The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

The Myth
Alice Liddel was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook.
The Truth
Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss's parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are seperated. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author, to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.
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I love books that take old stories and put a new spin on them. So long as they're original at least, and The Looking Glass Wars was nothing if not original. The writing was moderate, and I appreciated the little touches that made them sound like nineteenth century occupants. Alyss wasn't my favorite character, and mostly for the reason of her being a little too deflective of every horrible thing that happened to her. I would've preferred hearing someone a bit more emotional, but I was hoping for the best for her anyways. My favorite character by far was Beddor's twisted version of the Mad Hatter, Hatter Madigan, the amazing Milliner (Queen Genevieve's former bodyguard). There are no words for how much I loved his kick-ass-ness. Dodge Anders, Alyss's secret childhood sweetheart, was a bit too bitter (yeah, pun intended) seeing as his father was in the Millinery and likely to die any day. Maybe he wasn't too bitter, maybe it was just very ardent compared to Alyss's indifference. I loved Bibwit Hare (unscrambled: White Rabbit. gotta love the cleverness) and his overly large ears, along with all the other mixed up characters. I was more than a little annoyed that Beddor would go so far as to say Lewis Carroll was wrong in his writing, considering I adore Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and I would've preferred to see a different approach to the story. Nevertheless it was refreshing, and an overall pretty good action book. Definitely getting the next book in the series.
4 stars, and a recommendation to action fans and fans of Alice in Wonderland, no matter what version.