subtle comments about Silas being the sixth son just hit me in the face with it. I just felt as though they were not necessary as the uncle had been introduced quite naturally and that would have been enough to lay the foundations for the uncle-brother situation. 

Despite these issues I did still enjoy this book. I felt as though the fairytale was dealt with very well and I loved the way that it had been modernised. I would also like to comment on the cover change that has occurred recently and say that I really like the direction that they have gone in with them. I know there are 3 other books in this series and I look forward to picking up the next one. 

Rating: ★★★

Next in series: Sweetly