Review: The Looking Glass Wars Trilogy

Originally, I was going to review each book in The Looking Glass Wars Trilogy by Frank Beddor individually. However, I ended up finishing the books within only a day of each other, so I decided to write a spoiler-free review of all of the books in one post. Enjoy!

The Story

Alice enters Wonderland down the rabbit hole. Or is that just what Lewis Carroll wants the world to think? In Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars, we find out the "truth" about Alyss Heart of Wonderland.

When Alyss's vengeful Aunt Redd storms the Heart Palace, Alyss is forced to flee Wonderland through the Pool of Tears. Suddenly, she is trapped on earth, a world where she is forced to conform and bury the home she once knew in the back of her mind. Alyss struggles to adapt to a place where the Heart Palace and her Aunt Redd are little more than fantasy.

Desperate to share her story, Alyss places her trust in Lewis Carroll, an aspiring author with quite the imagination. He listens and records her stories, but he fails to capture the truth. Even her name is spelled wrong. Alyss feels betrayed as her truths are depicted as fairytales for the human world to enjoy.

Meanwhile, Hatter Madigan races around the world to find Alyss, the rightful queen of Wonderland. Her Aunt Redd has overtaken Wonderland and forces the inhabitants to bow to the darkness of Black Imagination.

What I Liked

There are so many things I loved about this trilogy (and this is just the spoiler free version)!
•The evolution of Redd's character is fascinating.
•Beddor demonstrates flawless world-building abilities as he immerses readers in his own Wonderland.
•Imagination is a concept which is crucial to the story.
•The novels successfully retain certain characteristics of the traditional Wonderland (Queen of Hearts, Mad Hatter, etc.) with unique twists.
•The trilogy depicts many women in positions of power (i.e. Wonderland is a queendom).

What I did not Like

•At some points, the descriptions were so vivid that I struggled to follow along with the story (i.e. during battle scenes).
•The conclusion wrapped everything up in a tidy little bow with nothing left to question (I both liked and disliked this aspect of the books).
•Alyss's character experiences less character development than Redd.
​•The ending was slightly confusing and happened very quickly. There seemed to be a lot of build up for a very short scene.

Overall Rating

Although there were a few aspects of the books which I was not a fan of, I loved this series. Alice in Wonderland has always been one of my favorite stories, so I knew I would love The Looking Glass Wars. I reccomend this trilogy to anyone who enjoys the classics but doesn't mind if they stray a bit from the original.

Rating: 4/5 (for entire trilogy)

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