Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

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Alyss is a princess in Wonderland. Her mother is the queen and ruler of the land. When her evil Aunt Redd wants to take over Alyss and Hatter find themselves out of Wonderland and into the mortal realm. Alyss makes friends with a writer who tells her story, but he messes the whole thing up. Alyss told him the truth and he made a book about a girl named Alice who uses her imagination to go on an adventure. She is furious. As she grows up and finally makes her way back to Wonderland she must face many challenges to take her place as the rightful queen of Wonderland.

I liked the retelling of the story from a different point of view. This book is intended for audiences 10 and up. My older teens liked it, but they thought the story might be better for middle school than high school. They didn’t really feel a connection to any of the characters. Overall it was an ok book, but I wasn’t blown away by the story.

The Turning Book 1: What Curiosity Kills by Helen Ellis

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“Don’t worry Kitty, There’s no such thing as vampires.”  This is a great opening line for a book...What follows is Mary’s story.  When the stray cat brushes her legs with his tail,, and she starts to sprout orange fur, she knows that something about her is different.  When Nick, the super hot guy from school, tries to explain everything to her, she is exposed to the dangerous world of stray cats and New York back alleys.  Twilight fans will like the undercurrent of romance, and girls will like the varied strong female characters.  Fans of the Erin Hunter Warriors Series and everyone who likes felines will like this take on cat fiction.  

This was an interesting book.  The end was fun and a little cute.  This book is a quick and interesting read.  I loved Ms. Whiskers and all of the librarians.  It seems like this will be a series, since this one is called “Book 1”.  

Unfamiliar Magic by R.C. Alexander

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          Desi is a 13 year old witch. Her mom is a witch and she’s never met her dad. She and her mom live in the regular world. She has to go to regular school, brush her teeth, and make her bed. Her mother doesn’t want her doing much magic and is incredibly overprotective. She’s always afraid that people will find out they are witches but there is something else; something her mom isn’t telling her. They move from town to town every year and Desi doesn’t know why. She’s spent her entire life on the run, but when her mom disappears and leaves her cat (now turned into a human teenager) in charge her whole world is turned upside down.


          WOW!! This book is awesome. The book is well written and will appeal to teen girls. The main character is 13 and she is just starting to come into magic. The real appeal in the story is the relationships. The mother / daughter relationship is one that most girls and women can understand and relate to. Mom wants her daughter to be safe; daughter thinks she’s old enough to do what she wants. They both need each other and love each other fiercely. The Relationship between the cat and Desi is amazing. There is so much comedy as the cat learns to act like a human girl. (The cat parts are laugh our loud funny.) There is a little romance between two of the characters, but nothing that would make you blush. One little kiss. Overall this is one of the best chic lit books that I have read in a while.