Unbirthday

by Liz Braswell

Hvad nu, hvis Eventyrland var i fare, og Alice var meget, meget forsinket?

Alice er ikke som andre attenårige i Kexford, hvilket passer hende helt fint. Hun tilbringer hellere eftermiddagene med sit trofaste kamera eller i sin tante Vivians livlige salon, mens hun ignorerer sin søsters ønsker om, at hun skal opgive al den 'nonsens' og blive et 'respektabelt' medlem af samfundet. Men da Alice fremkalder de fotografier, hun for nylig har taget rundtomkring i byen, dukker velkendte ansigter fra gamle dage pludselig op i stedet for de egentlige motiver – Hjerter Dame, Den Gale Hattemager, Kålormen. Der er noget uhyggeligt ved dem, selv for væsener fra Eventyrland at være. Og da Alice fremkalder et selvportræt, finder hun det mest foruroligende billede af alle – en såret mørkhåret pige, der beder om Alices hjælp: Mary Ann.

Ved at vende tilbage til barndommens nonsensverden er Alice pludselig på en mission for at stoppe Hjerter Dames tyranniske styre og finde sin plads i begge verdener. Men vil hun være i stand til det ... før Tidens ende?



11 timer, 40 minutter

Genres: Fantasy, Retellings, Young Adult, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Romance, Audiobook

512 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2020

About the author

After the sort of introverted childhood you would expect from a writer, Liz earned a degree in Egyptology at Brown University and then promptly spent the next ten years producing video games. Finally she caved into fate and wrote Snow and Rx under the name Tracy Lynn, followed by The Nine Lives of Chloe King series under her real name, because by then the assassins hunting her were all dead. She also has short stories in Geektastic and Who Done It and a new series of reimagined fairy tales coming out, starting with A Whole New World—a retelling of Aladdin.
She lives in Brooklyn with a husband, two children, a cat, a part-time dog, three fish and five coffee trees she insists will start producing beans any day. You can email her at me@lizbraswell.com.

Reviews

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland)]

It feels like it's been a very long time since I've read a retelling, so it felt appropriate to start with an Alice in Wonderland one that I've been so excited about. Now bear in mind, I obviously have a fond love for Alice in Wonderland, so the fact that I really loved this may stem from that, or you could also see it as being a success since my expectations were obviously really high going in. But honestly, this was everything I wanted it to be. While my expectations were high, I was also super super nervous about being let down. But this captured all the whimsy and charm of the original Disney adaptation of Wonderland, but also added some more. I loved that you got to see an older Alice. She did read as younger than 18 but, I think that's just the nature of who she is. She's always inquisitive and imaginative and has a lovely childlike quality that I enjoy her bringing into adulthood. I thought her views on the world seemed fitting for the Alice I know. You got to see more of the real world here and that was such a cool added touch. I loved the addition of photography, it was clever and really timely. I wasn't expecting the discussions about prejudice against immigrants but it was a really nice addition. I was easily able to picture all of the Wonderlandian characters that I know and love as their characterization seemed on par with what I knew. It was like coming home reading this honestly, the nostalgia and nonsense just made me smile the whole time I was reading. My one thing is that I did find the pacing to be very slow. For the first 300 or so pages I didn't mind it so much, but around that point it did start to drag a bit. But overall I'm so glad this didn't disappoint, and now I have to go watch the original Disney Alice in Wonderland for the millionth time!

[megs_bookrack · Rating 3 out of 5]

**3.5-stars**

My current ratings for the Twisted Tales series:

1. What Once Was Mine (Tangled): 4.5-stars rounded up
2. Reflection (Mulan): 4-stars
3. Go the Distance (Hercules): 3.5-stars rounded up
4. As Old As Time (Beauty & the Beast): 3.5-stars rounded up
5. Straight On Til Morning (Peter Pan): 3.5-stars rounded up
6. Mirror, Mirror (Snow White): 3.5-stars rounded up
7. Unbirthday (Alice): 3.5-stars
8. Conceal, Don't Feel (Frozen): 3.5-stars
9. A Whole New World (Aladdin): 3-stars
10. Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid): 2-stars




We all know the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but have you ever wondered what happened after?

In this installment of Disney's popular Twisted Tales series, Liz Braswell examines just that.



Now 18-years old, it has been many years since Alice's last trip to Wonderland. In fact, it has been so long that her memories are starting to fade.

There are times when she wonders if it was even real, or just the vivid imaginings of a lonely, little girl.



Living with her parents and her slightly overbearing sister, Alice's favorite past-time now is photography.

She has a wonderful camera and wanders all over, taking candid shots of various people and places.



