THE LOST WONDERLAND DIARIES

Wonderland is in danger, and two unlikely heroes must work together to save it.

San Jose eighth graders Celia and Tyrus have barely just met at the library when they find the lost diaries of Charles Dodgson—aka Lewis Carroll, narrator Celia’s great-great-great-great-uncle—in which the author recorded his very real travels into the parallel world of Wonderland. When the kids accidentally open a doorway to Wonderland, they discover it has changed a lot since the time Carroll visited, and the place is a much darker, more dangerous world for its unhappy inhabitants, who live under the threat of a nefarious hauntstrosity. Tyrus is a bookworm and wordsmith while Celia is a math and logic whiz, and the story puts their newly minted friendship to the test as they learn to work together and use their skills to solve puzzles and riddles, running against time to save Wonderland and get back to their own world. Savage pays homage to Carroll’s world with imagination as well as a notable love for math and literature while adding his own ingenious twists to the original. Both Celia and Tyrus struggle with bullying back home, and Celia’s dyslexia is a constant source of frustration when other kids underestimate her intelligence, and the book ultimately offers a message of empowerment and self-love. Tyrus is brown-skinned and Celia is assumed White.

A fun and clever return to Wonderland.