A Blade So Black

August 1, 2018
McKinney's debut novel introduces a no-nonsense, cosplaying, dark-skinned Alice with coily hair charged with defending two worlds while still making it home for curfew.The same night 17-year-old Atlanta resident Alice Kingston's father dies, she's attacked by a Nightmare, "a manifestation of humanity's fears," and saved by "punk rock Prince Charming" Addison Hatta, guardian of a gateway in the Looking Glass pub between our world and Wonderland, a dreamscape of Earth. Hatta recruits Alice to fight alongside him, and from that first meeting the story races readers through her metamorphosis from lost, grieving teen to a still-grieving, world-saving, dagger-wielding "black Buffy." McKinney beautifully exposes the immensity of the pressure Alice feels to balance her duties as daughter, friend, and Dreamwalker, emphasizing the precariousness of Alice's position as a black girl alternately worried about the threat of police violence in her community and the mysterious menaces in Wonderland. The nuanced representations of relationships, platonic and not (there is a dreamy, romantic lesbian love story), between the inclusive cast of characters are highlights of the text. Uneven pacing leads to sometimes feeling one step beyond the action and without sufficient worldbuilding. While representations of race on Earth are clearly established, in Wonderland they are conflated and lacking in nuance (Addison is white, and other Wonderland residents are described as appearing Latinx and East Asian).A thrilling, timely novel that ensures readers will be curiouser for a sequel. (Fantasy. 14-18)

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September 1, 2018

Gr 8 Up-Seventeen-year-old Alice is attacked by a Nightmare the night her father dies. She is saved and mentored by Addison Hatta, a handsome and mysterious Curiouser who decides to train her in becoming a Dreamwalker-a destroyer of Nightmares with magic weapons-in Wonderland. Her overprotective mother worries about her in their urban Atlanta community. Her high-maintenance best friend, Court, anticipates a huge birthday celebration at a time when it clashes with Alice's secret and near-deadly Dreamwalker life. Alice finds herself attracted to both Hatta and friend Chess. When Hatta is poisoned with the Madness at the hands of the Black Knight, Alice has to find the Heart and Eye antidotes, which have been hidden and misplaced in Wonderland. She receives help from unexpected characters on a life-defining journey to defeat the Black Knight, Nightmares, and Fiends-and to save herself from losing her head. McKinney has infused this urban contemporary retelling of Lewis Carroll's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a Buffy the Vampire Slayer sensibility and "Black Girl Magic." Readers will enjoy the acerbic sarcasm and comedy. The inclusion of various cultures, skin tones, languages, ages, and sexual orientations is expertly woven into the narrative and world-building. Teens will root for Alice as a strong, multidimensional black girl usually unseen in YA fiction. The novel's pace slows at times, but it will keep readers in suspense. VERDICT This is a must-purchase where refreshing urban fantasies and retellings are in demand.-Donald Peebles, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2018
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* McKinney delivers an explosive, kick-ass debut, described by the author herself as, What if Buffy fell down the rabbit hole instead of Alice? This Alice is a black teen girl who is first seen fleeing a hospital after learning of her dad's death. She then stumbles upon Wonderland resident Addison Hatter and witnesses him battling a Nightmare, an evil entity from the dream realm of Wonderland that, as a mortal, Alice isn't supposed to be able to see. Her ability to see these dark, pernicious beings marks her as a human who can kill Nightmares instead of simply sending them back to Wonderland. As a result, Addison begins training Alice to battle Nightmare creatures. When Addison is poisoned, Alice must find an antidote by journeying into the heart and bowels of Wonderland?a place that is as dangerous as it is whimsical, as deadly as it is beautiful. McKinney breathes new life and fierce empowerment into Carroll's classic. Her Wonderland is menacing, lush, and unique and populated by nuanced characters that are fleshed out and refreshingly authentic. This is the Alice in Wonderland retelling the world has always needed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)