Splintered: A Splintered Novel

By A. G. Howard

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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jan 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781613123799

Book preview

hears the thoughts of plants and animals. She hides her delusions for now, but she knows her fate: she will end up like her mother, in an institution. Madness has run in her family ever since her great-great-great-grandmother Alice Liddell told Lewis Carroll her strange dreams, inspiring his classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

But perhaps she’s not mad. And perhaps Carroll’s stories aren’t as whimsical as they first seem.

To break the curse of insanity, Alyssa must go down the rabbit hole and right the wrongs of Wonderland, a place full of strange beings with dark agendas. Alyssa brings her real-world crush—the protective Jeb—with her, but once her journey begins, she’s torn between his solidity and the enchanting, dangerous magic of Morpheus, her guide to Wonderland.

But no one in Wonderland is who they seem to be—not even Alyssa herself . . .

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Howard, A. G. (Anita G.)

Splintered / by A. G. Howard.

p. cm.

Summary: A descendant of the inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,

sixteen-year-old Alyssa Gardner fears she is mentally ill like her mother until she finds

that Wonderland is real and, if she passes a series of tests to fix Alice’s mistakes,

she may save her family from their curse.

ISBN 978-1-4197-0428-4 (hardback)

[1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Characters in literature—Fiction. 3. Blessing and

cursing—Fiction. 4. Mental illness—Fiction. 5. Mothers and Daughters—Fiction.

6. Hargreaves, Alice Pleasance Liddell, 1852–1934—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.H83222Spl 2013

[Fic]—dc23

2012011538

Text copyright © 2013 Anita Howard

Book design by Maria T. Middleton

Published in 2013 by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Amulet Books and Amulet Paperbacks are registered trademarks of

Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Amulet Books are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also be created to specification. For details, contact [e-mail] or the address below.

115 West 18th Street

New York, NY 10011

www.abramsbooks.com

To my husband and real-life hero, Vince, and to my two wonderful children, Nicole and Ryan. You embraced my dream as if it were your own and gave me the courage to keep flying until I grasped that beautiful shooting star.

Contents

1 One-Way Ticket to Underland

2 Barbed Wire & Black Wings

3 The Spider & the Fly

4 Butterfly Threads

5 Treasure

6 Into the Rabbit Hole

7 The Ocean of Tears

8 Octobenus

9 Morpheus

10 Curiouser & Curiouser

11 Jabberlock

12 The Feast of Beasts

13 Hattington

14 Cages

15 Lifelines

16 Hush

17 Stolen Smiles & Broken Toys

18 Checkmate

19 Chessie

20 Sacrifices

21 Loose Ends

Acknowledgments

About the Author

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.

Some of my victims line the walls in shadow boxes, while others get sorted into mason jars and placed on a bookshelf for later use. Crickets, beetles, spiders … bees and butterflies. I’m not picky. Once they get chatty, they’re fair game.

They’re easy enough to capture. All you need is a sealed plastic bucket filled with Kitty Litter and a few banana peels sprinkled in. Drill a hole in the lid, slide in a PVC pipe, and you have a bug snare. The fruit peels attract them, the lid traps them, and the ammonia from the litter smothers and preserves them.

The bugs don’t die in vain. I use them in my art, arranging their corpses into outlines and shapes. Dried flowers, leaves, and glass pieces add color and texture to the patterns formed on plaster backgrounds. These are my masterpieces … my morbid mosaics.

School let out at noon today for the upperclassmen. I’ve been passing the last hour working on my newest project. A jar of spiders sits among the art tools cluttering my desk.

The sweet scent of goldenrod breezes through my bedroom window. There’s a field of herbs next door to my duplex, attracting a genus of crab spider that changes color—like eight-legged chameleons—in order to move undetected among the yellow or white blooms.

Twisting off the jar’s lid, I dip out thirty-five of the small white arachnids with long tweezers, careful not to squish their abdomens or break their legs. With tiny straight pins, I secure them onto a black-tinted plaster background already covered with beetles selected for their iridescent night-sky sheen. What I’m envisioning isn’t a typical spatter of stars; it’s a constellation that coils like feathery bolts of lightning. I have hundreds of warped scenes like this filling my head and no idea where they came from. My mosaics are the only way to get them out.

Leaning back in my chair, I study the piece. Once the plaster dries, the insects will be permanently in place, so if any adjustments need to be made, it has to be done quickly.

