Secrets of the Looking Glass

What a fun “after wonderland” tale. This version is very well done and you won’t want to put it down until the very end. Fun for both kids and adults!!

I love this magical and enthralling story! It was an easy read filled with adventure, great characters, and an awesome world with unique concepts.

Just like the first one this book does not disappoint, it was great to read more about the lost wonderland and see these characters navigate everything that happened to them along the way.
This is a series that I hope continues to grow I feel there are infinite possibilities to explore in the world of wonderland.
A favourite I will reread again and again.

Secrets of the Looking Glass by J. Scott Savage

This was my first Savage series and it’s been a fun ride. I’m about as familiar with Lewis Carroll as the Disney movies, so many of the references were probably lost on me.

Secrets of the Looking Glass is the sequel to The Lost Wonderland Diaries and it makes for a fantastic addition to the story. Thrown into another adventure, Celia and Tyrus must play a massive game of chess and solve riddles in order to try and stop a war between the Red Queen and the White Kingdom.

I loved the adventure and fun in this book but I also loved the growth of the characters and the spooky black sheep.

Everyone knows the tale of Alice in Wonderland, her adventures and all the characters she meets along the way. Despite being a huge fan I do have difficulties with spin offs sometimes, as writers take the story and completely obliterate it. This was not the case. Taking the concepts of Alice, the Hatter, and many other characters the author was able to create such a great spin that I want to read it all over again. I want to read everything from before the Looking Glass and read about many more adventures to come. Fabulous storytelling from the beginning.

If you are a fan of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, this is the book for you. This is a very clever retelling that incorporates all the fun elements of Looking Glass. You encounter the Humpty Dumpty, Tweedles Dee & Dum, the Black Sheep, and even the beautiful scented rushes that Alice keeps rowing to collect; yet, they are presented with a very creative twist in a way that you wouldn't expect. There are lot of great puns and quotes from the book, including the Jabberwock poem.

If you're not a huge fan of Lewis Carroll, which I am not, this book is still entertaining. Though, I must admit, since I'm not a fan of Looking Glass, I struggled through the first half of the book. The second half really picked up, and I totally enjoyed the ending. Gratefully, I had read Looking Glass before I read this book, which helped. At the time I finished Looking Glass, I never wanted to read it again. However, Savage's retelling has made me question that decision. At some point in the future, I might venture Through the Looking Glass once again.

Secrets of the Looking Glass is the second book in The Lost Wonderland Diaries and follows Celia and Tyrus as they venture into the Looking Glass, encounter their mirror images and become entangled in a battle between the Red and White Queen's Armies.

I'm a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland and so I thoroughly enjoyed my read of J. Scott Savage's first book in The Lost Wonderland Diaries series. It had all the memorable characters I've come to know and love, like the White Rabbit, The Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and the Cheshire Cat. Savage then spun the story into a few new and pleasant directions. This latest addition also did not disappointed, I loved all the new characters, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Humpty and Dumpty, even the Bandersnatch (from Jabberwocky), the Black Sheep Pirate Captain and Lia and Ty, who are mirror images of Celia and Tyrus with the bonus of having received their "best qualities," or Celia's math/logic skills and Tyrus's imagination.

What would a Lewis Carroll adaptation be without some clever wordplay, nonsensicalness, a few acrostics, neologisms and portmanteau words? There's even some clever riddles and I love how it focuses on language, including words like "abhorrence and "deferential." There are so many details that I enjoyed, the way that each chapter ended with the title of the next chapter. The inclusion of chess and emphasizing how it improves skills like visualizing, planning moves in your head, increases your ability to analyze an outcome of your opponent's move and react. Skills that later became important when the battle between the White and Red Queen began. And oh, don't get me started on the wonderful battle scenes. So much fun. Savage really has a knack of taking all the wonderful things about Lewis Carroll's works and combining them into his stories giving them the feel of the original works, while being something completely unique, humorous, and exciting.

