Mini Reviews [30]

Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter

Narrated by Brittany Pressley

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Maddie thought she and Logan would be friends forever. But when your dad is a Secret Service agent and your best friend is the president's son, sometimes life has other plans. Before she knows it, Maddie's dad is dragging her to a cabin in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness.

No phone.
No Internet.
And not a single word from Logan.

Maddie tells herself it's okay. After all, she's the most popular girl for twenty miles in any direction. (She’s also the only girl for twenty miles in any direction.) She has wood to cut and weapons to bedazzle. Her life is full.
Until Logan shows up six years later . . .
And Maddie wants to kill him.

But before that can happen, an assailant appears out of nowhere, knocking Maddie off a cliff and dragging Logan to some unknown fate. Maddie knows she could turn back- and get help. But the weather is turning and the terrain will only get more treacherous, the animals more deadly.

Maddie still really wants to kill Logan.
But she has to save him first.

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Not If I Save You First was really great on audio! Brittany Pressley is an amazing narrator, and she's one of the reasons this book received four stars from me. Another reason was the setting. Alaska! I liked how completely stranded Maddie and Logan were, and thought it added another layer of tension to the story. Alaska was basically its own character.

My main issue with this book was believability. Maddie and Logan were both sixteen, but they occasionally acted like they were much older. Other times the two acted incredibly childish. I know Maddie has spent the last six years living in isolation, but her ability to discern edible from poisonous berries (with just a glance) felt a little farfetched (even she said they looked nearly identical). I'm sure it's possible, but her nonchalance was unconvincing. Additionally, Maddie's badass behavior felt forced at times. I have no doubt that her experiences hardened her in some ways, but her "bedazzled" ax spoke volumes. I wish we had seen that Maddie mixed in more throughout the story. Instead, we mostly see her acting tough and overconfident.

Overall, I thought it was a very enjoyable and quick read. There's a lot of suspense and a few surprising twists. I'm not thrilled with how the story ended (again, the believability of it), and a decision Maddie made without considering all of the facts. I'm also not sure how she managed to stay on her feet for so long after... everything. She and Logan proved to be very resilient characters, and they surprised me with how well they handled a kidnapping and the Alaskan wilderness.

Side note: I wish their childhood nicknames had been explained. Mad Dog and Rascal? There has to be a story behind those, right? I was also interested in the kidnapper's backstory. We're told very little about his circumstances, although it doesn't excuse his actions.

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The Looking Glass Wars (The Looking

Glass Wars, #1) by Frank Beddor

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Alyss of Wonderland?

When Alyss Heart, heir to the Wonderland throne, must flee through the Pool of Tears to escape the murderous aunt Redd, she finds herself lost and alone in Victorian London. Befriended by an aspiring author named Lewis Carrol, Alyss tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Alyss trusts this author to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere will find her and bring her home. But he gets the story all wrong. He even spells her name incorrectly!

Fortunately, Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan knows all too well the awful truth of Alyss' story and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may eventually battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

The Looking Glass Wars unabashedly challenges our Wonderland assumptions surrounding mad tea parties, grinning Cheshire cats, and a curious little blond girl to reveal an epic battle in the endless war for Imagination.

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I started this series years ago, but never finished it! I decided to start from the beginning (to refresh my memory and not as an excuse to buy more books). I mistakenly thought this would be another series I could read aloud to the kids before bed, but I'd forgotten how violent it was. I started skimming all of the fighting (really bloody) and battles (scary stuff), but quickly realized that violence was intricately woven into this book, and it would be pointless to skip over 75% of the story. Alyss returns to a war-torn Wonderland, and the story reflects the devastation and unfavorable circumstances.

Needless to say, I read this one solo and started something else with the kiddos. It didn't take long for me to turn the last page, because I was completely wrapped up in the story from the start (again). I really liked Beddor's take on Alice in Wonderland, and enjoyed how he turned something whimsical into something shady.

Additionally, the author was very creative with his characters and their roles within this book. Hatter Madigan is hands down my favorite, and I say this knowing that there's not much character development in the first book. There's just something alluring about him, that I believe is explained in the second book (if I'm remembering correctly). Alyss herself isn't a sweet and innocent child that tumbled down a rabbit hole, but a rebellious and stubborn princess that knows she's important. She flaunts her imagination and typically gets what she wants, so her unexpected predicament really paved the way for her transformation. I think she would have stayed a spoiled and irresponsible child, if she hadn't grown up in a completely different world.

The Looking Glass Wars was a delightfully dark spin on one of my favorite childhood stories. Beddor is a creative genius, and I'm amazed at how he's made this story so entirely his own. I'm really looking forward to continuing the series and seeing how it inevitably concludes!