The "true" story of Alice of Wonderland (The Looking Glass Wars - Frank Beddor)

Member Name: slinkyindieninja

Product:	The Looking Glass Wars - Frank Beddor
Date:	01/12/08 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quite long, short chapters, good concept

Disadvantages: Writing too flawed for adult audience

The central premise of this book is this: the story of Alice's adventures in Wonderland, as recorded by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), is all lies. Alice, who spells her name Alyss, told the story of her childhood and how it was destroyed to Dodgson but he didn't believe she was telling the truth, and made it into a silly children's book. "The Looking Glass Wars", is the true story. Alyss Heart was the princess of Wonderland until, on her seventh birthday,her evil aunt Redd killed her parents. Alyss was nearly murdered too, but she and Hatter Madigan, the Queen's faithful guard, jumped through a puddle. unfortunately, they were separated, and Alyss found herself alone in England. the book tells the story of these events, how Alyss fared in England, and what happened when she finally managed to get home to Wonderland.

I enjoyed reading "The Looking Glass Wars", but I think this book is better suited to the child audience they are written for. The concept is interesting, but the characters are two-dimensional and the plot simplistic. there are some nice descriptions, but overall, the detail is very sparse. there are some characters I would have liked to know more about, and I found Alyss herself to be unbelievable -- she was very mature at 7 years old, and there was little development in her character between that age and the age she is by the end of the book, 20.

It was an enjoyable read, but nothing special. There is a sequel to this book, "Seeing Redd", and other accompanying volumes, as well as another forthcoming title in the series.

Summary: Should keep kids and teenagers busy for a while, but may bore some