This book was way different than anything else I've ever read, other than the Alice in Wonderland comparisons of course. To put Wonderland inside a computer is truly inventive. And the writing style was such that I really felt as if a 6th grader was telling me the story. The characters were unique and fun and I found myself being drawn into the story and unable to put it down. I definitely recommend this book for people who enjoy retellings, middle grade books, or stories about computers! ( )

Alicia's Misadventures in Computer Land: Hackers and Heroes provides a zany take-off on Alice in Wonderland by presenting the story of sixth grade computer hacker genius Alicia, president of the school's Chaos Computer Club, who is known as 'White Rabbit' amongst her computer geek peers.

In quite a different, modern take on the original, a storm and computer interactions shrink her into a tiny 'virtual girl' and send her into cyberspace, where she becomes trapped in a computer, facing down a virus.

In such a world, a hacker named Caterpillar and other characters both challenge and help her along. There's enough allusion to the original Alice to prove satisfying; especially to middle school readers who will find comparisons between the two books to be lively and fun.

From an ant army anti-virus whose program involves combat and who marches into a WAR file to Alicia's ability to reach her brother in the real world through his obsession with computer games, Alicia's Misadventures in Computer Land is a hilarious, refreshingly different read that will engage middle school grades on up with quite a fun, different perspective on Alice and her modern-day Computerland tribulations.

And while its audience is the middle grade levels, it should be mentioned that any adults partial to the old Alice, computer environments, and fantasies featuring a sassy, fun protagonists will find this a compelling, absorbing saga. ( )