If You Liked: Alice In Wonderland

This post is the first in an ongoing book recommendation series that I’ve decided to start. I find that I often get into reading grooves. I’ll read a book or a series, and it makes me hungry (I guess?) for more books that are similar. I’m sure that there are lots of other people who get the same way. I mean, if that were not the case, how would Danielle Steele and Nora Roberts still be writing and publishing all of the books that they are putting out? They wouldn’t be able to sell any more!

So, here is my first book recommendation list. Did you enjoy Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll? If so, here are some other books that you should check out.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making – Catherynne M. Valente
I’ve linked my full review of this book, but it’s about a young girl named September who is swept off to a fantastic, nonsensical world with rules all its own. Sound familiar? There’s even a monarch with questionable sanity. This book was an instant classic for me.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs
Ransom Riggs got his inspiration for this series from those creepy black and white photos that look like they’re someone’s headshot for a freakshow. I feel like “peculiar” is the perfect word to describe this series. As Alice would say: “Curioser and curioser.”

Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery
I always felt that if Anne-with-an-E and Alice ever met, they would have gotten along very well. You could say that they are kindred spirits. If you enjoyed Alice in Wonderland but want something that takes place on this plane of reality, Anne of Green Gables is a good direction to go.

Anything by Neil Gaiman
Anything is not the title of a book…I just really think that if you honestly enjoyed Alice in Wonderland then you will have an appreciation for Neil Gaiman’s writing style – fantasy with a healthy dose of odd.

The Night Gardener – Jonathan Auxier
On the spookier side, this is the story of two Irish orphans who find themselves working at a home where everything seems a little more dead than normal. Everything, that is, except for the giant tree which has overtaken anything and everything on the property, including the house. I’ve linked to my full review here.

The Raven Cycle – Maggie Stiefvater
In this series, Maggie Stiefvater managed to make my fully adult, cynical heart believe in magic again. Magic is real, so are psychics, and ancient Welsh kings can be brought back to life.

Wink Poppy Midnight – April Genevieve Tucholke
If you enjoyed Alice in Wonderland because of its distinctly odd vibe and you enjoy reading while not being quite sure where the story is headed, you will probably enjoy Wink Poppy Midnight. I’ve linked to my full review, but just go into it being warned that things do take quite a dark turn about halfway through the book. I was not anticipating that (which was my own fault, I think that the reader is supposed to feel the darkness approaching), and it really threw me for a loop and kind of pulled me out of the story a little bit.

Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times – Emma Trevayne
Jack is a young boy living in London, who follows a mysterious figure through a magical door and into a strange world where things don’t quite make sense. It seems like the people there are not actually made of flesh and blood, and the steam that fills the atmosphere might actually be damaging to Jack’s human body. I’ve linked to my full review here.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – L. Frank Baum
I mean, Dorothy and Alice are quite similar characters who take very similar journeys. And Oz and Wonderland, while quite different from each other, are both excellent and formidable players on the Bizarre Team.