by Sarah Pennington

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Drop the mirror and you break the world in two.

Alys hasn’t set foot in Wonderland in years. Not since the White Queen’s mirror shattered; not since her best friend, Kai Hatter, was killed; not since Alys fled back to her own world with a shard of enchanted mirror in her eye. She’s done her best to set aside the past and move on — until a red-painted rose appears in her room, and the portal opens once more.

Simultaneously desperate for hope and terrified of what she might find — or cause — Alys ventures back through the mirror. But the Wonderland she finds is not the same one she left behind, and though Kai is less dead than she thought, he still might be past saving. To make matters worse, the mirror shard is still in Alys’s eye, and Wonderland is all too susceptible to its corrupting power.

Only Alys can save the land and friend she loves — but if she’s not careful, she might be their doom instead.

Part Alice in Wonderland and part The Snow Queen, Through a Shattered Glass takes Alice back to Wonderland, though it’s different from what she and the reader expect.

Because of its shorter length as a novella, there are some things that don’t get fully explained that the reader has to assume/accept. However, because Pennington pulls from familiar tales for the plot, you can still follow the story well.

For those looking for a short but engaging visit to Wonderland, Through a Shattered Glass might check all the boxes.

Cautions: light romance; one kiss; brief, non-graphic heavy violence