The Lost Wonderland Diaries by J. Scott Savage

Celia has moved to a new town, which means trying to hide her dyslexia from everyone. Just before starting school, Celia is stuck at her mother’s new job in the public library. While there, Celia meets Tyrus, a boy obsessed with books. A voice leads them to her mother’s office where they find a small chest. They open the chest, find four old diaries, and open one of them. Together they are transported into Wonderland. Sylvan, a white rabbit who led them to the chest, tells Celia and Tyrus that a destructive plague is infesting Wonderland. It is prophesied that Wonderland will end unless another “Alice” saves Wonderland from its fate. Tyrus wants to help, but Celia only wants to go home. However, the Red Queen is hunting them down thinking Celia and Tyrus can open portals outside Wonderland. Constantly on the run, they meet several familiar characters who help them find answers to Wonderland’s troubles.

Savage introduces a new generation of readers to Wonderland, a place where behaviors do not make sense, but the world is surprisingly ruled by mathematical principles. Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and whose real name was Charles Dodgson, was also a mathematician. Math is critical to the story because Celia uses her mathematical talent to tackle problems she and Tyrus face. Savage includes this important plot point to prove that someone with dyslexia can still comprehend complex issues when shown in a way other than the written word. Savage makes many references to Carroll’s original story, with several characters readers would not recognize if they have not read Carroll’s book. However, any reader with some familiarity of Wonderland, from seeing film adaptations, would still understand and enjoy Savage’s story. Coming out in September with three other books to follow.

Behind the Canvas by Alexander Vance

While touring her local art museum, tween Claudia Miravista catches a glimpse of a boy in the background of a painting. That same boy reappears inside a painting in Claudia’s bedroom. The boy’s name is Pim and he tells Claudia about the world behind the canvas. Long ago a group of magical artists—known as Artisti—crafted a parallel dimension where their oil paintings could truly come to life. In the 1600s, Pim was cursed by an evil Artisti, Nee Gezicht, who trapped him inside this world using his will to fuel her power. With the help of another Artisti, Claudia is given an ointment to help her enter the oil painting dimension. Claudia’s mission is to stop Nee Gezicht by breaking her magical staff which will finally free Pim. But when Claudia enters the oil painting world, it is not at all how she imagined.

Behind the Canvas is a fun fantasy adventure with some very unique world-building. Vance creates a new dimension where all the oil paintings in the world collide creating an ongoing panorama of color, style, and vibrancy with a cast of some very familiar faces. However, there is a major downside to this story from the start because Vance’s world-building is based on such important visuals. Any reader who isn’t familiar with all the artists or styles mentioned in the story could easily feel lost in Vance’s narrative. What is the Fireside Angel? What does Cubism look like? Vance tries to “fix” this by including footnotes explaining artists or artistic movements. However, this doesn’t help readers to truly visualize the world Vance created, no matter how good his written descriptions are. This problem could have been resolved by including actual images or placing QR codes inside the narrative for readers to follow, like in The Van Gogh Deception by Deron Hicks. This would have solidified Vance’s world building and help teach readers art history in a unique way.