I've made a discovery: I don't actually love adult coloring books. I love the idea of them, but when it comes down to it, when I want to relax, I want to keep it simple. And if I'm not trying to relax, but to express myself creatively, I'm going to be doing an original piece.
Having said that, as adult coloring books go, this is a good one.
Amily Shen's Wonderland takes a story most people are familiar with, and re-imagines it as the author's own dream. It harks to Carroll's novel, but is not so much of an Alice retelling, but rather as if the author were forced into Alice's place, rushing through her adventures at a mad and frenzied pace. The story reads like a dream. And I don't mean dreamy; I mean those disjointed dreams where your are standing in one place doing one thing and then suddenly you're somewhere completely diffent, doing something completely else, and you keep running into weirdly impossible people. I'm actually really impressed with the pacing of this story.
The author seems to really hone in on the food aspect, bedecking her pages with treats and sweets. I suppose this only makes sense, as the author appears to have fallen asleep in a bistro. Honestly my favorite part so far has been coloring the caucus race candy page.
The book is also a little bit gimmicky, but in a good way; there's a little bit of look-find action in it, audience participation and some picturebook-ish questions. I think it may hold some appeal for teenagers as well as adults.
I'm not sure how to rate this book, since we have established that I am not enamored of the genre. I will say this, if you google images from this book, you'll see a lot of great work from some incredibly talented people. If you're looking to pour some serious time and talent into this book, it could be perfect for you. If, however, you're just looking for a few minutes to let go, borrow your kid's dollar store animal coloring book. You'll be just as happy.
I'm going to give this book a five, in spite of myself, because this is a coloring book for grown-ups, and for what it is, I think the author did a fantastic job. Ms. Shen can't help it if I'd rather be coloring teddy bears and balloons.
I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion about the book.
