THE LOST WONDERLAND DIAIRES by J Scott Savage

THE LOST WONDERLAND DIARIES by J Scott Savage. What a fun way to fall back into Wonderland, literally! Celia and Tyrus take us back to Wonderland in a fantastic way. I loved getting to know the Wonderland characters even more than when Alice went there. The Mad Hatter had a depth that I loved. I will admit that the first couple of chapters were a little bit slow for me, but once it got going, I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those who love Wonderland. It's a great way to introduce the next generation to Lewis Carroll, although it does help to know a little bit about Alice in Wonderland before hand.

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Something monstrous has been found in the magic world of Wonderland and it wants to get out.

Lewis Carroll created a curious and fantastical world in his classic book Alice in Wonderland, but he secretly recorded the true story of his actual travels to Wonderland in four journals which have been lost to the world...until now.

Celia and Tyrus discover the legendary Lost Diaries of Wonderland and fall into a portal that pulls them into the same fantasy world as the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter. However, Wonderland has vastly changed. A darkness has settled over the land, and some creatures and characters that Tyrus remembers from the book have been transformed into angry monsters.

Celia and Tyrus make their way through this unpredictable and dangerous land, helped by familiar friends including the Cheshire Cat and a new character, Sylvan, a young rabbit. Together, they desperately work to solve puzzles and riddles, looking for a way out of Wonderland. But the danger increases when the Queen of Hearts begins hunting them. Believing the two young visitors hold the key to opening multiple portals to multiple worlds, she will stop at nothing to capture them.

It's up to Celia and Tyrus to save Wonderland and the real world.  It's a race against time before they are trapped in Wonderland forever.

THE PAPER DAUGHTERS OF CHINATOWN by Heather B Moore

THE PAPER DAUGHTERS OF CHINATOWN by Heather B Moore. What a fascinating story. Donaldina was such an amazing woman. Her courage and strength motivated me to want to do better not only as a woman but as a human. What she was able to do for the girls brought to American under false pretense was incredible. She, and all those who helped her, are a heroes in all definitions of the word. What an incredibly eye opening book that I would recommend to just about anyone. It might not be suitable for younger readers due to the subject of human trafficking. There is nothing graphic or explicit, but it is heavy content.

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A powerful story based on true events surrounding Donaldina Cameron and other brave women who fought to help Chinese-American women escape discrimination and slavery in the late 19th century in California.

When Donaldina Cameron arrives at the Occidental Mission Home for Girls in 1895, she intends to teach sewing skills to young Chinese women immigrants, but, within days, she discovers that the job is much more complicated than perfect stitches and even hems. San Francisco has a dark side, one where a powerful underground organization--the criminal tong--brings Chinese young women to America to sell them as slaves. With the help of Chinese interpreters and the Chinatown police squad, Donaldina becomes a tireless social reformer to stop the abominable slave and prostitution trade.

Mei Lien believes she is sailing to the "Gold Mountain" in America to become the wife of a rich Chinese man. Instead she finds herself sold into prostitution--beaten, starved, and forced into an opium addiction. It is only after a narrow escape that she hears of the mission home and dares to think there might be hope for a new life.