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hopestar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sarahsbooklife's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
At first, I enjoyed this story. Alyssa was an okay main character and I found her more interesting when they were in Wonderland and she kinda took charge of what was happening. But at times she felt like a "pick me girl" which was pretty annoying and I could really feel the 2000s/10s "I'm not like other girls" energy in this story. Her arc did kind of leave some of that behind as the story progressed, and I probably could have even enjoyed this story more because of that. But the thing that annoyed me the most was Jeb.
And the fact this story was drowning in YA tropes.
But first let's talk about Jeb.
Pretty much everything about Jeb annoyed me. I was really hoping that he
He was, I felt, belittling at times. Alyssa's obsession with him put me off him more, especially when they were flirting when he has a girlfriend. (I'm not going to keep going because I could end up ranting forever.)
There were so many things wrong with this book. Like how it talks about mental health and how the MC's mother is treated in a mental health hospital. Which was pretty horrid. The author definitely shoved a lot of misinformation in here, like having the Alyssa's mum in a straight jacket and placed in a padded cell. Something that hasn't been done since the mid-20th century except for in films and TV.
I did like that the author gave a lot of the beings in Wonderland a creepier description, making them seem a little more unsettling. But I felt like she could have taken it a step further. Made it really creepy and maybe a bit more horrifying.
Lastly Morpheus, Alyssa's childhood friend and second love interest, was probably the only reason I finished with this book. He was the only character that I thought was 100% interesting and I think he would've better as the main love interest instead of Jeb.
Honestly, I don't think that this book was worth the hours I spent reading it and I wish I could get them back and I won't be wasting anymore time on this series.
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent
mallorypen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
But oh my God … overall, this read like a 2007 Tumblr fanfic with a self-insert Mary Sue main character, who of course had two smokin’ hot guys (with mysterious and tortured personalities) fighting over her for the entire novel. The flat characterizations, the lurid purple descriptions, the wild overuse of similes … it was cringe at best and painful at worst.
Even with all of that, there was something about the story that kept me going. This wasn’t a DNF moment … but it certainly only got its two stars by the barest margin. And at least one of the stars came from the audiobook narrator, who did a phenomenal job with what she was given.
Moderate: Violence and Blood
booksarefriends_notfood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
ana24gs's review against another edition
2.0
First, the characters. Alyssa is fine, at the beginning I was on her side wanting her to achieve everything she set her mind to. Then we got to the second third of the book and I don't understand why the author decided that she was not going to make Alyssa smart, I don't understand the level of unconsciousness that girl has. First, every time it seemed that she had managed to solve something, one, everyone already knew the answer and they are waiting for Alyssa to figure it out, or two, someone else solves it just as easily as she does. When she discovered the biggest revelation in the book, she also did not discover it on her own. And the options of men she has are depressing. Jeb is a fool and if it weren't for him protecting her in Wonderland, I would say that he is one of the worst friends in existence. I don't understand his logic in dating the girl who bullies his best friend. And then there is Morpheus, abusive, manipulative, weird as hell, and just wtf with this man. The worst thing is that they want me to believe that he and Alyssa have a past when they barely show it to us and he always behaves in the ugliest way possible. Honestly, I wasn't liking Jeb and without meeting Morpheus I preferred him with Alyssa until I met Morpheus and said, "Jeb is looking really good now."
My bad experience with the characters was so awful that I couldn't focus on the main plot, it was confusing for me, I can say that I was so disconnected that when there was a highly relevant plot twist I could only react with a "lol, I didn't saw that coming".
The relationship between Alyssa and Jeb seemed very co-dependent to me, and I couldn't enjoy it because Jeb cheats on his girlfriend emotionally the entire book. And I honestly do not understand why he started dating her in the first place, his logic to do it made no sense. And the relationship Alyssa had with Morpheus is even worse, this man is much older than her, the worst thing is that he says "I have no age", EMMMM, is it a way of saying that you are definitely much older than her? And you have lived a lifetime harassing a little girl? I do not understand why it is so difficult for the authors to make a relationship where there is not such a worrying age difference.
I add that this book does not touch on topics as I would like, I do not know whether or not it is disrespectful towards people suffering from schizophrenia so I will not comment on that. But if I will comment on how Alyssa's virginity is unnecessarily repeated as if it were something vital to her character, virgin or non-virgin, no one should bother you, and you should not feel superior for being or not being one. Each one lives their sexuality as they please.
I liked the end of the book more than I expected, but I don't know if I would recommend it to anyone. Nor did I comment on the issue of how Wonderland was represented because I do not know about that.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Blood