Review | Alice in Tumblr-Land by Tim Manley | 2015 Fairytale Challenge

Alice in Tumblr-Land

by Tim Manley

My Rating: 

The Ugly Duckling still feels gross compared to everyone else, but now she’s got Instagram, and there’s this one filter that makes her look awesome. Cinderella swaps her glass slippers for Crocs. The Tortoise and the Hare Facebook stalk each other. Goldilocks goes gluten free. And Peter Pan finally has to grow up and get a job, or at least start paying rent.

Here are more than one hundred fairy tales, illustrated and re-imagined for today. Instead of fairy godmothers, there’s Siri. And rather than big bad wolves, there are creepy dudes on OkCupid. In our brave new world of social networking, YouTube, and texting, fairy tales can once again lead us to "happily ever after" — and have us laughing all the way. 

I have to admit I thought Alice in Tumblr-Land was one of those books I'd never review because it didn't leave me with a lot of things I wanted to say, but as I'm taking part in the 2015 Fairytale Challenge it seemed a shame not to review it now!

This little book can be summed up in three words: just plain fun. If you're in the mood for some entirely modern fairy tales - the kind that aren't trying to be dark or 'edgy' - then this is the book for you! I read this in under an hour; it's the kind of book you can either speed through and enjoy like I did or, if you prefer, you can dip in and out of it and enjoy it at your own leisure.

Of course just because this book is a lot of fun it doesn't mean it doesn't have anything to say. Despite being short and funny, there's a lot in this book about growing up, identity and sexuality that I honestly wasn't expecting - in fact this is one of the most diverse collections of fairy tale retellings I've come across, and for that I appreciated and respected it a lot more than I initially thought I would!

So if you're looking for a collection of retellings that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you go 'aww' then this is the collection for you!