Book Review: Abby In Wonderland (Whatever After, #11)

About The Book:

  Title: Abby in Wonderland (Whatever After, #11)

  Author:  Sarah Mlynowski 
  Pub. Date: September 12th, 2017
  Publisher: Scholastic Press 
  Pages: 261

  Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Retellings

  Rate: 5/5 stars 

Synopsis :

Down the rabbit hole . . .

I'm spending the day with my best friends, Frankie and Robin, and -- UGH -- snobby Penny. I'm not expecting anything magical to happen, until Frankie falls into a mysterious hole behind Penny's house . . . and we all wind up in the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland!

I've visited fairy tales before. But in Wonderland, everything is topsy-turvy. There are potions that make you grow, cakes that make you shrink, bossy caterpillars, and a horrible Queen of Hearts who wants to put us on trial.

Now we have to:
- Solve a riddle from the Cheshire cat 
- Attend a wacky tea party with the Mad Hatter
- Become BFFs with Alice
- And find Frankie

. . . Or we'll be stuck in Wonderland for good!

Review:

As a School Psychologist, reading books of various age levels helps me better relate to students and allows me to recommend them books! I initially picked up Abby in Wonderland because I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan. It was my favorite childhood movie and to this day, remains a beloved tale of mine by Lewis Carroll.

This book was one of the most fun middle-grade novels I've ever read. I quickly learned that this novel was a special edition of Sarah Mlynowski's Whatever After series, which typically follows a girl and her brother as they stumble into numerous fairy tales through a magical mirror in their basement. Since this was a special edition, I didn't need to read the prior books to be able to understand what was going on. However, I now plan on it! Since reading this, I've been recommending this series to older elementary students who are fans of fairytales and looking for fun books to read! Abby in Wonderland is a wonderful and fun spin on Alice in Wonderland and also includes all of your favorite characters from Alice in Wonderland - The Mad Hatter, The Cheshire Cat, The White Rabbit, and more. It is also FUNNY, and includes great friendship dynamics and teaches conflict resolution.

If you're a fan of fairytales and enjoy reading middle grade - this series is for YOU! Or, if you know of any younger child who enjoys reading, I would definitely say this would be a great series for them. This is definitely a big winner for Ms. Mlynowski.

- Jocelyn