Beauties Blogging Books: Queendoms and Imagination

My friend Clarissa over at Blunders and Blessings approached me a few weeks ago with a proposition to blog through a book with her during winter break. I agreed. She introduces us Beauties Blogging Books over on the B+B. If you don't feel like reading that whole post, I'll give you the Sparknotes version: We borrowed books from each other and are going to blog about them once a week through the month of December. The book I selected is The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. She's been talking it up to me for quite some time now, and I decided it was a good choice for this endeavor.

First, I'd like to start with a little disclaimer. I am all for strong, independent womanhood, and my opinions may possibly be taken as being of the feminist persuasion. They aren't. I just really appreciate a lot of what feminism stands for. However, I am more than anxious for the day when God brings the man into my life that I am going to marry, and will assume the role of a submissive wife with joy. Not a feminist. Just....independent...That may or may not come up during the course of this.

Second, I absolutely adore adaptations of literature. And I'm not talking adaptations of the fan fiction sort. I'm talking let's-take-this-story-from-a-different-perspective sort. For example, Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, and Roald Dahl's versions of Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs. So The Looking Glass Wars is right up my alley, as it is an adaption of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

Third. My initial thoughts are that I like it. The first sentence opens the book with a flashback to a time when "bloodshed spattered the doorstep of every Wonderlander". Yes. My exceptionally morbid mind loved it. Also, Wonderland is a Queendom, not a Kingdom. The queen holds the power. I was a fan. (This is where my first point comes in...not feminist.) I'm also a huge fan of the importance of the imagination as an asset in the novel. The power of the imagination doesn't diminish with age--it is honed. The power of imagination seems to be the Queen's greatest asset in ruling her people. I'm loving it, because though I am 21, I haven't quite gotten over the power and magic that exists in a healthy imagination.

I really haven't gotten much farther than that, but hopefully I'll be a lot farther along the next time I write. I'll also be linking to B+B so you can enjoy Clarissa's take on Jane Austen's Emma. Go check out her first post here!