Heartless

by Marissa Meyer

Overview

From Marissa Meyer, the #1 New York Times–bestselling story of Wonderland's most notorious villain: the Queen of Hearts.

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.

In Heartless, her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250044655
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	11/08/2016
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	46,622
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.60(d)
Lexile:	780L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Renegades Trilogy, The Lunar Chronicles series, the Wires and Nerve graphic novels, and The Lunar Chronicles Coloring Book. Her first standalone novel, Heartless, was also a #1 New York Times bestseller. Marissa created and hosts a podcast called The Happy Writer. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and their two daughters.

Editorial Reviews

09/12/2016
Before she was the Queen of Hearts in Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, she was Catherine, the spirited daughter of royalty, destined to wed the King of Hearts but determined to set up shop as a baker with her best friend and longtime maid. In this whimsical standalone tale, readers follow Catherine’s simultaneous courtships with the jovial king and his court joker, Jest, whose earnest boyishness makes him far more charming than his royal boss. Caught between her own desires and her mother’s stop-at-nothing goal to make her daughter queen, Catherine must decide how much she will risk for a future with Jest. Meyer’s Wonderland is a fun and more refined version of Carroll’s, and readers will enjoy the obvious parallels. Jest and Catherine have a playfully clandestine relationship, but it’s a slow build-up to the inevitable clash between what Catherine wants and what reality demands. Meyer’s worldbuilding is extensive and impressive, and the persistent threat of a destructive Jabberwock lends tension, but the story lacks the high-stakes danger that fans of the Lunar Chronicles have come to expect. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"In Heartless, the nonsense that is Wonderland gets a reverential makeover, full of heart and its own idiosyncratic character."--Gregory Maguire, WICKED and AFTER ALICE

"The author’s best fantasy yet. ...Meyer has woven all the elements of darkness and light, fate and free will, and love and hatred into an unforgettable story of the evolution of the Red Queen from a young girl who dreamed of true love and freedom to a madwoman best remembered for the phrase 'Off with his head.' If you only read one fractured fairy tale this year, make it Heartless. A must-have title.--School Library Journal, starred review

Praise for Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series:

#1 New York Times Bestselling Series
USA Today Bestseller
Publishers Weekly Bestseller
National IndieBestseller

“A mash-up of fairy tales and science fiction . . . a crossbetween Cinderella, The Terminator,and Star Wars.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Prince Charming among the cyborgs.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Terrific.” —LosAngeles Times

“A binge-reading treat.” —MTV

“Marissa Meyer rocks the fractured fairy tale genre.” —The Seattle Times

“Epic . . . Breathtaking.” —Teen Vogue

“Utterly thrilling.” —PublishersWeekly

“Wonderfully addictive.” —Buzzfeed

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2016
Gr 8 Up—The author's best fantasy yet. In her inspired reimagining of Lewis Carroll's inimitable adventures in Wonderland, Meyer has explored the world that existed before Alice fell down the rabbit hole. All Lady Catherine wants to do is open her own bakery with the help of her maid. She has no wish to wear beautiful dresses or go to balls, and she certainly has no desire whatsoever to marry the good-natured, bumbling, childlike king. But that seems to be her fate until she meets the king's handsome and mysterious new joker, Jest. Although his mission is to steal Lady Catherine's heart and take it to the White Queen, who would use it to overcome the enemies of her realm, he falls in love with her instead. Employing all the best aspects of Carroll's book—the White Rabbit, croquet with hedgehogs and flamingos, suits of cards, and the Jabberwocky—Meyer has woven all the elements of darkness and light, fate and free will, and love and hatred into an unforgettable story of the evolution of the Red Queen from a young girl who dreamed of true love and freedom to a madwoman best remembered for the phrase Off with his head. VERDICT If you only read one fractured fairy tale this year, make it Heartless. A must-have title.—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK

School Library Journal

Fans of ALICE IN WONDERLAND will love the audio version of HEARTLESS, beautifully narrated by Rebecca Soler. Listeners hear the story of Lady Catherine Pinkerton, known as Cath, before she became the infamous and terrifying Queen of Hearts. Despite being born into the gentry, Cath just wants to open a bakery with her best friend and create delicious treats. Her parents are thrilled when the King of Hearts requests permission to court Cath; however, her interest lies elsewhere—with the mysterious Jest—and she’s torn between doing what is expected and following her heart. With appearances by well-known characters like the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and the Jabberwock, Soler does a remarkable job of bringing to life the fantasy and magic of Wonderland and drawing listeners into the adventure. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2017 - AudioFile