When characters she met in Wonderland start magically appearing in the photos she develops, Alice can't help but feel they are trying to get a message to her.

After increasingly more images pop up, it's clear, they need her help. Wonderland is in trouble and Alice is the only one who can save them.



Finding her way back to Wonderland is tricky, but she eventually succeeds and is able to reunite with old friends.

It appears the Queen of Hearts is more out of control than ever, continuing her reign of terror and executing Wonderland's citizens seemingly for her own pleasure.



Young Alice may have been afraid, but as an 18-year old, Alice is stronger and more willful than ever, does she have what it takes to defeat the Queen once and for all?

You'll have to pick it up to find out!



This novel is definitely an interesting one. It felt very different than the other books in the series; heavier in a way.

It follows Alice after her time in Wonderland, so there is no twist per se, to the original tale. It's more of a follow-up, in my opinion.



A large chunk of the story follows Alice in our world with her interactions with her sister, parents and potential suitors.

There is also a large political element, as Alice's sister is involved in local politics and tries to drag Alice along even if she is not as interested, or has conflicting opinions.

There was quite a bit of social commentary on nationalism and discrimination against minority groups and immigrant populations.



These are definitely important topics to explore in literature, but I must admit I was surprised to see it here in such depth.

I have read six other books in this series and this is the only one that I can recall having that type of narrative element. Normally, I am all for incorporating such discussions, but part of me feels like it was out of place in this story. It sort of made it feel disjointed for me.



The reason I say this is that when picking this up, I was expecting a magical jaunt through a nonsense world, spending time with some characters I know and love.

While I did get that, the story switched back and forth between the adventure in Wonderland to a very serious, more modern world, where the pace was slowed down quite precipitously. It made the book seem like it was too long.



With this small critique out of the way, overall, I did enjoy Unbirthday. It was nice to be back with Alice and the whole gang.

If you are a fan of Alice in Wonderland, you should definitely pick this up and give it a shot!



Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

I absolutely adore this series and will continue to pick them up for as long as they are released!

[Tucker Almengor]

OMG ALICE HAS JOINED THE TWISTED TALEEEESSSSSSSSSSS



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[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One would think that at my age I would have had enough of fairy tales or classics such as Alice in Wonderland but each time I see a new book tackling an old tale like this I get all excited inside. Unbirthday by Liz Braswell is a new take on the Alice in Wonderland saga in which Alice is now *gasp* grown but that doesn’t stop Wonderland from needing her to cross back over and save the day.

Unbirthday is actually the tenth book in Liz Braswell’s Twisted Tales series in which each book takes on an old classic. With each book of the series being a new version of a different classic story there isn’t a need to read in order as they all can read fine as a standalone or enjoyed in any order one chooses.

Going into this I was hesitant as usual thinking is this going to be different or the same old story I’ve read many times before or would it be so totally different that one wouldn’t be able to recognize the original. Once getting into it though it actually grabbed my attention and I began to enjoy this new version of Alice after she has aged. The time spent in Wonderland was just and wacky and wonderous which held the feel of the original while giving it a new twist. Definitely felt this was a fun book and will definitely put any others from this author onto my TBR.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/

[Amy Imogene Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really fun read! This is tailored for Alice in Wonderland fans looking for a fresh twist. But to be honest... kind of long.

Adding/adapting the original story: ★★★★
Pacing: ★★ 1/2
Plot: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★ 1/2

Unbirthday is another installment in Disney's "Twisted Tales" series, but they're all standalones so I just decided to start with this one because... Alice in Wonderland. Duh. Portal fantasies are my JAM.

In this "twisted" version, Alice is 18 years old. She's still the same Alice we know and love from all the renditions, but in this tale she's also got something special: a camera.

To the girl who's always seen things a little... askew... it's the perfect way to show her perspective to the world. She takes pictures of everything—the people in her life, her neighbors, her family, things in her town.

But one day, Alice develops a set of neighborhood pictures and can't believe her eyes: the characters from Wonderland are staring back at her. And they look awful.

The Mad Hatter looks depressed and beaten. The Red Queen looks like she's taken several steps closer to the dark side. The caterpillar is holding up little signs with his individual feet that read "Help Us." And Alice herself looks like she's being held for ransom and holding up a card that says: "Happy Unbirthday."

It's time for Alice to find her way back to Wonderland... before it's too late.

What a fun ride! This splits its time between Alice revisiting the world of Wonderland and her navigating the interesting complexities of her Victorian life. I'd say it's the perfect novel for anyone who's a fan of Alice and the whole Wonderland crew. I really enjoyed it and appreciated the nods to the original.

