This book is written from different points of view. Some perspectives appear sparingly to provide background information, such as the doctor who prescribed antidepressants. I would have liked to see a few sections from Jonah’s perspective, since everyone else had an opinion about him. He was a central character, but we only saw his possessive side through Aria’s and Chase’s points of view. Garrett, the inventor of the drug Alice, had a few sections that showed how the drug infiltrated the mainstream. His point of view revealed the early stages of the drug’s development and the emergence of its dangerous side effects.

I liked the time jump from when Aria was a junior in high school to five years later. This allowed the characters to grow up and gave Chase time to become a police officer. The time in between wasn’t as crucial as the beginning of the story and the events surrounding the release of Alice into the town. This time skip was an effective strategy to keep the focus on the most important parts of the story. The main characters remained the same, with only time passing. There were references to high school friends after the jump, which made sense since they all stayed in the same town.

I made a connection between the drug Alice and the psychedelics in Alice in Wonderland. That familiar tale also explores altered states of reality, which drugs can simulate. Jonah distributes drugs to his classmates and introduces Aria to cocaine. Aria describes the high and the sense of relief it brings. Alice is developed from an antidepressant, and in small doses, it creates a sense of escape from reality.  The creator saw the positive impact from the antidepressant, Align, and decided to alter it into a party drug. Its intended effect is dissociation, but in larger doses, it becomes dangerous. While the book doesn’t explicitly mention Alice in Wonderland, the parallel between the drug and the story is clear.

I would recommend this book to mature young adults with a warning of references to drugs and suicide. The pacing of the book keeps the reader wanting more and trying to figure out what will happen. Love finds a way through family drama and drug fueled chaos. There are many surprises that will keep the reader engaged and rooting for Aria.