2 out of 5: SPLINTERED by A.G. Howard

Splintered (Splintered #1) by A.G. Howard

Summary:

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.

Review:

Have you seen the tumblr post with Clary Fray, Katniss Everdeen, Hermione Granger, and etc. where it says "I have lived 1000 lives [...] all within the comforts of my home"? Well, Splintered starts off like that; you really do feel like you're travelling down to Wonderland with Alyssa (Al) and you're really experiencing the story right up until Al meets Morpheus.

Al is a weird gal, but who can blame her? I mean, she can hear bugs and flowers whisper, so it takes a little will-power to ignore her tiny obsession with bug art. However, her taste in guys, spot on! Honestly, the only reason I made it so far into the book is because of Jeb, I really wanted the two of them together. The connection those two have is so sweet. They know each other so well, that the only reason they weren't together was to protect each other from their own problems. (Sounds cheesy but, it's cute).

As I was explaining earlier, when you read a book, you are supposed to feel like you are apart/in the story. The mystery to get into Wonderland, you solve along side the character, and so the suspense there was nicely drawn out -not too fast and not too slow. Yet, once Al meets her mysterious visiter, Morpheus, he kind of reveals everything and how Al is supposed to do each thing to get back into the real world. At this point, it is like suddenly, you are pushed out of the story and instantly, the book starts becoming harder and harder to read.

If you enjoy fairy-tale re-tellings, I would maybe read this book. The transformation of Lewis Carrol's kid-friendly Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to a darker young-adult setting is really cool to read about, and I think the twist in the characters and what "truly" happened is a nice addition to the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Find Splintered on: Amazon.com | Goodreads