Alice With a Why: Exclusive Edition
Hardback Published on: 05/06/2025
Price: £12.99
Bookseller Reviews
View all
Just brilliant
Alice with a Why is a fabulous take on Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. It is magical, enchanting, captivating and such intelligent and wonderful storytellin... READ MORE
The perfect Alice follow up
Anna James has done a brilliant job of breathing new life into Carroll's Alice through her grand-daughter, Alyce.
For year's Alice has been telling her... READ MORE
A "sequel" that encapsulates the spirit of the original and gives you more besides.
I am a big fan of Anna James' Treehouse Series and of course Carroll's Alice stories, so this was perfect.
Alyce (with a Y) lives with her grandmother (... READ MORE
Delightful
This is a charming story about Alice's granddaughter, Alyce, finding her way into Wonderland.
Alyce meets some of the beloved characters from the original... READ MORE
A charming return to Wonderland
This is a totally charming return to Wonderland, keeping the logically absurd spirit of Lewis Carroll’s original alive while bringing in fresh new characte... READ MORE
Brilliant!!
This book is fab! I devoured it in one go.
Very much reminiscent of the Lewis Carroll classic. You can tell Anna is a bookworm too.
I loved it!!
Perfe... READ MORE
Lewis Carroll would be proud
Alyce (with a Y) never really believed the fantastic stories of her grandmother Alice (with an I). But when she gets by mistake an invitation to a tea part... READ MORE
Magical
This was my first venture back into this world since reading the original as a child, and the movie of course.
I didn’t set my hopes too high as I know t... READ MORE
Who are you? I just told you, I'm Alyce - but with a Y.
This is a sequel and then some; Alice with a Why stays true to the original with daft rhymes and an abundance of witty wordplay whilst also introducing us ... READ MORE
Anna James' Best Yet
A few days ago, I received the most peculiar of invitations in the post. It arrived with no return address, slightly singed on the edges and requesting I a... READ MORE
All the wit and wordplay of the original.
Alyce, granddaughter of Alice, finds an invitation (for someone with a name begining with A) to come to tea. Alyce is then plunges into the world of wonder... READ MORE
Whimsical wordplay for all!
An interesting concept which worked far better than I expected! While I enjoyed the original Alice in Wonderland story, I wasn't too keen on the writing st... READ MORE
An absolute joy from cover to cover!
The perfect return to Wonderland, or a first visit! I found James really crafts a similar voice to Carroll & it truly felt like I was stepping back into th... READ MORE
Perfect for fans of the original Alice stories
The book is set just after World War I, with the main character being Alice's granddaughter, Alyce.
I found it witty and charming with strong echoes of ... READ MORE
A wonderful wandering in Wonderland
After losing her father in the Great War, Alyce (granddaughter of THE Alice) finds herself alone, at her grandmother’s home, struggling with her grief.
A ... READ MORE
Wonderful
Alice With A Why sees the granddaughter of Carroll’s books (also named Alyce-but with a ‘Y’) find herself transported to the off-beat world of her grandmot... READ MORE
Filled to the brim with fun!
A beautifully written return to Wonderland that sees echoes of Carroll’s gently absurd style combined with a beautiful story that has a different Alyce tra... READ MORE
A beautiful retelling
Beautifully nonsensical and surprisingly poignant. Of the Alice in Wonderland retellings I’ve read, this to me felt like the closest in tone to the origina... READ MORE
You never know!
Your Grandmother has always told you stories. To start with, you were intrigued by them, but as you got a bit older, you decided that she was just making t... READ MORE
Curiouser and curiouser!
I’m not quite sure how I’d react to getting hit in the face by an invitation to a mysterious tea party, but Alyce certainly manages to take it all in her s... READ MORE
A sequel of sorts, wonderfully told.
Anna James uses the magic she brought to her ever-popular Pages and Co series and the light-yet-clever whimsy and word play of the original to give Alice i... READ MORE
Welcome back to Wonderland!
The most whimsy you'll read this year! Following Alyce's story (following Alice's story) was so fun and totally inspired that childhood wonder feeling in m... READ MORE
Absolutely amazing!
I completely and utterly adored this book! It was entirely perfect, full of charm and endearing energy, I felt completely swept up in Alyce's story.
Al... READ MORE
Whimsical fun with new and old favourite characters
Alice With a Why is a thoroughly enjoyable return to Wonderland. Anna James perfectly balances old and new, with the inclusion of beloved characters like t... READ MORE
Synopsis
Return to Wonderland in this extraordinary reimagining of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by one of our most brilliant storytellers
England, 1919. Alyce – with a Y – lives with her grandmother, the original Alice, having lost her father during the great war. When a mysterious invitation to a tea party hits her square in the face, Alyce realises her grandmother’s strange stories of a place called Wonderland might have some truth to them after all.
