Splintered by A.G. Howard

Splintered by A.G. Howard
Series: Splintered, #1
Publisher: Amulet Books
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 371
Source: Purchased

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.

 

I really love Alice in Wonderland re-tellings and this one did not disappoint. However this Wonderland isn't anything like the one we know. It's twisted and dark and the characters, while tie in with the ones in the original Alice in Wonderland are much darker and strange yet lovely at the same time.

 

I have to admit the beginning leaves much to be desired. It's slow and it takes over 100 pages for Alyssa to reach Wonderland. The beginning fills us in on the story behind Alyssa and let's us see her mother in the mental hospital. Once Alyssa gets to Wonderland everything begins to pick up.

 

I loved Alyssa. She kicks some serious butt and goes through all of the trouble to save her family. She wants to help her mother and that's the main driving force behind her actions. She knows what she wants and she doesn't let anything stand in her way. I'm probably going to get a lot of hate for this but I wasn't a fan of Jeb. He's seriously whiny. He keeps secrets from Alyssa (though Morpheus does the same thing) while he's supposed to be one of her best friends and I just really didn't like him. He got on my nerves.

 

Now Morpheus however, I loved him. He's the bad boy. He's manipulative and controlling but he truly cares about Alyssa and that really came through the more we got to see of him throughout the novel. While he's manipulative he also does what he can to help Alyssa. I was honestly praying for Morpheus to get a chance with Alyssa in the end but only time will tell.

 

If you haven't already checked this one out I highly recommend you do. All the hype is well worth it and if a retelling isn't enough to make you want to read it just remember it's a lot darker and more twisted than the Wonderland you remember.