Splintered: A Splintered Novel

A. G. Howard

Jan 2013 · Splintered Series Book 1 · Abrams

About this ebook

A gifted teenager whose ancestor inspired a literary classic descends into a mystical under-land in this romantic, dark fantasy series debut.

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.

“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, starred review

“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.” —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

“Howard’s visual imagination is superior; a cavalcade of weirdness dances across the pages. . . . 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

Ratings and reviews

Whimsical, adventurous, magical. This was a very fun retelling of a beloved fairytale. Much like her mother and grandmother, Alyssa hears the whispers of bugs and flowers, in hopes of getting her mother out of the mental hospital Alyssa follows the calling back to wonderland. Fortunately, she didn’t make the trip alone. She is accompanied by her Friend Jeb on her quest to help her mother.

It looked really good, with a descendant of Alice's going back to this universe, but, to be honest, I just found it confusing. I enjoyed how different characters from Alice in Wonderland were incorporated into this storyline, but I found I could only read a bit at a time else I'd get so confused I couldn't concentrate and I was just reading words. I found I just couldn't finish the book. If you're looking at this for an idea whether to read the book or not, remember, everyone's different, even though I didn't enjoy it, that doesn't mean you won't.

I'm a big fan of Alice in wonderland and this was a unique take on wonderland. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Would have given a 5 star but I based my review on the series. I was able to find all of the books in the series for purchase except "the moth in the mirror" which is a companion to the series is only an eBook which I prefer to own a complete set in actual book form. Also "the boy in the web" which is also a companion, I'm having a difficult time even finding.

About the author

A. G. Howard wrote Splintered while working at a school library. She always wondered what would’ve happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child. She lives in Amarillo, Texas.