The In-Between Place

Follow the White Rabbit managed to stay true to the intrinsic elements of the Alice story while still providing a fresh take on the classic tale. It was well-written, and the detailed descriptions of the setting allowed it to be easily visualized. The point of view of the story switched with each chapter, allowing the reader to connect with each character on a more personal level before they all inevitably meet up.

I really enjoyed that Sherdian chose not to present the characters in terms of the names that they were given by Lewis Carrol in the original Alice story (Mad Hatter, etc.); instead, clues and hints to each character’s identity were interspersed throughout the book, allowing the readers to make these associations for themselves. I also liked the idea that Wonderland was not only a place but, in a way, a living entity that desires for the familiar cycles of history to be repeated.

My main complaint about this book was its length - it was too short! At ~70 pages, this felt more like an introduction than an entire book. The action really started to build toward the end… and then it ended suddenly, leaving me feeling as though nothing had really been accomplished.

Overall, Follow the White Rabbit was a nice, quick read that I would have enjoyed more if it had been a little bit longer.

This review also appears on my blog The In-Between Place