Review
Title: The Lost Wonderland Diaries
Author: J. Scott Savage
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Books
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Year Published: 2020
Number of Pages: 336
Binding: Hardbound
ISBN-13: 978-1-62972-786-8
Price: 17.99
Reviewed by Heather Harris-Bergevin for the Association of Mormon Letters
Let me be honest: I’ve been hoping to read The Lost Wonderland Diaries ever since Mr. Savage spoke about his upcoming publication during Storymaker’s conference this year.
Let me be more honest: I read half of this book, put it down in my house, and lost it.
This is a great thing, and here’s why: I have a non-reader. When he steals a book to read, it’s got to be a particularly good one, as he’s decided that most books are boring. When The Lost Wonderland Diaries came in the mail, I handed it to him, and he promptly acted like I’d handed over an old shoe.
“Just read the inside cover.”
“Fine,” he replied, and then added a minute or two later, “Ok. I…Might read that. Why is the cat a robot?”
Savage’s new series begins in media res, and the action does not slow down, except for a few small breathing spaces to introduce new characters. The delightful and constant stream of Wonderland joys is well coupled with the ongoing adventures of two disparate but lovable seventh graders. As the book opens, something has gone terribly awry– beloved characters have been corrupted into (slightly terrifying) monstrosities, and nobody knows why. A young rabbit is sent to call, Narnia style, for The Alice, who is to be a Hero and determine the solution to this unknown and worrisome change.
Two young humans are brought, by magical means of Dodgson’s lost diary, back to Wonderland, but neither is named Alice, and neither knows what’s going on, or how to help. They have complementary talents- one obsessed with reading, and one dyslexic and passionate about mathematics. Can they, together, solve the riddles and codes left for them, to de-cipher (literally) the needed solutions?
Savage’s piece is light and delightful. Unlike many YA authors, his book is wonderful as a read-aloud, with great, fast dialogue and many exciting scenes. This book would be a great read for middle grades and advanced elementary readers. There are some few slightly creepy descriptions of, among other things, the “not right” White Rabbit, so be aware if reading to younger children who don’t delight in sight creepiness, like mine do. Some of us love a little shiver in our fiction!
For those of us who love Alice in Wonderland, seeing old friends such as Fury and the Dodo is a lovely delight. For those new to reading Wonderland, the series might introduce them to Lewis Carroll’s beautiful books, to which this series is both continuation and homage.
Another bonus to Savage’s book is that his protagonists are neither siblings, nor one race, nor one talent. I’m mentioning this because it’s important to have varying genders, races, and abilities in the heroes we present to our children. Savage gets it right, though, as neither are held as the hero because of their race or gender, though he intentionally delineates both in the series, and all of their talents are needed to unlock solutions.
If your book, like mine, quietly goes missing because a preteen is sneakily having their own trip to Wonderland, don’t say I didn’t warn you! You might have to search for it, as I did, but it’ll be worth it. I look forward to the rest of this beautifully plotted series and hope you, also, greatly enjoy it.