However, I will say that this novel struggled with its pacing. For a 500 page book, it really feels like it. I think a LOT of time was spent on developing side characters, side plots, and relevant social commentary. While all of those things are great individually, as a whole they made the core plot dragggg on. It didn't stop me from having a good time, but wow did it make it harder to read it in large chunks as I just got... tired of pushing on. Definitely a book to read in smaller doses.

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[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning was decent, the middle was boring, and I didn’t care for the ending. I also didn’t like Alice as a character, and I didn’t think the parallels between Wonderland and London were very well done. It was also way too long at over 500 pages which made the book repetitive at times. And for being the villain, the Queen of Hearts is barely in the story.

[Sheena]

Unbirthday is my first venture into the Twisted Tales series and if the rest of the books are anything like this, I will have to pass on them. I love Alice in Wonderland so my expectations were pretty high, plus there’s a lot of hype around these series. I did like that Alice is 18 but she might as well have been 12 because I felt like I was reading about a child. I also liked the dark and twisted elements as well as the weird aspects of Wonderland. That's why I kept reading it but I had to skim if I'm being completely honest. The book did not need to be over 500 pages.. It starts slow and continues to be that way through it all. Braswell can write but there's just far too much description with a lack of dialogue and that drove me a bit crazy.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and to Disney-Hyperion Publishing for the advanced copy (even though I read this after the release date).

[Elena Salvatore · Rating 3 out of 5]

• Beautiful Book Cover ☑
• Intriguing Plot ☑
• An Alice in Wonderland retelling ☑☑☑
• A dark Alice in Wonderland retelling ☑


So why did I give it only 2 stars?
The short answer, the book was a pain to go through.
The more lengthy answer, I thought about giving up on this book alot more than I should've.

This book is more than 500 pages long and the pacing was really, really slow. I do think that the author did a good job including the nonsense from the original work, but at times it became too much and got too confusing. The story in Wonderland was hard to follow at times and the book was relying alot on the characters of Wonderland to make it interesting.







Then we have the plot of the book.... I still can't point my finger to what exactly made the Queen of Harts go insane and slaughter all her people. I mean sure... she always was a bit mad, but to go to these extrems just to win "the game", was totally out of the blue.





But mostly, the main reason why I didn't really like this book was because It was too political.

We spend most of the book in England, around the time where alot of immigrants from all around the world arrived at it and tried to make England their home. Most of the English people were zenophobic and wanted them gone, to a point where they did some pretty unforgivable stuff.
We see the two different sides of the political spectrum, the ones that use this hatred to their favor and the other ones that want to change things.

Alice is facing a corrupt government on both the real World and Wonderland.
In England, her sister sides with the Conservatives and wants Alice to become a proper part of society, while Alice makes her distaste for them very clear.
In Wonderland, she is facing the Queen of Hearts who uses her power to slaughter people, destroy their homes and take their properties.
In both Worlds Alice tries to take down the corrupt government, any way she can.
And that's the plot of the book. It's entire story arc. Not Wonderland. Not the characters. Not even Alice. No.... it's the political message the author tried to send with this book, using a World and characters we know and love.
* (P.S. I don't say that it's a wrong message to send, just that that wasn't what I signed up for.)

[Cass (all too tired) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ Page 74
1.5 stars

I loved or at least liked all of the "Twisted Tale" books that have come out. They were all exciting and basically fanfiction and that's why I liked them. Professional authors writing fanfiction about the Disney princesses that I love, what could be better?

Well, this book failed me.


Postitive Parts:
There's a cute love interest (I think, I haven't gotten far enough to see if they are actually an endgame)
That's it. Thanks for coming to my TED talk, see you--wait. There's the really bad parts.

Negative Parts:
First of all, this is marketed wrong. It's not an Alice in Wonderland retelling, it's kind of a Through the Looking Glass retelling, I think. This book takes place after the events of Alice in Wonderland, and Alice is like 18 or something. I have stuff to gripe about her age, but marketing first. I have never read either of the books, but I know the general story and Through the Looking Glass is when the Queen of Hearts took over Wonderland, right? *sighs*

Her age. The story says she's 18 (I think) in nineteenth century London. One, she goes around without a chaperone, she wouldn't be able to go around like that. She needs another person with her so "she doesn't get in trouble" on the street. I'm guessing she lived in the posh part of London, so her father would insist that she has a female friend or her sister or even her mother accompany her on her "photography" journey.

Setting and time period. It's the 18-1900s, why would she be alone? She wouldn't be able to talk to men alone without courting him with at least one other adult in the room. All of the characters talked like they were in modern times, and it was annoying. It's basically a modern story stuck into a different time period. If was marketed to be more fantastical or something, I think it would have been more enjoyable.

