Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer - 5 stars
Marissa Meyer is no stranger to my bookshelf, and her elegantly crafted fractured fairy tales are a joy to behold. Heartless is no different, as it tackles Lewis Carrol's Wonderland from an entirely new perspective: the POV of the Queen of Hearts.
She's not the dreaded Queen yet, though - she's just Catherine, a young girl with dreams and a formidable skill with tarts. The strong will we have come to expect is heavily tamped down by a desire to please those around her, but Catherine is determined to find her own way to persevere through annoying croquet games and strange tea parties.
When she meets Jest, the court joker, her plans become flexible enough to include him as well. Unfortunately, no one else is flexing.
What struck me above all the cleverness and playful nods to the original story was the accessibility of the tale. Readers of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and (to a lesser extent) Through the Looking Glass will enjoy the references to the timeless classics, but those who haven't read either story will love Heartless just the same.
The tale is poignant and thoughtful while retaining the Wonderland zaniness. So many connections between characters almost seamlessly fit with their originals that it seems eerie at times, in a good way. Once again, Marissa Meyer has married classic stories to powerful emotions, and the result is well worth the read.
Blurb:
Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.
Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.
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