Heather’s Bookshelf: The Other Side of Wonderland
Author: Sheri Spencer
Released: 07/23/25
Genre: YA Coming of Age Fantasy
“I ran to the window, and, sure enough, the dragons were covering a wide ribbon of the sky. They bobbed and weaved around each other, their colors almost mixing from how high they were.”
“The Other Side of Wonderland” is set in an alternate version of Wonderland, following sisters Alessia and Bianca. The sister’s parents disappeared, leaving the girls to fend for themselves with the help of their Cheshire cat, Sorri.
The girls live in Wonder, the storied half of the side that receives the tales- Reality. They’ve done well on relying on each other until Alessia’s assigned her apprenticeship which pulls her to train away from home and for the Queen’s Army.
Bianca moves in with family friends, the three bears and continues to attend school. She soon meets the first teacher she has ever liked, Miss Vittoria, but secret training threatens to derail Bianca’s trust.
Alessia’s training is intense and reveals more about herself as she moves along. She also makes some friends and picks up a few skills along the way.
Trigger Warning: violence, fire, kidnapping
Overall, I was a little bit torn on this one. I’m a big Wonderland fan, so I will say that I came into this with pretty high standards. The story is told through two main POVs- Alessia and Bianca’s. The sisters share in the trauma of losing their parents (literally- they disappeared and are unsure about why or to where). Alessia is a bit of a homebody who would be content to stay at home and care for her sister. Her call to the Queen’s Army pulls her from her world and into the unknown. Bianca’s more adventurous and open to fantasy. She wants to encounter dragons and new creatures. Knowing each of these characters and enjoying following their growth, there were a couple of holes that developed in the plot. 1. When Alessia arrives for training as part of the Queen’s Army, she arrives with only one connection to her home- Liam. But as soon as she steps foot in the training ground, she seemingly forgets all about her one friend and connection. 2. Bianca forgets about Sorri for days. A girl obsessed about magic creatures and missing her sister terribly would just forget their beloved Cheshire? Neither made a lot of sense to me. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the intertwined fairy tales with a twist. They were a lot of fun to guess as they were revealed and added some layers to the story. The ending was left quite open - which I’m not a fan of - but I’d certainly be interested to see what happens to the sisters in the future.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
An alternate world Alice in Wonderland spin-off with two sister’s POVs, plenty of fairy tale references, but a couple of plot holes and a cliffhanger that left me wanting.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Sheri Spencer
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