Death of the Mad Hatter by Sarah J. Pepper Review

Title: Death of the Mad Hatter
Author: Sarah J. Pepper
Age Group: Teen/Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Series: N/A
Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The bottom line: An nontraditional retelling of the classic Alice in Wonderland, I really enjoyed Death of the Mad Hatter, particularly the romance between Ryley and Alice Mae--wonderful, and highly recommended!

This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

It has been prophesied in the magical, dangerous world of Wonderland that a child--a boy with a girl's name, or is it a girl with a boy's name?--will end the bloody red Reign of Terror, and believe that love is worth a beheading. Meanwhile, Ryley is a normal human boy, his monotonous life interrupted by the arrival of the beautiful, mysterious Alice Mae. Frustrated by her speaking in riddles and confusing behavior, Ryley finds he must unlock the secrets of his past.. Or he might not have a life to return to in either world..

What I enjoyed:
-I loved the concept of this novel, a nontraditional, totally different retelling of Wonderland--though this might turn off purists
-Ryley, the boy who is just trying to keep his head above water, even when realizing his family's heritage and magical origins, who turns out who have a lot of spunk and a huge capacity for love, longing, and desire--he was really easy to relate to for me
-Alice Mae, the beautiful and mysterious girl from Wonderland, so steeped in her own lies and deceit that she fights her other, purer, instincts--I really felt for her as well throughout the novel
-The creative, fun spins on the old characters, like the White Rabbit, The Queen of Hearts. and the Mad Hatter
-The pacing of this book was wonderful--it was breakneck but smooth, especially with both Alice's and Ryley's points of view
-The ending--it was perfect!

What could've been better:
-I wish it had been more explained, how Wonderland fell into corruption, and how Hearts became so evil--there wasn't enough background for me

I really, really enjoyed Death of the Mad Hatter--it was fun, quirky, and different! Next on deck: Bloom by A.P. Kensey!

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