Beddor, Frank. The looking glass wars.

BEDDOR, Frank. The looking glass wars. Penguin, Dial. 358p. illus. c2006. 0-8037-3153-1. $17.99. JS

Beddor's take on Alice in Wonderland debuts in the US two years after both horrifying and delighting readers in the United Kingdom. According to Beddor's premise, Alice Liddell was really Alyss, Princess of Wonderland, deposed by her wicked Aunt Redd. She escapes the coup that took the lives of her parents through the Pool of Tears, which deposits her in Victorian London. She is adopted by the Liddell family, meets Charles Dodgson and tells him her story, but he gets it all wrong when he writes it down in a book. Alyss despairs of anyone believing her and decides to put her memories behind her, but just as she is about to marry, she is drawn back to Wonderland and into the struggle to establish her as the rightful queen.

This book is definitely not for Lewis Carroll purists. It is plot-driven and packed with vividly described action, especially in the battles between Redd's forces and the Alyssians. There are plenty of battles, violent ones, although violence is never glorified, particularly violence committed for its own sake. I did wince at the labeling of "good" imagination as White Imagination and "bad" imagination as Black Imagination.

The characters are less developed, and attempts to add dimensional traits never fully hit the mark. The traits are not well integrated into the characters and are not always convincing. Also, an author's note detailing what was true about the real Alice and Lewis Carroll would have been nice. Still, the book is readable and appealing, and it is a good choice for reluctant readers. Donna Scanlon, Libn., County Lib., Lancaster, PA

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.