Glancing at the digital clock beside my bed, I tap my bottom lip. I have less than two hours before I have to meet Dad at the asylum. It’s been a Friday tradition ever since kindergarten, to get chocolate-cheesecake ice cream at the Scoopin’ Stop and take it to share with Alison.

Brain freeze and a frozen heart are not my idea of fun, but Dad insists it’s therapy for all of us. Maybe he thinks by seeing my mom, by sitting where I might one day live, I’ll somehow beat the odds.

Too bad he’s wrong.

At least one good thing has come out of my inherited insanity. Without the delusions, I might never have found my artistic medium.

My obsession with bugs started on a Friday in fifth grade. It had been a rough one. Taelor Tremont told everyone that I was related to Alice Liddell, the girl who inspired Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Since Alice was, in fact, my great-great-great-grandmother, my classmates teased me during recess about dormice and tea parties. I thought things couldn’t get much worse until I felt something on my jeans and realized, mortified, that I got my period for the first time and was totally unprepared. On the verge of tears, I lifted a sweater from the lost-and-found pile just inside the main entrance and wrapped it around my waist for the short walk to the office. I kept my head down, unable to meet anyone’s gaze.

I pretended to be sick and called my dad to pick me up. While I waited for him in the nurse’s office, I imagined a heated argument between the vase of flowers on her desk and the bumblebee buzzing around them. It was one powerful delusion, because I really heard it, as sure as I could hear the passing of students from one class to the next on the other side of the closed door.

Alison had warned me of the day I would become a woman. Of the voices that would follow. I’d just assumed it was her mental instability making her say that …

The whispers were impossible to ignore, just like the sobs building in my throat. I did the only thing I could: I denied what was happening inside me. Rolling a poster of the four basic food groups into a cylinder, I tapped the bee hard enough to stun it. Then I whisked the flowers out of the water and pressed them between the pages of a spiral notebook, to silence their chattering petals.

When we got home, poor, oblivious Dad offered to make some chicken soup. I shrugged him off and went to my room.

Do you think you’ll feel well enough to visit Mom later tonight? he asked from the hallway, always reluctant to upset Alison’s delicate sense of routine.

I shut my door without answering. My hands shook and my blood felt jittery in my veins. There had to be an explanation for what had happened in the nurse’s office. I was stressed about the Wonderland jokes, and when my hormones kicked in, I’d had a panic attack. Yeah. That made sense.

But I knew deep down I was lying to myself, and the last place I wanted to visit was an asylum. A few minutes later, I went back to the living room.

Dad sat in his favorite recliner—a worn-out corduroy lump covered with daisy appliqués. In one of her spells, Alison had sewn the cloth flowers all over it. Now he would never part with the chair.

You feeling better, Butterfly? he asked, looking up from his fishing magazine.

Musty dampness blasted into my face from the air conditioner as I leaned against the closest wood-paneled wall. Our two-bedroom duplex had never offered much in the way of privacy, and on that day it felt smaller than ever before. The waves of his dark hair moved in the rattling gusts.

I shuffled my feet. This was the part of being an only child I hated—having no one but Dad to confide in. I need some more stuff. They only gave us one sample.

His eyes were blank, like those of a deer staring down traffic during morning rush hour.

The special talk they give at school, I said, my stomach in knots. The one where boys aren’t invited? I flashed the purple pamphlet they’d handed out to all the girls in third grade. It was creased because I’d shoved it and the sample sanitary pad into a drawer beneath my socks.

After an uncomfortable pause, Dad’s face flushed red. Oh. So that’s why … He suddenly became preoccupied with a colorful array of saltwater lures. He was embarrassed or worried or both, because there wasn’t any salt water within a five-hundred-mile radius of Pleasance, Texas.

You know what this means, right? I pressed. Alison is going to give me the puberty speech again.

The blush spread from his face to his ears. He flipped a couple of pages, staring blankly at the pictures. Well, who better to tell you about the birds and the bees than your mom. Right?

An unspoken answer echoed inside my head: Who better but the bees themselves?

I cleared my throat. Not that speech, Dad. The nutso one. The ‘It can’t be stopped. You can’t escape the voices any more than I could. Great-great-gran never should’ve gone down the rabbit hole’ speech.

It didn’t matter that Alison might be right about the voices after all. I wasn’t ready to admit that to Dad or myself.

He sat rigid, as if the air conditioner had iced his spine.