Then there's our two main characters, Celia and Tyrus, who because their skills were taken away had to learn to adapt, and in the end discover that within them are more abilities than they've ever realized before, that there is more too them then just their logic and imagination. That having flaws was a strength. I will forever remember the expression a "fish in roller skates." Overall, this was a lovely story that I zipped through and has me now looking forward to a re-read real soon. *Thank you Shadow Mountain Publishing and Netgalley for the E-ARC**

#secretsofthelookingglass #netgalley

This was a great story to read. I loved the storyline and the characters, definitely recommend this book!

I was concerned that after enjoying the first book that the second would not be so good. No worries, it was a great follow up. Looking forward to more from this author.

This book was adventure from the first page! You follow our two main characters as they are transported to Wonderland agian. They have to face challenges throughout and they grow with each challenge presented to them. This is a great way to continue this series. I highly recommend for children and adults to enjoy together. What a wonderful retelling of a classic.

As a fan of Alice in Wonderland I always enjoy retelling of these classic. This is the second book in this series where we follow the main characters Celia and Tyrus as they go on Unexpected adventure and encounter a war between the white and red queens. This story has all the favorites including the Cheshire Cat. Fans of Alice in wonderland or retelling will enjoy this.

Celia and Tyrus are back in their second adventure surrounding the lost diaries of Celia’s great-great-great granduncle, Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll). This adventure takes them to the Looking-Glass World to reunite with their mirror images. When they learn that all the Looking-Glass World has been split, they must follow the clues left by Charles Dodgson to help reunite it. With help from Hatta, the mirror image of Mad Hatter, they must work with their mirror image twins to discover the nature of the split and what is keeping them apart.

This is another wonderful children’s fantasy in this great Wonderland series by J. Scott Savage. It is just as much fun as the first. Celia and Tyrus are easy to relate to as they learn more about themselves and learn to overcome their insecurities. Such great messages for kids. And I love, love, love all the word play, riddles, and fun with logic.

Secrets of the Looking Glass is another exceptional book in this series. The author has outdone himself once again in this installment. He has created another world full of imagination and imagery. He filled that world with suspense, thrills, charismatic characters, and a hefty dose of conflict and tension. The plot is well thought out and proceeds along an established, yet exciting pathway. Along the way there are several side plots that have to come together in order to not only save the characters but to also save the Looking Glass world.

If you have not read any books in this series, I strongly recommend that you do. The Lost Wonderland Dairies (Book 1) is a masterpiece in itself. These books will appeal to all reading ages. WARNING! Once you start reading it is very difficult to stop.

When the Bandersnatch comes and steals one of Lewis Carroll’s diaries and also Celia and Tyrus’ mirror image including Celia’s logic and Tyrus’ imagination, Celia and Tyrus do the only thing they can, they follow. So, into the looking glass they go.
The adventures these two have and the characters the meet are just so cool. I really like this book a lot not to mention it shows someone like me (dyslexic) that it might take longer to do a few things like read and yes made up names and words are the worst, but we can do anything if we put our minds to it, I mean really me a librarian, yep didn’t see that one coming at all. I am sure with a great friend like Tyrus, Celia will go far in this world like she does in Wonderland. This is a awesome book with wonderful characters, that will keep you asking for more and hey maybe someday you will read the classic Lewis Carroll works as well.

Fun to read! The rhythm of the language is almost poetic at times but in a silly way. There are tons of puns, rhyming and riddles, and nonsense you would expect in an fantasy about Alice in Wonderland, as well as some illustrations. Tyrus and Celia are very different from each other but learn to use their different strengths to help each other. Tyrus loves to read. Celia has dyslexia and loves chess, which is a huge part of the book. Some of the themes are don’t judge based on outward appearance, everyone has weaknesses and strengths, and be proud of who you are. I thought it was clever the last sentence in each chapter is left hanging and finished by the title of the next chapter. Thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC to use for my review.

"If you didn’t want the answer, you shouldn’t have asked the question, nohow. However, having asked the question you asked, it is quite rude to question the answer you received. Or rather, answering the answer with a questioning question. That’s logic."

