The Looking Glass Wars
Alice in Wonderland is one of those books, at least for me, that was fun to read as a child, but then when I reread it as an adult, it had me wondering if  Charles Dodgson (a.k.a. Lewis Carroll) wasn’t a but touched.  In The Looking Glass Wars, Frank Beddor takes this classic children’s tale and turn it on its head.
The premise is that Alice (or more correctly, Alyss) really is from Wonderland, but Dodgson just thinks she is a little girl with a powerful imagination and ends up twisting her story into a fantastical journey. Â The novel focuses on the violent political upheaval in Wonderland that led to Alyss’s exile into our world and her attempt to wrest control of Wonderland away from her evil Aunt Redd upon her return.
The book has some wonderful lessons about what it means to be a good leader, as well as on using imagination, knowledge, and technology responsibly.
The story itself is creative, fast paced, and entertaining. Â My only critique is that there are a few moments when the description of White Imagination and Black Imagination comes a little too close to the Light and Dark Sides of the Force, especially when the narrator is trying to make the point that anger leads to Black Imagination.
Overall, I was very pleased with this variation on the Alice tales. It manages to update the story for an older/different audience while staying true to the imaginative foundation laid by Dodgson.
June 24, 2010
Posted in: fantasy, fiction, retold fairy tale, Young Adult
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