April 2025 TBR

 

Books You Would Be a Fool Not to Read if you love Wonderland Retellings

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Books You Would be a Fool Not to Read if you love Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Retellings

 Happy April Fool’s Day everyone. For the topic this week, I decided to pick Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland retellings that I love or enjoy. I thought it would fit perfectly in with the theme and I’m always looking for an opportunity to recommend these wonderful books. Wonderland will always be a world I love to fall back into, whether that be through Lewis Carroll’s own words or the interesting ideas people have come up with to twist his story. 

1. The Insanity Series by Cameron Jace- I read the first Insanity book almost ten years ago and I have loved this series ever since. It is a very dark retelling of Wonderland with murder, an asylum, and so many twists and turns in the story. I love how Cameron takes this series, especially how he uses the characters and Lewis Carroll himself. Such a clever take on a world I love with all my heart. I highly recommend it if you like creepy stories. 

2. The Lost Wonderland Diaries Series by J. Scott Savage- Savage is one of the best at creating a voice that feels reminiscent of Carroll’s original style, but also being unique while doing so. He has created new characters that feel like they were pulled off the pages of the original novel. I love the way he uses wordplay and riddles throughout both books. These are creative books which I highly recommend to anyone who loves Wonderland. 

 

3. Heartless by Marissa Meyer- The first Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland retelling I ever read and it is still one of my top favorites. This, unlike the others, is an origin story for the Queen of Hearts. It shows how she becomes evil and the character we know from the original story. It has been a long time since I have read this book, but I still vividly remember so much of it. I’m definitely due for a reread of this one soon. 

4. The Taking Wonderland Series by Martin Baynton- This is an ongoing trilogy. The second book came out this year and was even better than the first. It is another dark take on the world of Wonderland, but not as much as the Insanity series. The heart of this story is a mystery and I loved how Baynton played with that throughout both books, especially the second. This also has an interesting take on the world and characters. My favorites are definitely the Hatter and the Queen. This plays with the real life Alice’s genealogy in such surprising ways. I cannot wait to read the final book next year. 

5. Darcy in Wonderland by Alexa Adams- I found this book much more recently than most of the others on the list and it is definitely one of my favorites. This one is perfect for both fans of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Pride & Prejudice. The story is about 20-some years after the events of Pride & Prejudice, Elizabeth and Darcy have six children and the youngest of them is the imaginative Alice. We follow Darcy and Alice into Wonderland. It is such a joy to see how Darcy reacts to the nonsensical events there and all of the “mad” characters. I cannot recommend this one enough. 

6. Splintered series by A.G. Howard- A series I have not read in years but I remember enjoying it a lot when I did. Another book dealing with a mental hospital and Alice’s family line. I enjoy the retellings that take this story in surprising directions along with making it darker. Wonderland is a world that can easily be twisted in so many different ways. 

7. Unbirthday by Liz Braswell- Disney has an ongoing series called Twisted Tales where young adult authors take Disney’s famous movies and write a book based on a question. For Unbirthday, the question was: What if Wonderland was in peril and Alice was very, very late? This is one of the most interesting retellings on this list because it not only is retelling the original book but also the Disney movie. It also ties the story in with Lewis Carroll in so many interesting ways. The games throughout felt similar to Through the Looking Glass. 

8. The Wonderland Trials (Book 1 of The Curious Realities) by Sara Ella- I have only read the first book in this series, which was very good and I will be reading the sequel this year. It is a dystopian take on the world of Wonderland with a game called The Wonderland Trials, where people have to figure out clues to get through each trial. My favorite part of this series is the relationship between Alice and her sister Charolette. 

9. Wonderland: Alice in Poetry by Michaela Morgan- A collection of poetry that has all of the poems from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass with poems inspired by each of them. I enjoy reading the various poets inspired poems along with Carroll’s. Also, Sir John Tenniel illustrations will always bring me joy. 

10. Afia in the Land of Wonders by Mia Araujo- Another more recent addition to this list, with it not coming out until April 15th, 2025. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book from Edeweiss and it is absolutely beautiful. I like the world Mia Araujo created in this book and how she has twisted the elements from the original is so many clever ways. Also, this has absolutely incredible artwork created by the author. Stunning!