I studied the crisscross scars on my palms. He and I both knew it was less what Alison was going to say than what she might do. If she had another meltdown, they’d slap her into the straitjacket.

I learned early on why it’s spelled strait. That particular spelling means tight. Tight enough that blood pools in the elbows and the hands become numb. Tight enough that there’s no escape, no matter how loud the patient screams. Tight enough that it suffocates the hearts of the wearer’s loved ones.

My eyes felt swollen, like they might burst another leak. Look, Dad, I’ve already had a really sucky day. Can we please just not go tonight? Just this once?

Dad sighed. I’ll call Soul’s Asylum and let them know we’ll visit Mom tomorrow instead. But you’ll need to tell her eventually. It’s important to her, you know? To stay involved in your life.

I nodded. I might have to tell her about becoming a woman, but I didn’t have to tell her about becoming her.

Hooking a finger in the fuchsia scarf tied around my jean shorts, I glanced at my feet. Shiny pink toenails reflected the afternoon light where it streamed from the window. Pink had always been Alison’s favorite color. That’s why I wore it.

Dad, I mumbled loud enough for him to hear. "What if Alison’s right? I’ve noticed some things today. Things that just aren’t … normal. I’m not normal."

Normal. His lips turned up in an Elvis curl. He once told me his smirk won Alison over. I think it was his gentleness and sense of humor, because those two things kept me from crying every night after she was first committed.

Rolling his magazine, he shoved it into the recliner between the seat cushion and the arm. He stood, his six-foot-one height towering over me as he tapped the dimple in my chin—the one part that matched him instead of Alison. "Now, you listen, Alyssa Victoria Gardner. Normal is subjective. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re not normal. Because you are to me. And my opinion is all that matters. Got it?"

Got it, I whispered.

Good. He squeezed my shoulder, his fingers warm and strong. Too bad the twitch in his left eyelid gave him away. He was worried, and he didn’t even know the half of it.

I tossed and turned in bed that night. Once I finally fell asleep, I had the Alice nightmare for the first time, and it’s haunted my dreams ever since.

In it, I stumble across a chessboard in Wonderland, tripping over jagged squares of black and white. Only I’m not me. I’m Alice in a blue dress and lacy pinafore, trying to escape the ticktock of the White Rabbit’s pocket watch. He looks like he’s been skinned alive—nothing but bones and bunny ears.

The Queen of Hearts has commanded that my head be chopped off and stuck into a jar of formaldehyde. I’ve stolen the royal sword and am on the run, desperate to find the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat. They’re the only allies I have left.

Ducking into a forest, I slice the sword at vines hanging in my path. A thicket of thorns sprouts from the ground. They snag my apron and gouge my skin like angry talons. Dandelion trees tower in every direction. I’m the size of a cricket, along with everyone else.

Must’ve been something we ate …

Close behind, the White Rabbit’s pocket watch ticks louder, audible even over the marching steps of a thousand playing-card soldiers. Choking on a cloud of dust, I plunge into the Caterpillar’s lair, where mushrooms loom with caps the size of truck tires. It’s a dead end.

One look at the tallest mushroom and my heart caves. The place where the Caterpillar once sat to offer advice and friendship is a mass of thick white web. Something moves in the center, a face pressed against the filmy case, shifting just enough that I can make out the shape of the features yet see no clear details. I inch closer, desperate to identify who or what is inside … but the Cheshire Cat’s mouth floats by, screaming that he’s lost his body, and distracts me.

The card army appears. Within an instant, I am surrounded. I toss out the sword blindly, but the Queen of Hearts steps forward and snatches it in midair. Falling to my knees at the army’s feet, I plead for my life.

It’s pointless. Cards don’t have ears. And I no longer have a head.

After covering my starry spider mosaic with a protective cloth while the plaster dries, I grab a quick lunch of nachos and drive over to Pleasance’s underground skate park to kill time before meeting Dad at the asylum.

I’ve always felt at home here, in the shadows. The park is located in an old, abandoned salt dome, a huge underground cave with a ceiling reaching as high as forty-eight feet in places. Prior to the conversion, the dome had been used for storing bulk goods for a military base.

The new owners took out the traditional lighting and, with some fluorescent paint and the addition of black lights, morphed it into every teen’s fantasy—a dark and atmospheric ultraviolet playground complete with a skateboard park, glow-in-the-dark miniature golf, an arcade, and a café.

