Author: A.G. Howard
Series: -
Genre: Young Adult – Fantasy
Publisher: Amulet Books
Amazon: Splintered
Release Date: 1st January 2013
Synopsis:
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.
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.
Review: 5 out of 5 Stars
Every
once in a while a book comes along and leaves me absolutely mesmerized; Splintered is a book which kept me up
until all hours and left me thinking about it long after I had finished it – a
sign to me of amazing storytelling & how gorgeous is the stunning cover!
Alyssa
is the great, great, great grand daughter of Alice Liddell, the real-life
inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland and hears the small whispers of bugs and
flowers; thinking this is a sign of madness and that she is starting to take
after her institutionalized mother, she soon learns that the stories about her
family’s history is actually a shocking reality.
I
loved the voice of Alyssa; she was realistic, devoted, curious and really
sweet. I loved the way she cared about her parents and best friend Jeb. Her
task was to complete a series of tests in the Under-land to fix Alice’s mistakes in the
hopes of breaking the family curse.
Splintered was an engrossing read with amazingly vivid
details, the intricate plot and the Alice in Wonderland tidbits were
fascinating, it’s one of my most favorite tales and Howard certainly did it
justice.
I
adored each of the characters; Alyssa’s strength, Jeb’s devotion and loyalty
and netherling Morpheous’s mystery. We have a bit of a love triangle between
Jeb and Morpheous, both boys were intriguing but I had a clear choice from the
very beginning.
The
world Howard has created is filled with darkness and fraught with danger; once
Alyssa stepped down that rabbit hole there was no turning back and the journey
she took throughout in order to break the curse was filled with many surprises,
twists and turns (one which completely blew me away) and extremely unusual
creatures; it was enthralling.
Howard’s
writing is simply stunning! The wonderful story she has created is pure
brilliance and filled with imagery that takes you into the story. I am
definitely eager to read more books by this author.
I've been wondering about this for a while - the cover is amazing so it's good to know the story lives up to it. The fact that it kept you reading for hours is a bonus, too!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read this now! I have it for review later on and I always worry about setting my expectations too high. I was so intrigued by the Alice in Wonderland connection that I had to ask for it - I love that it didn't fall flat for you. :) Great review!
ReplyDeleteWow..i thought this was going to be fluff and passed on it..this sounds really good and I love that it mesmerized you.
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing wonderful things about this book! I haven't read an Alice in Wonderland retelling, and this one certainly sounds great. The plot itself seems really intriguing! It sounds like Howard did a good job with world-building, character, and everything else--yay! Awesome review, Sharon. :)
ReplyDelete