Book review: Alex in Wonderland by Simon James Green

Title: Alex in Wonderland
Author: Simon James Green
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: 6th June 2019

Synopsis: In the town of Newsands, painfully shy Alex is abandoned by his two best friends for the summer. But he unexpectedly lands a part-time job at Wonderland, a run-down amusement arcade on the seafront, where he gets to know the other teen misfits who work there. Alex starts to come out of his shell, and even starts to develop feelings for co-worker Ben... who, as Alex's bad luck would have it, has a girlfriend.

Then as debtors close in on Wonderland and mysterious, threatening notes start to appear, Alex and his new friends take it on themselves to save their declining employer. But, like everything in Wonderland, nothing is quite what it seems...


Review:

This book was the dose of summer joy THAT. I. NEEDED. AND. YOU. NEED. TOO! That is basically my review! Buy the book. Now. Read it. Love it. Enjoy it and wait for the Netflix film, because this is the perfect project for a Netflix film, I can see it now and am available for cameos. I have a lot of arcade experience as per below!

This book was a joy in so many ways. I used to go to the beach every summer with my mother and whether it would be Blackpool or Brighton I would always bring a bag of 1ps and 2ps for the arcade. I love the noise and the colour, the vibes and the sounds and would pour all my money into the machines trying aimlessly to get more than I put in or enough tickets to win an amazing prize. This isn't something that has left me only last week i did the same thing on a night out (see picture). But this isn't about me it's about Alex and Wonderland.

It was very easy to fall in love with Alex's character. Like Noah he has this charm to him, an insecurity, that I think a lot of felt like at his age and after a drink he gets messy! Yes Alex. He's also unlucky in love. Alex keeps falling for people that are 'unobtainable' a theme that he keeps coming back to throughout the book. I felt this hard and it was one of the many ways that this book spoke to me. This is what really makes a book. When you can see yourself within a character it makes it all feel a little more like I'm not the only one. 

We all know the trials and tribulations of having to go out into the world and get a first job and, by chance and a bruised head Alex manages to get a job off Maggie at Wonderland. I think we all have or meet a Maggie in our lives. This hardheaded, independent woman so gives no f's and we love her for it, because there's a heart underneath and she is the pole that prods Alex to unwind and break out of his shell more. THANK YOU MAGGIE!   

At Wonderland we meet a great cast of characters in Efia and Ben who take Alex under their win and a summer of drama ensues. Efia has this sass and this boss attitude that I loved she's that strong headed friend that you want and need. and then there was Ben....Oh Ben! When a character like Ben is introduced to a book I think we all instantly relate to a Ben we've had and create a picture in our head of our own Ben (Or in my case Ben's ..there have been so many Ben's) and you create this idea of who you Ben is, which helps this Ben come to life. I loved the softness to Ben here, he was funny and caring and this is where you really wanted something to happen for them. Even if he has a GF. 

It's funny because Efia calls Ben out on this supposed gf (who spoiler alert we do meet) but it reminded me of having to create that persona of the fake girlfriend...'My Girlfriend who lives in Canada' Avenue Q vibes. It was something I did to detract from the hate and to build up a pretence and I think its something a lot of us do, so reading it you feel a deeper connection to the story and you then start double and triple guessing whats going to happen and end up shouting OMG JUST KISS ALREADY when you're on public transport.  

This is helped in large by this great, naturally flowing writing style that's full of humour "I'm shipping you so hard Bex aubergine emoji, banana emoji, winking tongue man" that i was flying through the book. I think I finished it within 24 hours and I really didn't want it to be over at the end. 
Talking of shipping Bex (which I did and you will too) l lets talk about the restaurant scenes because there's so much to pick apart there! On the one hand it was a super cute date, it was beautiful slow moment in the book, very atmospheric and how we would all love a date to go. The bit with the foreheads I nearly died! I also need to give a special shout out to the waitress. I LIVED FOR HER! She was only in two scenes, but like they say i drag race, make every moment count and boy did she! I was on a date one and person at mini golf said to us in jest if you need me to save you just shout Pineapple and it was very much this in the book. She was funny and came for the jokes and it added this next layer to the moment. 

Within all this goodness there were moments in these scenes that are very much relevant issues that LGBTQ+ people still face in public. There was a moment of hands touching and not being able to feel comfortable to show that emotion in public, or having to create the distance when someone comes over. Its something a lot of people face and this adds the grit to the book. Or even having people make eyes at you like you're a baby panda doing something cute like just holding hands and its a spectacle. Its something a lot of us still feel and I'm glad it was given light here. It was these small moments that brought up issues that LGBTQ+ youths face that really elevated this book and made it a relate-able reading experience mixed in with all the humour and drama.

I was sad when I'd finished, but had this warmth in me because of everything this book had made me feel, the ups and downs the laughter and the tears, and I'll continue the story in my mind in the way I want it to play forward. 

I had so much fun not only reading the book but writing this review, and I hope you did to! Get on it and let me know what you think! 

About the Author: Simon James Green grew up in a small town in Lincolnshire (that definitely wasn’t the inspiration for Little Fobbing), though now lives in London, where he spends a lot of time telling people that Noah Can’t Even is only partly autobiographical, and his mum has definitely never done a Beyoncé tribute act. He is the author of the hilarious YA novels Noah Can't Even and Noah Could Never, chronicling the life of one unfortunate but ever so endearing Noah Grimes through love, life and everything else the world throws at you as a teenager.