The Looking Glass Wars (The Looking Glass Wars Trilogy #1) by Frank Beddor

Beddor, Frank. The Looking Glass Wars. Speak, 2007. 400 pages. ISBN-10: 0142409413. ISBN-13: 978-0142409411.

Plot:

Alyss Heart is the beloved princess of Wonderland. Her mother, Queen Genevieve, is a benevolent ruler, but Genevieve’s sister, Redd, is evil and has sworn revenge on Genevieve for taking what she saw as her rightful place as ruler of Wonderland. On Alyss’s seventh birthday, Redd atacks Wonderland. She kills Alyss’s parents and the father of her best friend, Dodge, but Alyss escapes with Genevieve’s bodyguard, Hatter Madigan. The two of them jump through the Pool of Tears, a portal to earth. They are separated in the process and Alyss ends up as a street child in London, while Hatter spends the next 13 years getting into trouble as he searches the world for her. Soon, Alyss is taken in by the Liddell family, who change her name to Alice and raise her as their daughter. At first Alyss insists on telling everyone who she really is, even going so far as to tell her entire life story to the Charles Dodgeson who promises to write a book about her. He creates the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but Alyss is outraged that he fictionalized her life story in such a way. Eventually, though, even Alyss begins to forget who she is as she grows up and even agrees to marry Prince Leopold. Hatter discovers her shortly before her wedding.

Meanwhile, in Wonderland, things are getting worse. The few rebels who are still loyal to Genevieve are planning to take back the queendom, but they can’t do it without Alyss. Dodge has grown up to be a good warrior, but he’s a bitter man set on revenge. When a wounded Hatter arrives back in Wonderland, Dodge decides to go after Alyss himself, kidnapping her from her wedding. Now that she is back in Wonderland, the rebels expect her to lead them, but Alyss isn’t sure that she can.

Critical Evaluation:

This is such a great premise for a book. Taking the story of Alice in Wonderland - one that already has controversy concerning the truth surrounding it - and turning it into a “true” science fiction novel is a clever move. Beddor includes all the well-known characters but gives them a twist. His use of their names and certain qualities are enough to make them recognizable to anyone familiar with the original story, but they’re still quite different from the original. The story celebrates the power of imagination and Beddor was certainly using his when he created his Wonderland.

This book contains features to satisfy all manner of readers. There are elements of fantasy, science fiction, romance, history, and plenty of action. Beddor created a fascinating world complete with its own politics, fashion, weapons, inventions, and various types of inhabitants. Though he’s created an impressive world, he didn’t fall back on his fantastical environment to support the story; the plot is also complicated and exciting. The supporting characters are entertaining and really round out the story. However, it’s the main characters, particularly Alyss, Hatter, and Dodge, who are impressively written. Beddor gives them each their own secrets, motivations, love and pain in a very convincing way. He writes both male and female characters well. Beddor is a imaginative writer who has created a captivating novel that leaves the reader hungry for more.

Reader's Annotation:

This is the true story of Alyss Heart, the rightful heir to the Wonderland throne.

Author Information:

Frank Beddor was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from the Catholic private school, Benilde-St. Margaret's School, in 1977. He was a competitive skier and was the World Freestyle Skiing Champion in 1981 and 1982. After he left competitive skiing, he turned to film work. He had a few small acting parts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He then worked as a producer of films and video games, including the successful film There’s Something About Mary.

While in London for the U.K premiere of There’s Something About Mary, he visited The British Museum and was inspired to write his Looking Glass Wars series. The book was rejected by every major publisher in America before being published in the U.K. After becoming popular there, Penguin agreed to publish it in America. Beddor has also written graphic novels, created a card game, a video game, an apparel line, a musical CD, and a possible musical theater production all based on his Looking Glass Wars novels.

Genre:

Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties:

English: Comparison to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Booktalking Ideas:

• Introduce this as the "real" story of Alice in Wonderland.
• Discuss what it would be like to be thrust into a completely strange world.
• Talk about the power of imagination.

Reading Level/Interest Age:

14 and older

Challenge Issues:

Violence

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

Everything related to Alice in Wonderland has experienced a resurgence in popularity recently. This is a great twist on the traditional story.

