The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor is set in Wonderland and Victorian London. It follows Princess Alyss Heart, who must battle her evil aunt Redd to reclaim her rightful throne. Alyss is helped by Hatter Madigan and Dodge Anders. The story depicts Redd's coup and Alyss's journey through Wonderland to face her fears and defeat Redd in the final battle.
2. Setting
Part of the setting is in Wonderland. The places Alyss
went in Wonderland are the Volcanic Plains, the
Valley of Mushrooms, The Looking Glass Maze, and
The Castle of Heart. Another part of the setting is
when Alyss jumps into The Pool of Tears and ends up
in Victorian London.
3. Alyss Heart
• Alyss Heart is the princess
of Wonderland. She uses
her imagination to battle
her evil aunt, Her
Imperial Viciousness
Redd. Alyss must fight to
take her rightful place
on the throne.
4. Hatter Madigan
• Hatter Madigan is a
defender of the crown. He
kills Wonderland’s enemies
with the hidden knives in his
hat and his watch. He also
uses his wits to destroy his
enemies.
5. Redd
Redd is the evil
sister of Queen
Genevieve (Alyss’s
mother). She took
over the kingdom
on Alyss’s 7th
birthday. She
controls her
enemies with
carnivorous roses
and card soldiers.
6. Plot
• The conflict in this
book is that Redd
kills Alyss’s mother
and father and
takes over
Wonderland. She
forces everyone
to use Black
Imagination, and
tries to kill people
in horrible ways
who are still loyal
to Alyss.
7. Event 1
• At the beginning of the book it is Alyss’s 7th birthday
party. All is going well until Alyss gets a kitten that
turns into Redd’s sidekick (a gigantic cat that is an
assassin with 9 lives). Redd comes to take over the
kingdom. Redd kills Queen Genevieve with
carnivorous roses and tried (but failed) to strangle
Alyss.
8. Event 2
• Alyss jumps into the Pool of
Tears and arrives in London.
She lives there for more than
half her life, wondering if
Wonderland was just a figment
of her imagination until Dodge
Anders (a boy loyal to Alyss)
comes and brings her back to
Wonderland.
9. Event 3
• Alyss goes into the Looking Glass
Maze. The maze has many
frightening illusions that show all
of the horrible things in a
person’s life. For Alyss, these
images were of the day Redd
invaded and her mother and
father died. Even with these
powerful illusions, Alyss made it
through the maze.
10. Solution
• The solution happens at the final battle between
Alyss and Redd. Because Alyss went through the
Looking Glass Maze she had faced all her fears and
was stronger than Redd. When Redd noticed
this, she jumped into the Heart Crystal, not to be
seen again for a very long time.
11. How the character
changed
• Alyss changed in this book a
lot. In the beginning of the
book, she took peace for
granted. At the end of the
book, because of all she had
been through, she
appreciated things a lot more.
She became a brave warrior
and a leader.