Alex in Wonderland, by Simon James Green

[Ulysses]

Alex in Wonderland
By Simon James Green
Scholastic, 2019
Four stars

If Simon James Green is the voice of the YA author who can get past mainstream prejudice in regard to LGBT content, then we could do a helluva lot worse.

I loved Green’s two “Noah” books, and liked his new anti-hero, Alex Button, just as much. I think the overall story in this one – an awkward, shy, unhappy gay teen looks for romance in a run-down amusement arcade in his one-horse English seaside town – is less powerful than Noah’s tale, but the quick wit and carefully calibrated teenage idiocy is both convincing and touching.

What makes this book particularly interesting is the whodunnit mystery wrapped up inside Alex’s lonely quest for love. There is some slightly heavy-handed villainy here, in the person of Kendra, Alex’s evil stepmother. Then again, the heavy-handedness might come entirely from Alex’s rather comical persecution complex. I did feel it was a little too easy to dislike Kendra, who could have been a more subtle personification of a type. On that same note, Alex’s father should have had a little more to do, because his presence is weaker than I think Green intended.

Alex’s new-found group of friends at Wonderland, however, is as charming and interesting as one could want. They are really the focus of this story, as they encourage and support Alex to help him see his own potential and let go of his “woe is me” approach to life.

It’s important for writers like Green to keep producing books like this. These books will reach bigger audiences and keep making things better.