Mad About the Hatter

By: Dakota Chase

Narrated by: Joel Froomkin

Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

This isn't his sister's Wonderland....

Henry never believed his older sister Alice's fantastic tales about the world down the rabbit hole. When he's whisked away to the bizarre land, his best chance for escape is to ally himself with the person called the Mad Hatter. Hatter - an odd but strangely attractive fellow - just wants to avoid execution. If that means delivering "Boy Alice" to the Queen of Hearts at her Red Castle, Hatter will do what he has to do to stay alive. It doesn't matter if Henry and Hatter find each other intolerable. They're stuck with each other.

Along their journey, Henry and Hatter must confront what they've always accepted as truth. As dislike grows into tolerance and something like friendship, the young men see the chance for a closer relationship. But Wonderland is a dangerous place, and first they have to get away with their lives.

©2015 Dakota Chase (P)2017 Harmony Ink Press

Absolutely LOVED this!

What did you love best about Mad About the Hatter?

It is a completely different version of Alice in Wonderland. A story never told before but has characters that you know. I love the Mad Hatter and Mr Froomkin brought him to life for me.

Have you listened to any of Joel Froomkin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not but my mom has a lot of books he has narrated. She said I would like his voice. I love his voice. I am so happy that she found this book for me. He does the characters so well. I think he made this book come to life. I hope everyone who has read it will now get the Audio version.

Amazing

This was definitely an interesting twist on Alice in wonderland! Loved it, great story. A must have in your Audio library

Delightful & Whimsical

This was a delight to listen to. This is the story of Alice's little brothers trip to Wonderland, and his adventures there.

Mad About the Hatter had just enough humor & whimsy to keep me entertained & interested until the end. There is the same round-a-bout word play that I remember from the original story, that made me giggle. "Well if I'm here, and you're there, then do you want to know who is here or there..."

The descriptions of the landscapes & creatures found in this Wonderland were very nicely done. I could picture what was described in all it's imaginative wondrous glory.

Joel Leslie Froomkin's performance was beyond awesome. The voices and accents he used were done very well. I can only imagine how much of a challenge the speaking backward part of the book was, but he did it amazingly well.

While this is technically a YA book, it is not juvenile & very enjoyable for an adult listener. There is a little bit of romance between Henry & The Hatter but it is understated and very sweet.

I was provided a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

magical

that was just wonderful!! the hater was just as crazy and as loveable as I had hoped, and I laughed throughout the whole story. the only thing that would have made it better, was if there had been more then just kissing,I would have love to see the two go beyond that and make love. I did wish that the ending had not been so rushed, once they meet the Queen, everything moved far too quickly for my liking.
the person reading the story was also great, he seemed to have fun with the different characters and their voices. I especially liked the red King and queens voices, too funny!! but if course the mad hatter was still my # 1 favorite, his voice worked perfectly with the unique type of craziness that is the hatter! I would definitely recommend this book

Boy Alice visits Wonderland

A new take on the Lewis Carroll classic. Alice is now in her 20's with twins named Lewis and Carol! This time it's her brother Henry who is whisked away to the magical land. Henry never believed Alice's tales of Wonderland growing up and still doesn't until now. Upon arriving, he is met by the Hatter, who becomes his companion. Hatter is on the run from the Queen, who has ordered him to be beheaded. Seems these days, that's her solution to everything. Henry is also trying to find a way back home, but must find the Looking Glass again. Hatter thinks he knows where it may be, but there is much danger in trying to get there, not only from the Queen's guards after them, but from the crazy world of Wonderland itself. Along the way, the two men become drawn to each other. Can they survive and keep their heads long enough to do something about that?

Dakota Chase has brilliantly brought Wonderland back to life and added to that world and the characters. There is much humor along with the danger. Being a YA book, I have to admit the only thing that bothered me was that the attraction between the two men felt kind of forced and thrown in for much of the book. Chapters would go by with no mention and then suddenly there is a little section describing one of the men's attraction to the other. Then nothing for a long time again. It doesn't really become an integral part of the story until maybe 3/4 of the way through the book. But that's my only nitpick.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this and my favorite narrator, Joel Froomkin, does an absolutely fantastic job of bringing these characters to life. Every one who speaks gets a unique voice complete with accents. There is really nothing Joel can't do to add life and fun to every novel he narrates!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Why did I wait so long to listen to this?!

Mad About the Hatter is a really enjoyable YA story that can be enjoyed by everyone. There’s a little bit of romance, with a kiss or two, but mostly it’s a story with a lot of important messages for all ages. It advocates acceptance, doing the right thing, being nice to others and many more. The messages are a bit subtle at times and the book isn’t preachy; it’s just a really great story overall.

I’ve never read Alice in Wonderland but that didn’t make any difference to my enjoyment of this book. Dakota Chase really came up with some very inventive ways to deliver important messages. Joel Leslie has long been one of my favorite audiobook performers and this book is a great example of why. The many different character voices he uses in this book had me wondering at times if there wasn’t more than one voice actor, even though I knew that he was the only one. This truly was a very special audiobook to listen to.

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me at my request but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.

I loved going back to Wonderland!

Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books, and I'm always down for Wonderland expansions, retellings, fanfics, I'm here for it all.

I needed a change of pace from my normal romance reads, so when I found this book on Audible, I was immediately intrigued. With one of my favorite narrators performing this story, I was pretty sure it was going to be a win for me.

And a win it was! This story felt true to the Wonderland experience, and it was a joy to revisit characters I've loved for so many years. With plenty of giggle-worthy moments, Hatter & Henry's journey was captivating and confusing, their burgeoning romance adorable, although I would have liked to see more of them falling for one another.

The narration was stellar, and added so much to this story. Each of these quirky characters was unique and expertly portrayed, making this story really come alive.

Wholly entertaining, this story was just what I needed in my reading life right now. Now I need a sequel with Hatter's next adventure!

Mad About the Hatter

Mad About the Hatter by Dakota Chase
YA LGBTQ retelling / addendum to Alice’s story where here her brother Henry visits Wonderland and falls for Mad Hatter. Enemies to friends troupe.
Henry never believed the stories that Alice told about Wonderland. First, they were just unbelievable. And second, she probably just wanted the attention. Nevertheless, he gets pulled in and must befriend Hatter to find his way out.

Cute and amusing with visits to different parts and characters from the original story that are true to type. Henry is good at being snarky and the Queen is good at being evil.
Whether you ever read Alice or not, this book is a trip to enjoy.

🎧 the Audiobook is narrated by Joel Froomkin who does a wonderful with character voices, emotions and even talking backwards. This is a narrator that I have to listen to at a slightly higher speed. Where my usual is 1.2, I listened to this at 1.4 or 1.5 to get to a comfortable talking speed.

Simple mad about this book

Amazing and wonderful read, it’s a great twist with Alice’s brother. Hatter is very intriguing in this book.

A great new take on the Wizard of Oz!

This story is amazing! I was kind of annoyed with Henry in the beginning of the story, but he totally redeemed himself. The Hatter was quirky without being over the top an easy character to love. This story is lovely book about learning to have an open mind and not be so quick to judge things because of the way they appear. Joel Froomkin made each character come to life in a way that had me completely invested in their well being. I looked forward to listening to this story every spare moment I had so that I could hear what happened next to Henry and the Hatter.