Review: Wonderland by Joanna Nadin

Title: Wonderland

By: Joanna Nadin

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Publisher: Candlewick Press (February 22nd, 2011)

My Copy: Advanced Reading copy from Publisher

BookWhisperer Rating:

 

About the book:

Sixteen-year-old Jude has to get out of tiny Churchtown. She has to escape her outcast status and her pathetic dad, who hasn’t gotten past her mother’s death. The one bright light is drama, her way out, if only she can get into the Lab, a prestigious program in London. Then Stella, Jude’s childhood best friend, swaggers in after years away. With bold and magnetic Stella by her side, Jude knows she’s capable of anything. But Stella’s influence extends well beyond the theater. Soon Stella’s wild and dangerous streak begins to cause trouble for Jude -- yet Jude can’t bring herself to abandon Stella and the attention she’s always craved. And besides, now that Stella’s back, there’s no stopping her. In Jude’s dark and tangled story, British author Joanna Nadin plumbs the aftermath of loss and the consequences of becoming the person you always wished you were.
She’s back. Jude’s childhood friend -- sexy, daring Stella-- returns to their stifling hometown, and life will never be the same again.

 Wonderland is a mix of young adult romance and psychological suspense. Jude was a very innocent, and mindful young girl. Sadly, she is trying to survive in a life with the lack of a mother. Since losing her mother it seems she is completely alone; when he father falls to the dangerous grasp of alcohol. At seventeen years old Jude is on the brink of life changing decisions; as they begin to grow overwhelming she finds herself desperately craving the return of her childhood friend Stella. The wild and carefree Stella would never question major decisions such as the ones that Jude seems to be facing. As if a granted wish from her Fairy Godmother; Stella returns and life does not seem to resolve itself quite as easier as Jude at anticipated. When things begin to grow out of control Jude must find a way to separate herself from her friend, although this may prove to be impossible.