Alex in Wonderland

Story

Alex is a shy, awkward 15-year-old who has been abandoned by his friends for the summer in a boring seaside town. When he lands a part-time job at Wonderland, a dilapidated arcade, he becomes friends with its ragtag crew, including Ben, who Alex starts to fall for. Over the course of the holidays Alex begins to grow in confidence, attempts to save Wonderland from debtors, and even has some romantic adventures…

Why we chose it

A joyous, light hearted story combining comedy, romance, mystery and how it feels to be an awkward, self-conscious, gay teenager in a small seaside town with the summer stretching in front of you and the feeling of having been somehow left behind.

Where it came from

Simon James Green is an author for children and young adults, as well as a screenwriter and director for theatre, film, and television. At school, Green developed an ability to laugh at himself, which is one of the reasons he enjoys writing light-hearted comedy today. Green often centralises LGBTQ+ characters in his work, and Alex in Wonderland is one of several recent LGBTQ+ rom-coms which celebrate same-sex romance and where the main character has already come out and been accepted. At the same time, Green believes that there is still a long way to go in terms of equality – Alex and Ben, for example, worry about holding hands or kissing in public.

Where it went next

Alex in Wonderland was popular and critically acclaimed upon publication. The novel was nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2020, named by Attitude magazine as one of the Top 20 LGBTQ+ Books of 2019, and featured in The Guardian’s Best New Kids Books 2019 and Top 100 Holiday Reads.

Associated stories

Simon James Green’s other novels for young adults include Noah Can’t Even (2017) and its sequel Noah Could Never (2018). He contributed to Proud (2019), an anthology of stories and poetry by acclaimed LGBTQ+ YA authors, with his short story Penguins. He is also the author of a picture book for younger children, Llama Glamarama (2020).