But the land Alyce finds herself in feels different to the Wonderland of her grandmother’s stories – for it is trapped in its own war. The Sun King and the Queen of the Moon are fighting over a stolen hour, and soon Alyce is tasked with setting it right. With the help of the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and a Sailor Fox, Alyce will have to solve Wonderland’s problems and, eventually, find her way back home.
An enchanting adventure through Wonderland, and featuring new characters as well as old favourites, Alice With a Why is both a celebration of Lewis Carroll’s beloved original story, and a modern masterpiece.
Publisher information
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- ISBN: 9780008773823
- Number of pages: 256
- Dimensions: 222 x 141 x 28 mm
- Interest age: From 7 years
- Weight: 370g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allA reminder of the beauty of children’s literature.
There is no other writer that captures the magic of Children’s Literature quite like Anna James.
Over the many years many an author have tried to captu... READ MORE
Whimsical, quirky and absolutely beautiful
Whimsical and true to the original.
Wonderful characters (old and new).
Adorably daft rhymes.
Chapter 14 is absolutely beautiful.
A gorgeous ending ... READ MORE
not for me, definitely for Alice fans
I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book, as I'm not a fan of Alice in wonderland but I do enjoy Anna James' writing. so I thought I'd give it a try.
sa... READ MORE
Wonderland just became ever more wondrous…
THANK YOU is all I can begin this review with and that is directed solely at Anna James. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was one of my favourite stories g... READ MORE
Wonderland
Wonderland has reopened and awaits its Alyce.
A real new adventure full of logic, illogic, friendships, wordplay opponents and a lot of strange creature... READ MORE
Fun and full of heart!
This was a wonderful adventure back into wonderland. It was such a fun and quirky book and captured the heart of wonderland so well. I really liked Alyce a... READ MORE
Disappointing, adds very little to the canon
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.
2.5 rounded up to 3.
A question which is "Why?". This book is OK as far as it... READ MORE
Delightful read
Thank you to the publishers for this review copy.
This is a delightful read which I think could only have been improved if I had a slice of cake to eat as... READ MORE
Perfect
A magical and heartfelt return to Wonderland! Set in 1919 England, this enchanting tale follows Alyce—granddaughter of the original Alice—as she’s swept in... READ MORE
Instant 5 star
Instant 5 star because, Alice In Wonderland, obviously! A life long favourite of mine and I absolutely adore adaptations and retellings.
But, also a very... READ MORE
Delightful
Alyce with a Y lives with her grandmother the original Alice after the death of her father in the Great War. Alyce thinks all her grandmothers stories abou... READ MORE
Predictable and boring.
Predictable and boring.
Forced, derivative and performatively whimsical
The whole thing felt forced and derivative. Performatively whimsical and self-aware in an artificial way.
A magical return to Wonderland
Anna James - author of the brilliant Pages & Co series- has taken her wonderful imagination and stepped into the world of Lewis Carroll by bringing us a ne... READ MORE
A glorious return to Wonderland
I simply adore the writing of Anna James and this is no exception. Pages and Co was the series that brought back alive the magic of reading for me after I ... READ MORE
Verified Purchase
Curious and curiouser
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks for this eCopy to review
I’ve always had a soft spot for Wonderland, so when I heard Anna James wa... READ MORE
Fun & Feisty
I always wanted to go to Wonderland as a kid. Sadly not my turn, but Alyce, granddaughter of the original Alice is up, when she mistakenly receives an invi... READ MORE
A fantastic return to Wonerland
What a wonderful return to Wonderland! Staying with her grandmother who was the original Alice, Alyce is mistakenly transported to Wonderland as the inhabi... READ MORE
Delightful
A delightful, adventurous, magical return to Wonderland. The fun, the exploration of Alice and Alyce’s relationship and the connection between the two stor... READ MORE
Wonderful Alyce
Anna James has both captured, and expanded, the world Carroll created for his Alice, and this title really should have 4 and a half stars.
James
warm an... READ MORE
Amazing
Brilliant book. Very cleverly written
anna james is amaizing
another great read, love anna james, and her stories, only buy origianal from the uk , thank you so much great beautiful book,
A lovely extension to much loved tales!
Anna James has written a wholesome novel to bring Alice back into the hearts of the fans of the original stories.
Alyce begins as a child who questions h... READ MORE