The Writing. Very descriptive, but it wasn't a good thing.
"Just past the tea shop, under a rain spout, was a tiny, delicate fern that had not been there the week before. Alice's questing eyes immediately spotted its out-of-place bright greenness, its patterned and gracefully unfurling frond. Definitely magical. She gauged the light then pursed her lips sadly. The narrow street was dismally dark, she had no lantern or mirror, and only a few more film plates left. None to waste on potentially terrible shots.

"Apologies, young master fern," she said, giving it a little curtsy. "Maybe next time, when you've grown a bit."
Does she have no sense of the reputation of her family? If anyone, and I mean anyone, saw her curtsy to a non-living object in this period, she would probably be sent to an asylum. AND TALKING TO A MAN IN THE MIDDLE OF STREET WITHOUT A CHAPERONE!! I'm probably making too big of a deal out of this, but those were the rules.
The writing was one of the main reasons why I DNF'd it. Instead of helping the story move forward, it lugged it down.

The Plot. I don't know what was the inciting incident. Was it when the Wonderland characters appeared on the film plates? Cause absolutely nothing happened that pushed the plot into the second act. Was it when she dove into the lake? Probably, maybe.

In conclusion, I hope for those who finish the book is that Katz (the cute love interest, I think) isn't a villain and is actually a love interest for Alice.

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the tenth instalment in the Twisted Tales series, but as each focuses on a different fairy tale they can be read on their own or out of order. I had previously read the first three and this one was by far my favourite.

Alice has spent eleven long years looking for a way to return to Wonderland. She has tried speaking to and following animals, entering into the wild and forgotten corners of town, and photographing all that feels otherworldly. Now, however, Wonderland has come to her. Her most recent series of photographs feature those she once called her friends, but in a broken, beaten, and bloody form. Alice is the only one who can save them, but she is running rather late for this very important and most critical of dates.

I thought Braswell did a stellar job of evoking the infamous nonsense of the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which, if studied, does actually make its own unique sort of sense. The riddles, seemingly backwards instructions, and Wonderland logic also proved to do so here.

Another aspect that felt akin to the original was the delightful whimsy that featured throughout. Wonderland was much changed in this retelling, but it still retained the same natural beauty, fun elements, and distinctive fantastical facets. It was a true joy to explore and, again, as in the original, you never quite knew what was around the corner and waiting for you.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since I saw Unbirthday was coming out... I was beyond excited to get my hands on it. Any kind of retellings gets me excited so it was fair to assume that I would devour Alice's story. Which I did. I loved it.

So Alice is back in the real world and loves photography. Yet, there's a little inkling that she might be going back to Wonderland. At this point, she is around 18 years old and it has been a while since she has been there. So if you're like me, you'd be thinking that things have changed back in that world. Just like Alice has changed in her own world.

Have no fear, she goes back and finds this all out with her own eyes. I did enjoy all the little reunions though and how they still remember her. Even if she didn't always have them on her mind. From entering Wonderland, Alice realized that things aren't quite right anymore. The Queen of Hearts is way out of control now and wants to own all the toys in the land. Oh and executions all the time? Plus, people actually have to be in attendance or else.

Other than that, I kind of thought it was cool that she could slide in and out of wonderland to the real world quite easily. It just made this book go on a whole new level. Plus how she viewed people back in her world has her friends in Wonderland. Very creative and addicting to read about.

In the end, the epilogue was so freaking cute. Not sure if there's going to be another retelling but I would be down for it.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Thank you to Netgalley and Disney Hyperion for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my rating**

As many of you know, I am a HUGE Disney fan. So it's probably a surprise to find out that this is the first of the Twisted Tales I've read. I love Alice, as well, so I was glad for the opportunity to start the journey out here.

The story is split between Alice's problems in England and in Wonderland. England is undergoing a mayoral election where the leading candidate is incredibly xenophobic (If you're from the US, you'll recognize a lot of the White Nationalist dog whistling the current President does in Ramsbottom). Wonderland is facing trials in the form of the Queen of Hearts executing her citizens for "treason" and seizing their property for reasons unknown to Alice until about halfway through the book. Alice sets out to make both situations right with the help of her Wonderland friends, as well as a lawyer friend named Katz.

