Splintered - A.G Howard (My first review, I hope you like!)

[Becky-boo]

As a avid lover of the original ''Alice's adventures in Wonderland'', I'm always on the look out for a new twist on what
I consider a literally marvel. Enter stage, Miss Howard, and her twisted new view of how Alice's story would of continued.

We start this journey by getting to know Alyssa Gardner, a unique if not very misunderstood teenager, who has a actual reason
for the teenage angst we come to expect in a young adult novel. She thinks she's losing her mind. All manner of insects and plants speak to her, she sees things in the world no one else could imagine, and she dreams of a version of the world others would think was macabre in the least. If she could ignore all that, she couldn't however ignore the fact her mother lives in a mental institution for the exact same problem.
“I've been collecting bugs since I was ten; it's the only way I can stop their whispers. Sticking a pin through the gut of an insect shuts it up pretty quick.”
As if people didn't find her strange enough, she's a real life descendant of Alice Liddell, the girl behind the tale of Alice who found wonderland down the rabbit hole.
She has come to accept this life, and hide it as best as possible, even from her best friend Jeb. He may also lean towards her dark visions of the world, but even she accepts telling him insects talk to her may be too far.
That is, until the insects stop whittering mindlessly, and start trying to convey actual messages. Then there's the Moth. The one that's stalking her and talking to her in her dreams. All things come to a culmination, as Alyssa finds out they plan to give her mother electric shock treatment she may never come back from.
After stumbling across a intriguing riddle, suggesting she has to go back to wonderland to regain her mothers sanity, she's determined to set things straight.

After a little investigation, she's ready to find her way to wonderland. She just didn't plan on Jeb following her while she wasn't watching.
Suddenly they're both thrown headlong into a world that is nothing like a young Alice Liddell recalled. A world that is achingly familiar to her, and even more dangerous to her knowledge less friend. When the plants aren't trying to kill you, a Walrus wants to eat you. And when you've got past that obstacle, there's only the small matter of an entire sea to dry up. And you can have a lovely dinner, if you can chase it across the table and kill it before the rest of the guests. And who doesn't love a head in a box? The pair have to stumble and crawl through this weird yet wonderful world, battling ever uncomfortable realisations and feelings, and mopping up Alice Liddells mistakes as they go.
Until Alyssa meets an old friend from a long forgotten memory. Morpheus. Who seems to want to help her accomplish her goal, but for every truth he tells her, he holds two more back.
Alyssa seems to have a battle on every front and a enemy around every corner. Should she give in to her life long crush on her best friend? Or give in to the new and exotic, if not natural feeling responses her body seems to give to Morpheus?
And why is it with every step she takes into wonderland, she seems to morph more and more into a version of it's strange inhabitants?
“No one knows what he or she is capable of until things are at their darkest.”
Miss Howard fills every single sentence with mystery and intrigue. If your not immersed into the love triangle, your infatuated with the weird and wonderful ''nether creatures''. And when that isn't keeping you occupied, your following the twists and turns of how Alyssa can fix wonderland, and what the end result for her will be. And what on earth is Morpheus hiding?
I Haven't been as captivated by a book in a long time. You'll never think of wonderland the same. Give it a read yourself, and I'm sure, like me, you'll be desperate to fall down the rabbit hole yourself.

[darcyb123]

Sounds like a MUST READ. Thank you!

[LitAmri]

Sounds like a brave, mature and darker take on the Wonderland classic. No doubt it would attract fans and critics alike. That aside, I'm intrigued. Solid review.

[Becky-boo]

Thankyou! I'm a little dark and twisted myself, so this called to me. It's supposed to be YA, but I think most people of any age could get into it. Maybe I'm a little biased!

[ChristinaLu]

This has become my newest addiction! I can not get enough of this new twist on Alice in Wonderland. A.G. Howard did a fantastic job at intertwining a childhood favorite with a new and modern twist. Each page kept me quickly trying to devour the next and my only complaint is wanting more!!
User avatar
ChristinaLu

Posts: 6
Joined: Today, 17:47
Bookshelf Size: 0 books

[chytach18-]

Good review, Becky-boo. Poor insects and bugs, though.

[Britney DeCamp]

This is an amazing book. It is about Alice Liddell's great granddaughter, Alyssa, who has started hearing the voices of bugs and flowers. Afraid that she'll end up like her mom, Alison, she hides her crazy hallucinations from everyone including her dad and her best friend, Jeb Holt. I recommend this book to the young adults and adults who love Alice In Wonderland.

[KacieLW]

I read this book fairly recently and I liked it a lot. I am excited to read the next one also. My only issues really were that I didn't really like the skateboarding aspect, and the relationship in the story could be a little better. However, I still really enjoyed the book and will be continuing the series.