Formal aspects: This book is listed as part of the ‘Crime Club Selection’ series. It includes a key on the back with various symbols defining the particular characteristics found within the book. Malice is listed as being a “classic puzzler” due to its murder mystery theme. The title font is playful but ominous, much like the skull coconuts hanging on the palm trees illustrated beside the title. The illustrations are done in a cartoon style, but with much less colour than a child’s book would have. They also incorporate lots of death (skulls, bones, black, warning signs) into them, making them much less childish. The inside cover says that it “assures a wonderland of surprises” to the reader once again referencing Alice. The language used incorporates lots of food and colour—particularly candy, another similarity to its referent story. Yet again, Malice also references notes on paper—but these ones are malicious in a deadly sense. The story has no illustrations throughout the text, a departure from Alice’s normal layout.

What makes it a parody?: The story uses familiar tropes which are well known from the original story, such as surreal imagery and notes in food, but it is about witches and murder. This inverts the original mood of the Alice story, going from a playful surreal fantasy to a dark, real life horror story.

What makes it unsuitable for kids?: Namely the murder mystery format—its twists are too complex for those with lower reading comprehension to fully understand…also murders of children at birthday parties is probably not the best subject material for children themselves.