I liked that Braswell gave Alice a photography hobby in this book. It features heavily in the plot line and was a new skill I hadn't seen before in an Alice retelling, but one that certainly would have been unusual for a woman in this time period. It stuck to Alice's spirit of curiosity and creativity in the face of cultural norms, so I thought this was an excellent addition to the character. I also like that Alice really comes into her own and accepts who she is as a person by the end of the novel. She has a clear, definitive character arc where she goes from unease about the situations but thinking there isn't really anything she can do to realizing her worth and doing her best. All this to say the characterization of one of my most beloved characters was well executed.

I thought the idea of Alice's real world problem being xenophobia in her fellow countrymen was an interesting approach. As I mentioned before, the country I currently live in has a lot of that going on right now, so the rhetoric the mayoral candidate, Ramsbottom, uses was familiar and unsettling. That said, I thought the "solution" to this problem was a little simplistic. It was very "Wonderlandian", but as Alice is an adult at this point, I would expect her to realize that what happens at the conclusion is a one-time interruption that isn't really going to make much of a difference to the people attending Ramsbottom's events. They would already be aware of his xenophobic views and likely share them, so I don't think it would have worked the way it is presented. Clever idea, but not as impactful in practice as it would be in theory.

I also thought having the Queen of Hearts on the cover was kind of misleading. The Queen of Hearts is the "villain", but we don't see her at all until one chapter towards the end and she's only in that one chapter. We see the effects of what she's done, but she does it after some nudging from another character who is probably the actual "villain", although his motives come from a place of depression and grief, not antagonism. The actual "villain" is a strange choice and the depression angle made more sense, but I still think some Wonderland fans will be scratching their heads at that one.

While I think there are some issues that perhaps weren't handled as well due to lack of time or weak plotting (depression, the motivation of the Queen of Hearts), I do think there are others that shine brilliantly (xenophobia and Anti-Semitism). Braswell did an excellent job highlighting the effects of these issues on the victims and the kind of scare tactics used by those who hold these abhorrent beliefs. I think these issues are very topical and will resonate with the reader.

Overall, I thought this was a solid entry in this series. I'm glad I got to start with Alice and will go back and read some of the others I have. This book is whimsical but touches on topics important to the modern reader. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars

[ʙᴇʟᴀ.: ☾**:.☆*.:｡.]

Alice in Wonderland is originally a twisted tale. Burton's Alice in Wonderland was even more twisted. Now we get a twisted tale retelling, so I'm having very high expectations of this:D

[Silvia F. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Status: Disappointing

Aww mannnnn! I was so excited to read a book in the Twisted Tales series. I love fairytale re-tellings (I was obsessed with the Lunar Chronicles). But unfortunately this book just didn't do it for me.
It was so damn slow to start and didn't pick up speed at any point. It wasn't even a slow burn.. it waas just slow and soooo long. Some of the author's descriptive writing just got to be too much, especially in the beginning which annoyed me. There were just SO MANY ADJECTIVES!!!!! First Alice felt one way, then she felt a different way, then three sentences later there was another feeling- it was quite boring to be frank ("Breathless...excited... dizzy" all in one sentence??? Like Whyyy??). I'm by no means a great writer but it was just too much. There was potential if it was maybe half as long. Seems like Bradwell's writing style just isn't for me.
I also I found that I couldn't relate to Alice at all. She was supposedly 18 years old in the book but acted like she was 12. She whined all the time and acted like a little girl- not really heroine material.

Sucks that this was my intro to the Twisted Tales Series- I'll try and give one of the other books a shot.

ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Jennie Damron · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
So it's not that the book was bad. It wasn't. But, I found I could set this book down for days and have no desire to pick it up. I was so hoping to be more captivated with the story. While reading I did enjoy the world of Wonderland and Angleland, but I think I would have liked the book better if she stayed in Wonderland through the whole story and not the constant back and forth. Alice in Wonderland is my favorite and I am obsessed with all things Wonderland so my expectations were high. Sadly this book did not meet my expectations, but I am glad I read the book.

[mads · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

"What if Wonderland was in peril and Alice was very, very late?"

Hi, yes, so I went AWOL for a little bit. Received this ARC before "Unbirthday" was published but due to life, finally got to it recently. My excuse is that I have kind of been missing from reading altogether but I'm finally back so let's get into the review.

I have found that I kind have mixed feelings on each Twisted Tales book I've read (except for "Reflection". Elizabeth Lim can do no wrong in my mind😌) and "Unbirthday" finally helped me realize what that is. Liz Braswell has a very dark writing style and tone. This was actually the lightest book I've read from her, which was interesting considering how dark Alice in Wonderland can go easily. I think a lot of my mixed feelings stem from the tones not working together.

For example, in "Part of Your World" it was hard to shift from Scuttle making a joke to Ursula using a blood sacrifice to summon the ancient gods. It's an attempt to age up the Disney stories we know and love, but it doesn't always work well.

Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, this one actually worked decently well. Shifting from seeing a familiar character dead in a photograph to characters speaking in whimsical jokes and riddles worked well for the overall madness of Wonderland.

However, still gave it three stars. Which is no way a bad rating. I didn't have a bad time reading it, there were no major flaws that left me wanting to slam my head into a wall, most of the characters seemed quite themselves, and there were several things that amused me. However, that was the best it got.

There were never any moments I felt emotionally attached to any of the characters. Never had that connection where I found myself even lightly hoping things would turn out okay. There was nothing that set this story apart in my head. The second I finished, I nodded and set it down and that was it. I didn't think about it again until I remembered I needed to review it lol.

Maybe that's a me problem. Maybe if I'd read it at another point in time, I'd feel differently. But pairing my apathy with the fact this book is probably 200 pages longer than it needs to be, I can't give it higher than 3 stars.

It exists. It was enjoyable. I don't regret reading it. But I will probably forget I read it in a week.

If you really, really love Alice in Wonderland, you might really like this. Or you might hate it. It can be hard to predict how people will feel seeing characters they really love in someone else's hands.

But if you're like me and feel quite 'middle of the line' when it comes to Alice in Wonderland, I can't see you feeling much more than boredom when it comes to this book.

[Holly in Bookland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, but keep in mind that I’m a huge Alice in Wonderland fan. I thought this story captured the essence of Wonderland quite well. It did read a lot younger than I was expecting but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s exactly what I needed in this time of my life.

[Zoeisbookhooked · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8
Yes this took me a month to read so why did I give it a 3.8? Because this book was pretty solid!! It was, to my surprise, enjoyable! But this book was CRAZY slow. Everything about this book was winderlandiful and perfect for the story. It was just incredibly slow paced. I don’t reccomend reading when trying to get out of a slump🙃

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the abundance of Alice spin-offs, re-tellings, misappropriations and more I went into Unbirthday with relatively low expectations. The nice thing about that is that it doesn’t take too much to impress in the end when this happens.

Plot
Unbirthday is a clever continuation of the classic Lewis Carroll Alice series. All of what you know from the original two Carroll books has happened. In fact having read the original Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (or at least having seen the animated Disney movie) will greatly increase your understanding of the story. Liz Braswell returns Alice to Wonderland as a teen whom is close to losing her ability to be 'mad'. Right alongside her the Mad Hatter and others are losing their whimsy that makes them so critical to Wonderland. The entire story is about saving Wonderland from too much logic (and a Queen you might know...).

Overall
I was quite impressed with this given how bad most of the Alice retellings or spin-offs I've read have been over the years. This is a story that has been 'done' to death. But as my husband is the biggest Alice fan ever (two arm sleeves of tattoos with Alice; one the good characters and the other the bad characters, Cheshire is on both arms) I decided to read this to let him know if it was worth a read. While it's clearly YA it's still well written and I liked the treatment of Hatter enough to recommend this to him if he wants a take on Wonderland and Alice post Carroll's story.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

[RoRo · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Character Development: Alice developed so much (I feel like a grandmother of Alice rn)

Diversity: I mean this was a classic so not really

Likes: All of it

Dislikes: Even though I gave this book 5 stars I was just really confused with the writing style

What mood should you read this book in?: Adventures, emotional, Classics.

Pace: Medium/Fast

Likable Characters?: Alice!! Alice's great aunt? I forgot her name

Characters or Plot?: Definitley Character

Overall, I am not the type of person that is "In love with Retellings" But TBH I am IN LOVE with this book

[Stay Fetters · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You cannot escape equity. Fairness comes for everyone in the end; everyone becomes food for the worms, equally. This world is almost over. Consider yourselves the lucky forerunners into the next."

Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite classic novels and I even loved the Disney adaptation. The story opened up so many imaginative doors for me.

As kids my own age were traveling through the wardrobe to Narnia, I was falling right alongside with Alice to the enchanted world of Wonderland and sipping the tea at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. To say that I was excited to come back to Wonderland with this book is quite an understatement.

Eleven years ago, Alice fell down the rabbit hole and tumbled into Wonderland but that was all a dream....

Alice is now eighteen years old and spends most of her days walking around with a camera in her hands. She would rather take photographs, hang out with her very eccentric Aunt, and not worry about being married off to the right man.

While developing film she notices something off about some of her photographs. A picture of a neighbor is the Mad Hatter and another one is the Queen of Hearts. People of Wonderland are showing up in her photographs and she believes that she's going crazy.