With its citrusy neon paint job, the giant cement bowl for skateboarders stands out like a green beacon. All skaters must sign a release form and put orange fluorescent grip tape on the decks of their boards to avoid collisions in the dark. From a distance, we look like we’re riding fireflies across the northern lights, sweeping in and out of one another’s glowing jet streams.

I started boarding when I was fourteen. I needed a sport I could do while wearing my iPod and earbuds to muffle the whispers of stray bugs and flowers. For the most part, I’ve learned to ignore my delusions. The things I hear are usually nonsensical and random, and blend together in crackles and hums like radio static. Most of the time I can convince myself it’s nothing more than white noise.

Yet there are moments when a bug or flower says something louder than the others—something timely, personal, or relevant—and throws me off my game. So when I’m sleeping or involved in anything that requires intense concentration, my iPod is crucial.

At the skate park, everything from eighties music to alternative rock blasts from speakers and blocks out any possible distractions. I don’t even have to wear my earbuds. The only drawback is that Taelor Tremont’s family owns the place.

She called before the grand opening two years ago. Thought you would be interested in what we’re naming the center, she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Yeah, why’s that? I attempted civility because her dad, Mr. Tremont, had contracted my dad’s sporting goods store to be the sole supplier for the megacenter. It’s a good thing, too, considering we had been on the verge of bankruptcy because of Alison’s medical bills. Also, as an added bonus, I got a free lifetime membership.

Well … Taelor snickered softly. I heard her friends laughing in the background. I must’ve been on speakerphone. Dad wants to call it Wonderland. Giggles bubbled through the line. I thought you’d love it, knowing how proud you are of your great-great-great-grand-rabbit.

The jibe hurt more than it should have. I must’ve been quiet for too long, because Taelor’s giggles faded.

Actually—she half coughed the word—I’m thinking that’s way overused. Underland’s better. You know, since it’s underground. How’s that sound, Alyssa?

I recall that rare glimpse of regret from Taelor today as I carve the middle of the skateboard bowl beneath the bright neon UNDERLAND sign hanging from the ceiling. It’s nice to be reminded that she has a human side. A rock song pipes through the speakers. As I come down the lower half of the skating bowl, dark silhouettes swoop around me against the neon backdrop.

Balancing my back foot on the tail of the board, I prepare to pull up on the nose with my front. An attempt at an ollie a few weeks ago won me a bruised tailbone. I now have a deathly fear of the move, but something inside me won’t let me give up.

I have to keep trying or I’ll never get enough air to learn any real tricks, but my determination goes much deeper. It’s visceral—a flutter that jumbles my thoughts and nerves until I’m convinced I’m not scared. Sometimes I think I’m not alone in my own head, that there’s a part of someone lingering there, someone who chides me to push myself beyond my limits.

Embracing the adrenaline surge, I launch. Curious how much air I’m clearing, I snap my eyes open. I’m midjump, cement coming up fast beneath me. My spine prickles. I lose my nerve and my front foot slips, sending me down to the ground with a loud oomph.

My left leg and arm make first contact. Pain jolts through every bone. The impact knocks the breath from my lungs and I skid to a stop in the basin. My board rolls after me like a faithful pet, stopping to nudge my ribs.

Gasping for air, I flip onto my back. Every nerve in my knee and ankle blazes. My pad’s strap ripped loose, leaving a tear in the black leggings I wear beneath my purple bike shorts. Against the neon green surface slanting beside me, I see a dark smear. Blood …

I draw my split knee up, inhaling a sharp breath. Within seconds of my crash landing, three employees blow whistles and Rollerblade through the lines of slowing skaters. They wear mining caps, with a light affixed to the front, but they’re more like lifeguards—stationed for easy access and certified in the fundamentals of first aid.

They form a visible barrier with their bright crossing-guard vests to deter other boarders from tripping over us while they bandage me up and clean my blood from the cement with disinfectant.

A fourth employee rolls up in a manager’s vest. Of all people, it has to be Jebediah Holt.

I should’ve bailed, I mumble grudgingly.

Are you kidding? Nobody could’ve seen that slam coming in time. His deep voice soothes as he kneels beside me. And glad to see you’re speaking to me again. He wears cargo shorts and a dark tee beneath his vest. The black lights glide over his skin, highlighting his toned arms with bluish flashes.

I tug at the helmet’s straps beneath my chin. His miner beam is singling me out like a spotlight. Help me take this off? I ask.