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzane Collins

Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. Scholastic Press, 2010. 400 pages. ISBN-10: 0439023513. ISBN-13: 978-0439023511.

Plot:

When the novel opens, Katniss Everdeen is living in the secret District 13 with the rebels who rescued her from her second Hunger Games competition. Though she is with her family and Gale, she was forced to leave Peeta behind and suspects he is probably dead or worse. Katniss was rescued because the rebels would like her to be the Mockingjay, the symbol of their revolution. After discovering that Peeta is alive and being used by the Capitol, she agrees to help, but only if they fulfill some of her conditions, including that she wants to be the one to kill President Snow. The rebels agree and stage a rescue of Peeta, only to discover that the Capitol has engineered his brain to hate Katniss. Though the rebels try to rewire him, he is a loose cannon as he, Katniss, and the rebels rally the other districts and head into battle in the Capitol. Everything goes wrong, however, and her group is stranded in the hostile Capitol trying to get close enough to President Snow in order to kill him. As they reach Snow‘s mansion, they discover it is surrounded by children and rebels, including Prim, Katniss’s sister. Bombs begin to go off and Prim is killed as the Capitol falls to the rebels. Snow is found guilty and sentenced to be executed by Katniss. Before this can occur, however, Katniss learns some horrifying things about the night of the bombing and the role she and her friends played in the rebellion.

Critical Evaluation:

This final book in the trilogy was one of the most anticipated books of the year and it didn’t disappoint. Collins weaving of Katniss’s personal story with the story of the rebellion personalizes war and its consequences in a way that few young adult novels do. She doesn’t sugarcoat the story and doesn’t hesitate to show the horror and violence that accompanies the rebellion. Though the book is violent, the violence isn’t gratuitous. It’s evident that Collins gave careful consideration to the descriptions she included. The violence isn’t there to entertain, but rather to show the horror, corruption, and dehumanization of the rebellion. Collins continues the question she introduced in the origin of the trilogy, that of whether the end can truly justify the means. However, this time the reader is forced to apply that question to both sides rather than just the Capitol’s tactics. It’s a complicated moral issue that she handles in thoughtful and emotional way.

Katniss has the strength of a warrior, but vulnerability that reminds the reader she is a child who has been thrust unwillingly into this situation. She makes mistakes and she doesn’t always do the right thing, but she is always doing what she thinks is right. She learns more about trust and betrayal than one would hope someone her age should have to. Katniss is a character the readers can respect. In Katniss, and Mockingjay in general, Collins has created something that the reader can find both captivating and thought-provoking.

Reader's Annotation:

After years of abuse by the capital, the districts have had enough and they’re fighting back. Katniss is lynchpin in the rebels’ plan, but is she really ready to be the Mockingjay?

Author Information:

Growing up, Suzanne Collins’s father was in the Air Force, so she moved all around the country. She has said that doing so made her aware of what it felt like to be a stranger somewhere, much like the main character in The Underland Chronicles. She attended New York University and received an M.F.A in dramatic writing. She spent 16 years living in New York, but now resides in Connecticut with her husband and children.

Before becoming an author, she worked as a writer for children’s television. She’s written for shows on Nickleodeon and Kids’ WB as well as several specials. After working in television for 12 years, she published her first novel for young adults, Gregor the Overlander, the first of The Underland Chronicles series. Since then she has published 8 more novels. Her books have won numerous awards and topped the New York Times Bestseller list. She was named one of Time magazine's most influential people of 2010.

Genre:

Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties:

Government/History: War and Rebellion, What is Freedom?
English: Plot Development, Symbolism, Character Development
Ethics/Philosophy: Ethics of War, Does the end justify the means?

Booktalking Ideas:

• Focus on where each of the characters are at the beginning of the story.
• Discuss the choice Katniss must make between Peeta and Gale.
• Give an overview of Katniss’s journey so far and ask where she will be going next.

Reading Level/Interest Age:

14 and older

Challenge Issues:

Violence
Anti-government

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

It is the much anticipated finale to the popular Hunger Games trilogy.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7) by J.K. Rowling

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007. 784 pages. ISBN-10: 0545010225. ISBN-13: 978-0545010221.