The eerie photos get even weirder as she takes a self-portrait to see what will develop. She's shocked to find an injured girl with a sign asking for help from Alice.

Alice must travel back to Wonderland to save it from the dark rule of the Queen of Hearts. But will she save them? Or doom them forever?

I love Alice in Wonderland and it was amazing to be stepping back into a place where all of our wildest dreams came true. It was like being wrapped up in your favorite warm blanket on a cold day. It was awesome. The story itself was an okay read. It had some hit and miss scenes like most books but I think I needed something different. I was expecting something more off the wall and demented. I still enjoyed the story though.

Unbirthday was a good addition to the Wonderland world. Old favorites come back with some newly added ones that are just as fantastic. You can't help but enjoy Alice and her crazy adventures. The book did seem to drag out as Alice traveled through her modern world to Wonderland and the book felt a lot longer than it was. But it was decent for what it was. Now off with your head!!!

[Books_and_Crafts · Rating 1 out of 5]

✨Book Review✨
⭐️

Unbirthday by Liz Braswell

Off the bat, let me just say this may be someone’s favorite book, and that’s perfectly ok. This is just my opinion and I fully support others who love it 🤍

I loved the idea of this book. Alice in the real world thinking wonderland was a fever dream but finding pieces of it in pictures she takes. Lovely set up, poor execution 😐

There were many sensitive topics this book covered that I did not feel were appropriate for the age rating it has. I had such a problem with it that I couldn’t give it more than 1 star 😕
This deals with sexism, racism, antisemitism, misogyny and the list goes on… while these are important topics, I did not expect them in my Disney book. They are glaringly prominent as an adult that read this and I was not a fan.

That being said I had a really hard time continuing the twisted tales series after this one, but I am so glad that I did. They are not all the same and I fell in love with books that I read after 🥰

If you haven’t seen the summary of this book, it is available in the twisted tales playlist on my tiktok page!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unbirthday is the tenth book in the A Twisted Tale series and it is written by author Liz Braswell. I love the idea behind the A twisted tale series. Each of the books takes a different, and often times darker, spin on a classic Disney story. They are written by different authors and they can be read as standalone novels, but they are all so much fun that I would recommend reading them all. Unbirthday is a twist based on Alice in Wonderland. So This is Love takes the original Alice in Wonderland story line and adds a pretty big twist into the mix- What if Wonderland was in peril and Alice was very, very late? Unbirthday felt different than some of the other books I have read in the series. Instead of it feeling like a twist on the original story, it felt more like a sequel to the wonderland tale that we know and love, which I was super excited to read. If you know me, you know I am a huge Wonderland fanatic! Bring on all the re-tellings, re-imaginging and all of the wonderland shenanigans! 

In Unbirthday, we get to meet a more grown up 18 year old Alice, living back in "the real world" with her family. Alice is a budding photographer and she doesn't go anywhere without her camera. When Wonderland characters start to pop up in the pictures she is taking, Alice decides it is time to pay her childhood fantasy land a visit again. I loved the way Liz Braswell decided to lure Alice back into Wonderland. I thought it was brilliant, and felt like a very natural progression and hook to the story. When Alice gets back to Wonderland, the Queen is just as evil as ever. Will Alice be able to save Wonderland, or did she arrive too late this time? 

Unbirthday is told both in real world England as well as Wonderland, and there are different problems in both lands. I loved the zaniness of Wonderland, but it was juxtaposed but some very serious issues being tackled in real world England. That was an interesting side plot line for me. One that I wasn't expecting, and while part of me wanted to stay lost in the fantasy world of Wonderland, I appreciated the messages that the author was incorporating on the real world side. We also have a minor romance plot woven into the story that I just adored! That was such a welcome surprise for me while I was reading Unbirthday! I also loved the more grown up Alice that we get to meet in Unbirthday. She is just as curious as ever, but she is also a strong and resilient young woman. 

All in all- Liz Braswell did a great job with Unbirthday. I really enjoyed the story and it was a lot of fun revisiting Wonderland. She also managed to really surprise me with the direction that the story took as she wove in real world England into the plot. Unbirthday is a great addition to the Twisted Tales series, and I think by now you guys know what a big fan I am of these stories. I love that they are each standalones written by a variety of authors. I want to read the Mulan story- Reflections next, but really- bring on ALL OF THE TWISTED TALES. I love this series. If you have not read any of the books in this series, you are missing out.

[Noelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was terrible.

It sounded like a good idea: Picking up on Alice's life, her returning back to Wonderland for some more crazy adventures!

But no. Just no. Let's go over some pros and cons.

