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 deliciously engrossing beautifully warped re-telling of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland written by Carol Lewis. Grotesquely errie and beautifully marred, this epic journey into the madness of a wickedly wonderful and beguiling Wonderland, will have readers riveted to their seats until the last page has been turned. Filled with gorgeous imagery, stunning prose, and amazing world building this is a fantasy that is sure to entice the child in anyone. From beginning to end, it is stunningly beguiling and fantastically captivating. A.G. Howard has taken such a fantastical magical world and spun it into something hauntingly dark, edgey, and simply amazing.
The imagery and all of the wonderful mystical elements that made Alice's Adventures in Wonderland so visually stunning are ever present in this mondern re-telling. Wonderland is a fascinatingly dangerous world full of dark intrigue, daring adventure, and incredible suspsense and mystery. Dark and vividly haunting, Splintered, is filled with secrets and answers to hidden questions, a deep seeded family curse, and many of the whimsical characters that made Alice's Adventures in Wonderland so appealing to readers as a child.
It is a wonderfully delicious mad read that will not disappoint even the most hardcore fantasy reader. It is truly an entrancing magical story that brings so many dark agendas and mysterious secrets to life. They have this beautiful way of dancing on the pages before the readers eyes, drawing them in, and captivating them with their intrigue. This beguiling world is intricately woven and beautifully descriptive and alive with so much dark rich haunting energy that sparks to life. It's dark, gritty, and terrifying in all of the right Wonderland should be. It is rich in character development, originality, and compelling plot twists that will have any fan of fantasy cheering.
Splintered is an unpredictable fantastical new young adult debut novel full of wonder and so many unexpected suspsenseful twists and turns that is sure to wow! It is a book that is sure to mystify any reader. There is an amazing mystical power to this story, that is sure to take readers on a magical journey they won't soon forget. It is sure to leave them both thrilled and echanted. Splintered is such a delectable treat to any fantasy lover.
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15 December, 2012:
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15 December, 2012:
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