From Wonderland in the first book to the Looking Glass World in this one, Celia and Tyrus continue to go on an adventure like no other. And when they learn valuable lessons about themselves and life itself, nothing could’ve been better than that. We all are indeed a lot more than just our best qualities and we don’t even really know the limits of our capacities until tested.

"There’s nothing like a good poem to educate the uninformed."

Following the Bandersnatch into the Looking Glass World, these two have a daunting task ahead of them; that of finding their mirror images formed of their logic and imagination. As in Wonderland, we meet a variety of beloved characters in the Looking Glass World too (think Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Humpty and Dumpty, and an unforgettable version of Hatter). The vibe of the original is present as well, and more than anything, the quest of convincing their mirror images to get back with them ensures that curiosity doesn’t leave even for a moment. The last words of a chapter becoming the title of the next is a nice theme followed by the book and it neatly loops back to the title of the first chapter. All of this only adds to the element of curiosity.

Here’s hoping for this one to get all the love it deserves from readers young and not-so-young. Thank you @netgalley for my ‘perfectly sensible in the most nonsensical way’ advance copy.

"Life is a series of wants and needs. The key is learning to balance the two. That, and finding a reliable chocolate chip cookie recipe."

Review by 10 year old: This was a great second book in a series. I really liked the first book and sometimes book 2 is disappointing. This was just as good if not better than the first. It was a fun reading adventure. I look forward to reading more.

An enjoyable read.. be prepared to get into a magical journey in a magical world.

The kid and I enjoyed this a lot

“Wittier and wittier” mumbled the book reviewer (as she savored the wonderful new “children’s book” called Secrets of the Looking Glass).

I put quotes around children’s book because, like the original Lewis Carroll book, this book is written for all ages. Like The Simpsons, but literary, you might say. Now that the creativity of the book’s world has totally made me forget how to write good English—or at least consistent tenses, let’s start this book review in earnest. But first, one more side observation, I just reviewed an entire book about play, and now I’m reading one that feels like a giant playdate. Coincidence? I think not!

Secrets of the Looking Glass is a reimagining of the famous Through the Looking Glass. Not only is the book set within the same world, it is written in the same witty style. Words are the characters’ weapons but obviously they are also the author’s playthings. I can’t praise this book highly enough. It’s just a fun, exhilarating ride through the English language, while also including an empowering message for everyone to accept all aspects of themselves—not just the perceived best one.

If you like reading, which I assume you do if you are reading a book review, Secrets of the Looking Glass is a must read! 5 stars and my favorite book of 2022!

Thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

This middle-grade fantasy read is entirely enthralling and hooked me from the first. I was able to host the author at my store and the event was very well attended, selling over 100 copies of the book. The author and his wife were very gracious and talked to every child who came through the line.

I love everything about this. The Alice in wonderland connection pulled me in completely.. the details were rich and the writing was powerful.

First off, you'll want to read the first book to fully understand this one.

I am not much of a fantasy reader. I just don't have a good enough imagination to see the wonders described. My daughter and I read the first book together and she loved it so much I decided we needed to read this one together too. I was doing really good and loving the book while in the human world and then they went through the looking glass and my brain wasn't quite ready to shift gears. I'll admit it was kind of exhausting for me to read that first part, but at the same time I was thinking how brilliant Mr. Savage is that he can transition so well from normal to fantasy. I was amazed by the descriptions, the word play and the overall story. I still struggled to follow everything, but my daughter was pulled right in and loved it all. It was a great story and it was fun to see beloved characters again.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley and this is my honest review.

I enjoyed Secrets of the Looking Glass, it is the second book in a series. In order to truly enjoy this book, you really need to read the books in order.

I liked the first one better. It was harder to get into this world than the first book. I felt like the time Hatta gave them the glasses until the time that they looked at each other with them and realized who they were was wasted time. I felt like the story dragged at that point and I almost put it down several times. But once they saw themselves for all that they really were, the story was much better. I loved the Jabberwocky! By far my favorite part of the whole book! I really could have done without the giant spiders! But that is more my phobia talking than their part of the story. I still enjoyed the main characters and am hoping for a third installment.