PROS:
⭐Alice's boyfriend, Katz. The only well built character

CONS:
⚡Story was confusing at times
⚡Plot didn't make sense; certain things weren't explained
⚡Writing was poor and used too much detail
⚡Hardly any characters were well developed
⚡Alice was turned into some whiny toddler
⚡The resolution (the ending) made no sense
⚡Too political at times
⚡Story was slow to move forward
⚡Story was too long for such a confusing/boring plot

All in all, I don't recommend this story. It was just too much Nonsense.

[M.E. Betts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m going to try and focus on the positives first.

Things I liked:

- Alice’s relationship with Mr Katz and the way it unfolded was very pleasing.
- The jumps between Alice dreaming and waking helped to break up the story into pieces that were easier to follow.
- The connection between both worlds (war and politics) was done tastefully and made obvious in a way that pushed the story forward.

Now. . . . .
The reason I gave three stars is because this author, through this series, has been a low point for me. Her stories are never very interesting and I struggle to get through them. I do commend the author for being able to carry on in a similar narrative style to the original story, but unfortunately this story just didn’t do it for me and so was happy to be done with it.

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio for this one. I enjoyed it. I like most Wonderland retellings. This is no exception. I found it fun and mysterious. With all the annoying yet fun nonsense from the older cartoon.

Also the back and forth between Wonderland and her world was also fun. Having issues on both sides that need to be resolved. And with a real-world issue in one. So far I like Braswell's books from The Twisted Tales series best.

[Shireen Hakim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Very Merry Unbirthday to Alice!
In UNBIRTHDAY, 18- year- old Alice is called back to Wonderland on her unbirthday.
It's no wonder she is glad to return, her world is filled with xenophobia and corsets.
Since Alice is a young adult the Wonderland she revisits is more adult, too, there is actual blood and dead Wonderland characters!
Although Wonderland is not as fun as it was before, it's still a favorable escape to the real world Alice keeps returning to in UNBIRTHDAY, even though the latter now contains a romantic interest.
Braswell's fantasy novel contains many of the literal misunderstandings that made the original story and movie so beloved, and also suggests traces of the more recent modern films. Still it does not completely capture the ridiculous essence of the timeless tale. However, I'm sure YA readers will enjoy it.
Thank you for the (physical) ARC, Disney Hyperion!

[ضحى الحداد · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly don't know what was that book .. it was a load of .. NONESENSE !!
So the story is about 18 years old Alice who wants to return to Wonderland until she sees some photos of her friends from Wonderland calling for her help, and Mary Ann is dead !! So it's up to Alice to Free Wonderland from the Reign of the Queen of Hearts before she wins the game of toys and bring the End Of Time, can Alice alone stop her ?
I hope I was clear enough in my description and I remember it later because the book was such a boring headache, the world was really poorly written and I couldn't like any character in the book .. so far this book is the worst in the series, now I'm nervous about the Hercules one .. please be good

[Rook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a WONDERFUL retelling!!! I know there are a Lot of Alice In Wonderland retellings, so it can be a bit over used, but I really Really liked this one!!! I Greatly enjoyed Adult Alice's adventures, especially the way she was doing her best to balance Wonderland struggles and England struggles!!! I also really Really LOVED several of the new characters, possibly more so than Alice herself!!! Overall, this is a Fantastic retelling, and a Delightful edition to the Twisted Tales series!!!

[Kristin Sledge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Disney Hyperion and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unbirthday is the latest in Disney's Twisted Tales and follows one of my favorites, Alice Liddell from Alice in Wonderland. This tale takes place well after Alice has been to Wonderland the first time, with Wonderland calling to Alice through the photographs she takes of people she knows. The characters from Wonderland need Alice's help to prevent the Queen of Hearts from ending existence and time itself. With problems of another kind in England, will Alice be able to be a hero for both worlds, or will she have to let one slip away to save the other?

I really want to like these Twisted Tales, but I have had yet to get into one until Unbirthday. The pacing was decent, the characters old and new were well written, but the plot just failed to truly hook me. I figured if any of the Twisted Tales would twist my perspective it would be this one, and while I was able to finish it reasonably quickly I didn't find myself hungry for the ending, just wanting it to be over. The new characters introduced were severely under-used. I feel like if the author had incorperated them into Alice's story in a more predominant way that it would have been a much more complete story. There was also a bit of a politically charged story in England that had such potential to serve as a real side lesson, but that also fell pretty flat for me.

Overall, this was worth a read; and those who enjoy the Twisted Tales are in for a real tea time treat. However, for me this was just a meh read. I'm giving it three stars and would recommend it to anyone who loves Alice in Wonderland, ages 12 and up