Alice by Christina Henry
My rating: 4/5 ★★★★☆
In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.
In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood…
Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.
Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful.
And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.
My review:
This review will start with a short story of mine, so grab some popcorn, sit on a comfy chair and brace yourselves.
It was May of 2017 and the first spring I spent in London. Also my first birthday here. I don't usually celebrate them, for personal reasons (no, I don't mind getting older), and since it was just me and Akis, we decided to go out for a walk to the Hammersmith area. We both had our day-offs and we didn't mind about the time. Inside the Hammersmith Broadway was a small coffee shop we used to go and right next to it a tiny bookstore. It was called "PocketShop" and unfortunately now has been replaced by another shop.
That day and while I was waiting in a queue to get our coffees, Akis disappeared with the excuse of going to another shop to check on something. We've been many times in the PocketShop but I could never buy a book, because of our finances these first months. Our coffees were ready and when I tried to find a seat for us, I saw him sitting already next to the window. He had placed our jackets on my seat, which you can understand was intentional. Under them was a plastic bag from the PocketShop and inside was my birthday present. A copy of "Alice" with the above cover.
I fell in love with the author's style from the first chapter. Some people might find the story twisted and somewhere I read disturbing, but to me, it was exactly something I love to read. The writing style looked like a fairytale, the scenes were nicely described and the story was unique. The author took the beloved story or "Alice in Wonderland" and gave it a whole new perspective. I wouldn't say that it is a retelling because it doesn't follow the original story. It has a lot of elements of it but not in a necessary and accurate order.
What made me take a star, is that I would like to read more about the characters and perhaps expand some of the scenes. Still, in my opinion, the story is well written and remains on the list of my favourite books to this day.
TW: Graphic scenes, violence and sexual abuse.
Take care of yourself and I'll see you soon, Alexa...
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AlexaMerian94
Authorgram: @author.alexa.merian
Personal IG: @graveyardmadness
Goodreads: Alexa Merian
You were literally talking every day about this book XD!!! I'm so happy you enjoyed it <3