Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Wonderland by Juno Dawson

7 reviews

kajoreads's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

The good:

• The premise and the setting were interesting.
• I enjoyed a lot of the commentary around transness.
• The Alice in Wonderland retelling aspect was kinda fun.

The bad:

• There were some weird jokes and descriptions that came across like microaggressions.
• The mental illness rep was questionable at best.
• I wish the MC’s internalized misogyny was addressed better.
• Overall, the book simply didn’t live up to my expectations. The synopsis had me hoping for an investigative mystery. This wasn’t that.
• The resolution was underwhelming.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Transphobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Biphobia, Deadnaming, Incest, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

thebookishnerd_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This was my first Juno Dawson book! And while I'll definitely check out more of her books, I was underwhelmed by Wonderland. It's very reminiscent of the TV show Euphoria - rich teens doing drugs, having sex, and getting away with criminal activity. So much of this book was our main character, Alice, doing drugs that it watered down the plot and I found myself skimming over her 'trips'. I love unlikeable characters and this book was full of them. Almost all of the characters are spoiled rich teens they kind of blended together, especially the 'flower girls' which I suppose was the point of them. I liked this book, I just wish there was more plot and less focus on the pointless edgy activity. There are a lot of trigger warnings for this book, so definitely check them out before reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Deadnaming, Suicide, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Incest, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

thepretentiouspoet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When I began this book, I was expecting a modern retelling of Alice In Wonderland. What I got instead was a dark, messy, whirlwind adventure exploring sexuality, gender, womanhood, class, social privilege and mental health viscerally and honestly.

There is no way to prepare yourself for this book - it comes right at you. Alice was an immediately likeable protagonist; she's smart and morally sound, but just unstable enough that you have to keep your wits about you as she enters the bacchanel-like party of Wonderland in search of her one-night-stand who goes missing the next day. Her inner monologue is incredibly engaging, and there are so many incredibly wise and introspective one-liners or passing comments about gender presentation and femininity that shook me. 

Then there are the discussions of privilege and social class that occur throughout the plot. Alice is a trans woman who goes to a very elite private school that is dominated by the upper classes. All those Gatsby-esque conversations about Old Money and New Money come into play as she navigates the party, and she begins to see just how deeply class loyalty and wealth run. The people she is rubbing elbows with are all deeply, deeply flawed, and most of that is as a result of their privilege. From the tortured genius stoner that replaces the Caterpillar to the YouTube star twins with no boundaries and even fewer morals to Paisley Hart herself, it is clear that you don't actually want to be a part of their cult-like class. How can a book manage to grip you on all levels?

I will say though, that I would not recommend this book to everyone. Just as Alice In Wonderland is bizarre and messy at points, this book is all of those things tenfold. Check those trigger warnings carefully, as there is a lot of messed-up stuff that happens and is discussed in this book, and it was almost too much for me at times. I will also add, although it isn't a registered content warning, that Alice experiences hallucinations at various points in the book - some are as a result of her excessive drug use, and others are as a result of her not taking the anti-psychotic medication that is prescribed to her. 

However, if you can stomach the content warnings, I cannot recommend this enough. I read this book over a month ago and I can't stop thinking about it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol

Moderate: Incest, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, and Suicide attempt

morebedsidebooks's review against another edition

fast-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Deadnaming, Incest, and Death of parent

Also drugging and mentions of an overdose death occur in the book.

anettainkeri's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, and Vomit

that_bookworm_guy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A clever modern day retelling of Alice in Wonderland featuring a trans main character, yes please!! 

Throughout the book, there are quotes from Alice in Wonderland woven throughout and characters that share similarities to the original characters. 

The story is interesting and strange, and honestly wild. But very enjoyable. 

It's dark, and it's messy and focuses a lot on mental health. But as a trans person, I could see a lot of similarities in mine and Alice's experiences. I love being able to see parts of myself in fictional characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Incest

mxjx's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Vomit

Minor: Deadnaming