Wonderland Academy: Year One by Melanie Karsak

Wonderland Academy by Melanie Karsak is a YA Fantasy Retelling of one of my favorites, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, with tons more magic!

“Welcome to Wonderland Academy. Don’t lose your head.

Getting into Wonderland Academy is easy:

You must be a little mad.

You must follow the white rabbit.

You must find the key to enter Wonderland.

You must not be named Alice or risk being beheaded by order of the Queen of Hearts.

We might have an issue with that last one.

My name may be Alice, but Wonderland Academy is everything my real life isn’t. Who wouldn’t want to learn how to ride a jabberwocky, train with a vorpal sword, cast spells using a teacup, or shapeshift into a fairy? As long as no one figures out my real name, I should be fine.

The only problem? Aden, the Queen of Hearts’ son, is quickly becoming my best friend. And then there’s Corbin. Brooding, surly, tattooed, and definitely not my type, I can’t stop thinking about him. But Corbin has secrets of his own, and Wonderland and secrets don’t mix.

How I’m going to pass my classes and protect my secret like my life depends on it is beyond me. But I better find a way. Because in Wonderland, no Alice is safe.

Wonderland Academy re-imagines the fantastical world of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland for a fresh, new adventure. Combining whimsy, magic, and a splash of steampunk, New York Times best-selling author Melanie Karsak invites you into this beautifully re-envisioned fairy tale adventure.

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Wonderland Academy is a college-level academy novel. It contains a slow-burn (not rh) romance. The novel is clean aside from mild language. This is Book 1 in a planned trilogy. Book 1 ends on a cliffhanger (Frodo didn’t reach Mount Doom in a day, after all).

Trigger Warning: This novel also includes references to a school shooting.”

Published: 27 August 2019

Publisher: Clockpunk Press

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy / Retelling

Pages: 284

How I Read It: eARC from Xpresso Book Tours

*Disclaimer: I requested a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All my reviews contain my honest opinions only and are not influenced in any way*

I feel like this book is a retelling with more of a modern day twist. There are triggers for school shootings and suicide.

But in this one, she isn’t in an inpatient mental facility because of a suicide attempt. At least, not this time. After her release, she is sent to a private, rather strange, academy that mimics Alice’s Adventures. Her curiosity gets the best of her and is thrown into drama, friends, and even some magic.

I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the mental health aspect of the story and it was a fun twist on one of my favorite classics. It’s a great end-of-summer adventure that would be great for readers who love academy stories.

“New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Melanie Karsak is the author of The Airship Racing Chronicles, The Harvesting Series, The Celtic Blood Series, Steampunk Red Riding Hood, and Steampunk Fairy Tales. The author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children. She is an Instructor of English at Southern New Hampshire University.”