Heartless

Hey loves!

Did you guys ever ask yourself why the red queen in "Alice in Wonderland" was terrorising everyone in Wonderland? To me, the red queen always seemed like a crazy character who I could not truly understand. The book "Heartless" by Marissa Meyer explores the life of the red queen before she became the nightmare of everyone in Wonderland.

Catherine is a normal girl in Wonderland who belongs to the nobility and loves to bake. However, her parents think of her hobby as silly as to them, her only purpose in life is to marry a rich man. And her parents have already chosen the right man: The king. The catch: The king is incredibly unattractive and although he has a good man, Catherine does not want to marry him under any circumstances. Too bad that the king would like to marry her.

But while the king is courting Catherine to make her fall in love with him, Catherine instead falls for the king's mysterious joker Jest. Jest introduces Catherine to the mysterious, mad and fascinating parts of Wonderland - but the two do not belong together. And in a place as haunted and enchanted as Wonderland, thousands of problems can come between the two.

I do not want to spoil too much of the book's content - you should explore it yourself! I could not put the book down because it was super fascinating and through the story, you keep hoping for a chance for Katherine to escape her destiny. But that is not how it works.

The book makes you give your sympathy and empathy to the red queen and when I had finished reading the book, I felt truly sorry for her. She was a girl walking around Wonderland trying to find love and keep it, but Wonderland's threats were too strong for her and she lost her heart in the process turning into the red queen that everyone feared. All of a sudden, you cannot be simply mad at her, because she has a story, too, and the reasons for her actions are legitimate.

If you guys are still looking for the perfect travel companion for this summer, consider this book! If you guys want to get the book, you can click here to view it.

Last but not least, I decided to share a little conversation between the mad hatter and Catherine from the book with you. I loved this passage so much and it is just one of the many passages which give the reader an insight into the dilemmas of the story.

"'I've been working on a riddle myself of late. Would you like hear it?'

'Very much so.'

He tapped the spoon on the cup's rim and set it on the saucer. 'When pleased, I beat like a drum. When sad, I break like glass. Once stolen, I can never be taken back. What am I?'

She thought for a long moment before venturing, 'A heart?'

Hatta's eyes warmed. 'Very acute, Lady Pinkerton.'

'It's very good,' she said, 'although I wonder whether it wouldn't be more accurate to say, 'Once given, it can never be taken back.''

'That would imply we give our hearts away willingly, and I am not sure that is the case."

Lots of Love,

Elena

The photo of this article was taken by Nadia R.