Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams

I know there's a lot of excitement about a couple of upcoming retellings of Alice in Wonderland, but in the meantime, I wanted to talk about a book that's not a retelling at all: Down the Rabbit Hole, by Peter Abrahams.

"Not a retelling at all?!" you gasp? "Then why are you putting it here in this adaptation review blog???" you wonder?

Because in spite of being very much its own story, it greatly involves TWO of my favorite retold tales.

Down the Rabbit Hole

First, obviously, Alice in Wonderland. The entire story is evocative of the classic, the parallels made moreso by the play within a novel -- the community in the story is putting on a production of Alice in Wonderland.

Secondly, Sherlock Holmes. The main character, 13-year-old Ingrid, is a devoted fan of the world's greatest detective.

The two motifs blend together splendidly in this fast-paced thriller, which, while it's been tagged as Peter Abrahams first young adult novel, I found entirely captivating -- I could barely put it down. Abrahams succeeded both in creating a believable, dark mystery, and capturing that which makes 13 years old an awkward and awakening age. Ingrid was fun to read -- stubborn, smart, and resourceful, even while being afraid and making mistakes.

I definitely recommend it if you're a fan of either Alice in Wonderland or Sherlock Holmes, or if you just like a good mystery....


No comments:

Post a Comment