The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

Paperback, 358 pages
Published August 21st 2007 by Puffin (first published September 2nd 2004)
ISBN 0142409413 (ISBN13: 9780142409411)
Primary Language: English
Source: Purchased

The Blurb (www.goodreads.com):

The Myth: Alice was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook.

The Truth: Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss' parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated.

Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

The Looking Glass Wars follows the life of Princess Alyss, from her childhood in Wonderland through her early adulthood in London, England. We meet a variety of interesting characters along the way that one may recognize from Lewis Carroll's books, but not in that "Oh, how cute, a smiling cat" way. More in a "rip a person to pieces while you watch" way.

At the age of seven, young Alyss is having a birthday party when her evil Aunt Redd, possessing the power of Black Imagination, kills Alyss's father, uses her card soldiers to storm the castle, kills everyone she can find, and eventually ends up facing off with Alyss's mother. Alyss's mother sends her bodyguard, the highly skilled fighter Hatter Madigan, through the looking glass (a kind of transport highway) with Alyss before being beheaded by Redd.

Alyss and Hatter are separated when fleeing from Cat, Redd's murderous multi-lived assassin, and Alyss ends up an orphan child on the streets of 19th century London, England. While Hatter spends the next 13 years trying to find her, Alyss has to learn to deal with London society and Wonderland becomes a land filled with darkness, hatred, and fear.

I've always been intrigued with twisted fairy tales. When the video game "Alice" was released many years ago, I was excited because it showed Wonderland as a dark and twisted place. When I read a friend's review of the third book in Beddor's series, I went out and bought this one, and unfortunately, let it sit on my bookshelf for over a year. In that year, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland was released, renewing my interest in all things Alice.

I finally picked it up a couple of weeks ago, and I am glad I did! This book was an exciting read from start to finish. While it's a YA novel, it still manages to encompass everything from romance to mental disorders, thrilling chases and tea parties. I liked the set up of the relationship between Wonderland and the real world. It amused me to think there was one person sitting on a throne somewhere deciding what inspiration to send along to us simpletons.

Beddor's characters were real and multi-dimensional. For instance, Hatter was more than a skilled fighter, our heroes had many faults, and even the perfect world of Wonderland had a seedy underbelly. I enjoyed knowing that the heroes I rooted for were so much less than perfect, with prejudices and fears of their own.

I am very much looking forward to reading the remaining two books in this series.

And on a related note of excitement: Alice: The Madness Returns will be released in June, and I am very excited about it!

This marks the third book in my Off The Shelf Challenge!