Plot:

Harry has been left a task by Dumbledore: find and destroy the Horcruxes to defeat Voldemort. After fleeing Ron’s brother’s wedding, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off to search the country for the remaining Horcruxes. The only problem is that they don’t know what they are, let alone where they are or how to destroy them. The three spend months on the run as they try to figure out what to do. They receive help from some unlikely places, including a goblin, Dobby the house elf, and some former classmates. Harry also learns more about his past and that of Dumbledore. Despite many near misses and one wild escape from the Death Eaters, the three friends eventually discover all the Horcruxes, including one hidden at Hogwarts.

After arriving back at Hogwarts they find that many things have changed under the leadership of Snape. One thing remains the same, however. Many at the school still support Harry and are willing to join him in the fight against Voldemort. This is made very clear when Voldemort and the Death Eaters attack Hogwarts. Harry, his friends, and many of the students and staff of Hogwarts take a stand against Voldemort. It’s been building for seven books and the final battle comes down to Harry and Voldmort while everyone learns what it means that “Neither can live with the other survives.”

Critical Evaluation:

Rowling outdoes herself in this epic finale to the Harry Potter series. It’s evident that she has thoroughly planned every detail of the series. Plot points, character traits and story lines from the previous six novels had not been introduced in vain, as they come together to form a conclusion worthy of the series thus far. Though the novel is really two stories in one - that of the journey and that of the war - they join together in a very cohesive way and neither would form a complete picture without the other. Despite its daunting length, the novel moves along at a quick pace. There isn’t any unnecessary exposition to distract from the central plot, but there are enough side stories to fill out book.

Though the reader has watched Harry, Hermione, and Ron grow throughout the series, it is in this novel that they truly come into themselves. Their friendship isn’t always an easy one, but their loyalty and love for each other is a wonderful example for readers of any age. In their honor and willingness to fight for what they believe is right in the face of dangerous and overwhelming circumstances, Rowling has created three characters that are the very definition of hero. She is a good character writer in that even her lesser characters are well-developed and substantive. She also doesn’t hesitate to kill a beloved character when it is necessary to the story, something that should be respected as many authors are afraid to do so. The characters and the plot complement each other rather than it seeming as if one is only there to support the other. This excellent finale exceeded my already high expectations.

Reader's Annotation:

In the final book of the series, Harry Potter and his friends set out to defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all.

Author Information:

J.K. Rowling was born on July 31, 1965. She began writing fantasy stories as a child, the first of which she remembers creating at the age of five. She was an avid reader and has said that the character of Hermione is based on herself as a child. She attended college at Exeter where she studied French and the Classics. After receiving her degree, she worked as a bilingual secretary and a researcher for Amnesty international. Following the death of her mother in 1990, Rowling moved to Portugal to teach English. While there, she married and had a child. After her daughter’s birth, she and her husband divorced and she and her daughter moved to Edinburgh, Scotland. Her famous rags to riches story is based on what happened while she was there. She was living off welfare and struggling with depression while she finished the first of the Harry Potter books. She used her depression, her grief over her mother, and instances from her childhood as inspiration for her novels.

Today, Rowling is one of the most famous authors in the world. She is the first person to become a billionaire by United States standards solely through writing novels and is the second wealthiest female entertainer in the world. She's been credited with helping revitalize the young adult genre and making reading a popular pastime for children and young adults again. Her books have won countless awards and been translated into 67 languages. They have spawned a series of movies, video games, clothing lines, numerous products, and even an amusement park.

Genre:

Fantasy

Curriculum Ties:

English: Plot Development, Creative Writing
Mythology: Allusions to Mythology/Mythological Archetypes

Booktalking Ideas:

• Focus on the friendship between Harry, Hermione, and Ron and what that has meant for the over the past 7 years.
• Discuss the prophecy “neither can live while the other survives” as how it pertains to the final book.
• Focus on the connection between Voldemort and Harry.
• Acting as each of the characters, discuss the mission that starts the book.

Reading Level/Interest Age:

12 and older

Challenge Issues:

Witchcraft/Magic/The Occult
Violence
Anti-government
Anti-family
Anti-religion
Poor role models

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

This is a wildly popular series with many age groups. The movie based on this final book is being released this fall. It's also one of my favorite series.