This book needs to be added to my favorites for 2006. Frank Beddor does a wonderful job of re-imagining “Alice In Wonderland.” Beddor takes the reader on a journey of what ifs – what if Alyss Heart is “real” and what if “Wonderland” is “real?” What really happened to Wonderland? To Alyss?

When I started reading “The Looking Glass Wars,” I could not get the Disney version out of my head. However, those images were quickly dispelled as I read on. Beddor presents a Wonderland that will soon be enveloped in tyranny and war. The character of Alyss is transformed from the bright-eyed mischievous day-dreaming 7-year-old to a young strong 19-year old woman. I love that the characters are so multi-faceted, battling with societal obligations, internal struggles between good and evil, reality and make-believe.

I love how Louis Carroll and Alice Liddel are incorporated in the story as well. The book is really exciting and the battles between the card soldiers and the Alyssians are portrayed vividly – I pictured Hatter Madigan somersaults and acrobatics as he battled attacking Card Soldiers with his blades shimmering and flying across a room.

I too cannot wait for the sequel and I will have to suggest this one as one of our Book Club’s reads.

The Looking Glass Wars tells the ‘real’ story of Alice in Wonderland in full, dark detail. I’m not usually fond of retellings; I find them a bit gimmicky, particularly when it comes to authors who write nothing else. Alice in Wonderland is perhaps my favourite story in the world, so I read this with a combination of excitement and trepidation. I was very pleased with the end result.

It’s clear that a lot of thought and research went into this book. The author handled Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell’s undeniable existences wonderfully, weaving them into the story in a way that fit but still relied upon the actual history of the two.

The Wonderland in this book is dark. Redd (the Queen of Hearts, natch) is vicious, and “Off with her head!” is not just an empty catch phrase. Hatter Madigan is a fascinating, serious man, and I’m tempted to read the Hatter M. graphic novel just to see into the layers he’s clearly hiding. It’s hard not to feel pained at the relationship between Alyss and Dodge, despite the fact that their childhood together only lasts for a couple of chapters.

All in all, a great read, and I can’t wait for the sequel.