Kazumi Reads

Plot Summary:
What if Wonderland was not what we thought of us. What if it was a realm that depended on games in order to survive. For Alice Liddell, falling down that rabbit hole was not a good idea, now was it her choice. Peter, White, the White Rabbit, found Alice asleep in a garden and kidnapped her. Once in Wonderland, he forced Alice to drink a potion that would require her to stay in Wonderland until the liquid regenerates itself. How will she do this, she must meet a variety of characters. Although it seems simple, Wonderland has quite the cast of characters that we all know and love, except that the Red Queen isn't evil, the Hatter is a mafia boss, the Twins are mercenaries, the White Rabbit is a kidnapper, and the Cat is well--quite the cat. Confused, and just plain frustrated, Alice seeks help from Julius, the Keeper of the Clock Tower, who explains to her that there are places she can go and other locations to avoid. In fact, Wonderland has been at odds with itself for a while so battles can happen at any time. However, as the battle goes on, Alice learns, with the help of the dream demon, Nightmare, that the reason she is wonderland and the objective of this game is for the players to fall in love with her. The question is: is falling in love just a goal or is it real. For Alice, her feelings are all over the place, especially when she learns that the Blood Dupree, the Hatter, resembles the boy she loved back home. The more time she spends in Wonderland, the more she she learns about all of these unique gentlemen. Will Alice ever get home or will she be in Wonderland forever? Time will only tell.

Critical Evaluation:
I am a sucker for Alice in Wonderland. In this re-telling of one of my favorite stories is a pretty clever take on Alice's Wonderland. Despite the antics and the silliness, Alice is trying to figure out why she would be in a place where everyone will fall in love with her. Alice constantly questions herself and believes that the reason why she is in this "dream" is because she wants someone to love her. However, as readers dive into this short series, they will learn that is a lot more than than the eye can see. Honestly, I just love all of these characters because they are all walking contradictions. For example, the White Rabbit, or, Peter White, in the story, is reckless, determined, and not at all timid. Blood Dupree (the Hatter) is actually quite calm and sane (more calculated than anything). The Queen of Hearts isn't a crazy, angry woman, but beautiful, calm, and rather loving. As for Alice, she is much more feisty and not at all curious, which I thought was ironic. I thought this was interesting decision made by the author. Then again, a lot of the spin-offs of this story preserve facts that are necessary for the plot development. In this case, Alice never out right stated she wanted to go to a land where everything is opposite and in disarray. However, the longer she stays, the more she starts to realize that this maybe the dream she actually wanted.

Information about the Author: 

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of information by Quinrose on their website, but here it is (with the help of Google Translate:

QuinRose～クインロゼ～』では、
女性主人公のファンタジー恋愛アドベンチャーゲームを中心に制作しています。
※関連作品として、男性主人公のゲームも制作しております。

2010年からソニーのパブリッシャーとなり、
現在は家庭用機ゲームを主に開発中です。

In "QuinRose ~ Kuinroze ~",
Has produced mainly female hero fantasy romance adventure game.
※ as related work, we have also produced male hero game.

And publisher of Sony from 2010,
And is currently developing a game machine primarily for home use.

From Amazon.com:

QuinRose is a Japanese game developer that produces dating-sim games for girls, including the bestselling Alice in the Country of Hearts. Many of their other productions are also loosely based on works of fiction. 

Genre:
Teen Fantasy Manga

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 10 & up

Books Similar to Alice in the Country of Hearts

•  Alice in the Country of Clovers by Quinrose
•  Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time by Tohko Mizuno