This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now. When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own. Read all the books in the New York Times bestselling Splintered series: Splintered (Book 1), Unhinged (Book 2), Ensnared (Book 3), and Untamed (The Companion Novel). Get books 1 through 3 in the Splintered boxed set, available now!Praise for Splintered:STARRED REVIEW "Fans of dark fantasy, as well as of Carroll’s Alice in all her revisionings (especially Tim Burton’s), will find a lot to love in this compelling and imaginative novel." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books"Alyssa is one of the most unique protagonists I've come across in a while. Splintered is dark, twisted, entirely riveting, and a truly romantic tale." —USA Today "Brilliant, because it is ambitious, inventive, and often surprising — a contemporary reworking of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,’’ with a deep bow toward Tim Burton’s 2010 film version." —The Boston Globe "It’s a deft, complex metamorphosis of this children’s fantasy made more enticing by competing romantic interests, a psychedelic setting, and more mad violence than its original." —Booklist " Protagonist Alyssa...is an original. Howard's visual imagination is superior. The story's creepiness is intriguing as horror, and its hypnotic tone and setting, at the intersection of madness and creativity, should sweep readers down the rabbit hole." —Publishers Weekly "While readers will delight in such recognizable scenes as Alyssa drinking from a bottle to shrink, the richly detailed scenes that stray from the original will entice the imagination. These adventures are indeed wonderful." —BookPage "Attention to costume and setting render this a visually rich read..." —Kirkus Reviews "Wonderland is filled with much that is not as wonderful as might be expected, and yet, it is in Wonderland that Alyssa accepts her true nature. The cover with its swirling tendrils and insects surrounding Alyssa will surely attract teen readers who will not disappointed with this magical, edgy tale." —Reading Today Online "Creepy, descriptive read with a generous dollop of romance." —School Library JournalAward: YALSA’s 2014 Teens’ Top Ten
I read this book just a few days after having read [b:Alice in Wonderland|13023|Alice in Wonderland (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #1)|Lewis Carroll|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391458382s/13023.jpg|2933712] and [b:Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There|83346|Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #2)|Lewis Carroll|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359299332s/83346.jpg|17240250], which, as it turns out, wasn't the best idea. The two Alice books were fresh in my mind and I remembered most of the storylines, characters etc.
My main problem with this book was that it was confusing. It didn't really make sense. First off, the originial Alice in Wonderland is supposed to be somewhat of a guide to Wonderland (as far as I understood), yet the characters in this book makes the same mistakes as Alice did. That just seemed incredibly stupid to me.
In the beginning, we follow Alyssa and her family. Her mom is in a mental institution and supposed to suffer from some mental disorder. This takes up a lot of place - 20% to be exact! Then the Wonderland part starts. I don't feel like I know what really happened down there, because honestly? It felt so rushed that I didn't have time to sort out my thoughts and understandings. It was just...confusing! I felt like the caterpillar:
I also didn't really care about the characters and the love aspect. That being said, I still liked some parts of the book. I found the dialogue to be pretty good, and I also liked the description, I just think it was a bit too much.
