A Blade So Black (A Blade So Black, #1) by L.L. McKinney
Published by Imprint on September 25th 2018
ISBN: 1250153905
Pages: 384
Goodreads

An urban fantasy reworking of Alice in Wonderland, featuring a tough, smart, young black woman as Alice, who becomes entangled in a Wonderland-esque alternate universe when immediately following the death of her father she is attacked by a wolf-like creature and saved by a strange but cute white punk guy with a British accent whose name is Addison Hatta. Though unsure why, Alice clearly seems to have some kind of connection to wonderland and Hatta begins training her to be a Dreamwalker and to fight and defeat Nightmares like the one that attacked her, all while she juggles a caring but demanding best friend, Court; more laid back pal Chess (who seems like maybe he is interested in more than friendship with Alice), and a fiercely protective mom. Pun and reference laden dialogue plays to the fun campy angle of this novel while eerie imagery, a touch of romance  and well-paced  action balance out the silliness. As the borders of Alice’s real world and Wonderland begin to blur and her friends are threatened, readers are left with a cliffhanger that will make them eager for the follow up. This will appeal to older middle school and high school students who are fans of authors like Holly Black and Cynthia Leitich Smith. 

Reviewed by Brooke Faulkner, McArthur Public Library, Biddeford