Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Year: 2016
Genre: Fairytale Retelling
Age: YA 13+
Marissa Meyer is the critically acclaimed NY Times Best Selling author of The Lunar Chronicles series. That series (also a fairytale retelling) is equally amazing and I throughly enjoyed it as much as this standalone gem.
We all know the story of Alice in Wonderland. All to familiar is the ruthless and evil Queen of Hearts. But how did she become the Queen? Was she always evil? In this story we get to find out!
Our main character is the young daughter of the Marquess & Marchioness of Rock Turtle Cove. Her name is Catherine "Cath" Pinkerton. Cath loves to bake more than anything & she dreams of opening her own bakery with her equally eager ladies maid Mary Ann. They live in a quaint little town by the ocean called Hearts. The storefront Mary Ann & Cath have their eye on is currently occupied by a cobbler named Mr. Caterpillar (we know him as Absolem). While Cath knows what she wants for her future, her mother has other plans.
Cath's mother wants her to capture the simple minded, giggling King's attention and become the new Queen of Hearts. Cath is not thrilled with this idea and plans to do everything in her power to keep it from becoming a reality.
The King's court has a new member, the joker, named Jest. He is from Chess, the town on the other side of the Looking Glass. Chess is home to the Red & White kingdoms that are at war & have been for so long no one can remember a time of peace. Jest has been sent to Hearts on a secret mission from the White Queen.
Before you know it Cath has a new love interest & it's not the King. Although it would be wildly inappropiate, her & Jest wish for a better life together in Chess. Little do they know about all the obstacles they must overcome to be together.
But unfortunately...
All of this love & whimsy is being interrupted by the Jabberwock. The Jabberwock is a mysterious mythical beast of legends past & it can only be slain by someone of noble blood whielding the Vorpal Sword. One big question is where did the beast come from? That answer lies behind the shiny, orange skin of a magical pumpkin.
So can Jest win Cath's heart? Will the slightly mad Hatta (Mad Hatter), the Haigha (March Hare), and his troop of unruly folk get eaten by the monster? Or can all the answers be found under the magic treacle well with the Sisters, through the Looking Glass?
Likes: All of the original characters that we know & love are in this story! And there are some delightful new ones like a pumpkin farmer named Peter (from the children's rhyme) & a cute turtle that suffers a terrible fate.
We all know the ending of the story obviously byt its the journey that makes it fun & worth while.
The story is full of love & whimsy & color which makes for a great fairytale!
Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite authors! I would recommend any of her books to fans of fairytale retellings or YA fantasy novels.
Dislikes: The idea of where the Jabberwock comes from is given away very early, but the story behind the beast still makes it interesting.
The reason Cath becomes the Queen is very sad but necessary to the development of the story.
Rating:
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