The Looking Glass Wars

By Frank Beddor
So after the publication of Harry Potter the market has been saturated with Young Adult Series. People's interest has also piqued with this trend, which is a good thing-I'm all for getting folks to read more. I recently heard about The Looking Glass Wars and after a little hunting around found it at a local library. It is written by Frank Beddor who is interestingly enough a Hollywood producer stunt skier who was in Hot Dog: The Movie. I really loved the book and am excited for the next in the series.
The conciet is that Alyss (correct spelling) is a real girl from a real Wonderland. She is heir to the Heart throne and has the strongest imagination in Wonderland, therefore destined to become a great queen. Her Aunt Redd takes over Wonderland in a violent coup. Alyss escapes through the Pool of Tears and ends up in Victorian London. She eventually meets and befriends Lewis Carroll, tells him her life story, which he publishes but with significant dramatic liscence. The book has many references to the original books, like Alyss's tutor Bibwit Harte which is an anagram for "White Rabbit." And the caterpillars are hookah smoking soothsayers for the royal family. I always enjoy clever things like that.
What's really interesting about the book is that it has trailers and a soundtrack. Check out the website www.lookinglasswars.com. There are a few illustrations in the book but many more on the website. All of them have a very sci-fi feel to them, which is so different from our usual perception of the Alice in Wonderland world.