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
Splintered is a modern retelling of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Alice is one of my favorite books, so I was really excited to read Splintered. Plus, the cover is really lovely, and I'm a sucker for a beautiful cover.
I would say this is only loosely based on the original story. It's obvious that it got its roots from Wonderland, but it definitely has its own unique characters and plot.
Alyssa is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Alice Liddell, the girl who inspired Carroll to write Alice in Wonderland. The females in her family have been cursed, and Alyssa believes she can break the curse by returning to Wonderland.
I really enjoyed A. G. Howard's writing style. It flowed really well, and the story was imaginative. While the characters are well-written, the love triangle made it lose a star.
It seems that a lot of authors fall back on the plot point, and it is really over-used. Like Alyssa isn't interesting enough on her own to carry the story, so she needs two guys to fight over her to make her seem more interesting and desirable. And honestly, as much as Alyssa annoyed me at times, she could do so much better than Morpheus AND Jeb. For starters, Jeb has a girlfriend and doesn't act on his feelings for Alyssa because he doesn't want to hurt her. Of course, that's why Alyssa never told him about her true feelings, too! What a coincidence!
And then there's Morpheus. I don't understand why there are "Team Morpheus" sites out there, because he was basically a manipulative jerk throughout the entire book, until the very end when gives a nice speech. But actions speak louder than words, and I think Morpheus would always choose himself over Alyssa. Now, my opinion may change after I read the next two books in the series, and I may have to come back and eat my words, so we shall see. Because despite how the last couple of paragraphs make it seem, I actually did enjoy this book, and I am interested to see what happens at the end of the series.
A little bit goth, a little bit steampunk, and a little bit Alice, Splintered is definitely a unique twist on the original, and I would recommend this to readers who like topsy-turvy versions of classic tales.
