Child of Nod (The Balance #1) by C.W. Snyder

Child of Nod by C.W. Snyder is the start of a YA fantasy series featuring Alice in Wonderland themes mixed with an adventure into the afterlife.

“Alice wakes one day to find herself on the other side of death, in the corrupted fairy tale land of Nod. Unable to remember much of the events leading to her demise, she sets out on a journey to discover her memory and the reason for her presence in Nod. Unknown to her, the man responsible for her death, Jack, is on a mission to find her spirit and end her second life.

Alice takes flight, only to find herself drawn into the lives of those around her and the mystery permeating that place. From the humble streets of Elysium to the mirrored spires of Memoria, her journey takes her on a path that leads to a decision that will affect the fate of Nod.

Along the way, she meets a cast of characters that include a madman with a dark secret, her faithful companion, Dog, and woman made of memory. Together, they help her on her journey as she uncovers the truth of Nod and the woman behind it all, the Red Queen.“

This book had a lot of potential. With Alice and the idea of bringing an afterlife story into the YA community really had my hopes up for this book. But unfortunately, I wasn’t enthused while reading Alice’s story.

The characters as a whole were very mysterious, and with me, I think this made the plot harder for me to follow which of course led me through a maze of confusion. I will say that the parts that I was able to wrap around were fairly interesting. I enjoyed getting to know John’s character ALOT more than Alice, so when it was time to focus on her story, I felt flat.

But as I kept reading on, I became more and more in-tuned with the story. Just not enough to be fully invested until the end.

I gave this read a 2 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed finding all of the original Alice in Wonderland themes, and the afterlife aspect of the book was nice to see in the YA world. There are a ton of darker elements in this book, so if you like to read peculiar stories, this may be the one to pick up in 2018.

Published: 7 November 2017

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Pages: 274

How I Read It: eBook from Publisher

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All of my book reviews contain my opinion only and are not influenced in any way.*

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