Jeb bends closer to hear me over the wailing vocals overhead. His cologne—a mix of chocolate and lavender—blends with his sweat into a scent as familiar and appealing as cotton candy to a kid at the fair.

His fingers curve under my chin and he snaps the buckle free. As he helps me push the helmet off, his thumb grazes my earlobe, making it tingle. The glare of his lamp blinds me. I can only make out the dark stubble on his jaw, those straight white teeth (with the exception of the left incisor that slants slightly across his front tooth), and the small iron spike centered beneath his lower lip.

Taelor raked him up and down about his piercing, but he refuses to get rid of it, which makes me like it all the more. She’s only been his girlfriend for a couple of months. She has no claim over what he does.

Jeb’s callused palm cups my elbow. Can you stand?

Of course I can, I snap, not intentionally harsh, just not the biggest fan of being on display. The minute I put weight on my leg, a jab shoots through my ankle and doubles me over. An employee supports me from behind while Jeb sits down to strip off his blades and socks. Before I know what he’s doing, he lifts me and carries me out of the bowl.

Jeb, I want to walk. I wrap my arms around his neck to stay balanced. I can feel the smirks of the other skaters as we pass even if I can’t see them in the dark. They’ll never let me forget being carried away like a diva.

Jeb cradles me tighter, which makes it hard not to notice how close we are: my hands locked around his neck, his chest rubbing against my ribs … those biceps pressed to my shoulder blade and knee.

I give up fighting as he steps off the cement onto the wood-planked floor.

At first I think we’re headed to the café, but we pass the arcade and swing a right toward the entrance ramp, following the arc of light laid out by his helmet. Jeb’s hip shoves the gym-style doors. I blink, trying to adjust to the brightness outside. Warm gusts of wind slap hair around my face.

He perches me gently on the sunbaked cement, then drops beside me and takes off his helmet, shaking out his hair. He hasn’t cut it in a few weeks, and it’s long enough to graze his shoulders. Thick bangs dip low—a black curtain touching his nose. He loosens the red and navy bandana from around his thigh and wraps it over his head, securing it in a knot at his nape to push back the strands from his face.

Those dark green eyes study the bandage where blood drips from my knee. I told you to replace your gear. Your strap’s been unraveling for weeks.

Here we go. He’s already in surrogate-big-brother mode, even though he’s only two and a half years older and one grade ahead of me. Been talking to my dad again, have you?

A strained expression crosses his face as he starts messing with his knee pads. I follow his lead and take my remaining one off.

Actually, I say, mentally berating myself for not having the sense to fall back into my silent-treatment bubble, I should be grateful you and Dad allow me to come here at all. Seeing as it’s so dark, and all sorts of scary, bad things could happen to my helpless little self.

A muscle in Jeb’s jaw twitches, a sure sign I’ve struck a nerve. This has nothing to do with your dad. Other than the fact that he owns a sporting goods store, which means you have no excuse for not maintaining your gear. Boarding can be dangerous.

Yeah. Just like London is dangerous, right? I glare across the gleaming cars in the parking lot, smoothing the wrinkles from my red T-shirt’s design: a bleeding heart wrapped in barbed wire. Might as well be an X-ray of my chest.

Great. He tosses his knee pads aside. So, you’re not over it.

What’s to get over? Instead of standing up for me, you took his side. Now I can’t go until I graduate. Why should that bother me? I pluck at my fingerless gloves to suppress the acid bite of anger burning on my tongue.

"At least by staying home, you will graduate." Jeb moves to his elbow pads and rips off the Velcro, punctuating his point.

I would’ve graduated there, too.

He huffs.

We shouldn’t be discussing this. The disappointment is too fresh. I was so psyched about the study-abroad program that allowed seniors to finish out their final year of high school in London while getting college credits from one of the best art universities there. The very university Jeb’s going to.

Since he’s already received his scholarship and plans to move to London later this summer, Dad asked him to dinner a couple of weeks ago to talk about the program. I thought it was a great idea, that with Jeb in my corner I was as good as on a plane. And then, together, they decided it wasn’t the right time for me to go. They decided.

Dad worries because Alison has an aversion to England—too much Liddell family history. He thinks my going would cause a relapse. She’s already being prodded with more needles than most junkies on the street.

At least his reasons made sense. I still haven’t figured out why Jeb vetoed the idea. But what does it matter at this point? The sign-up deadline was last Friday, so there’s no changing things now.

Traitor, I mumble.

He dips his head down, forcing me to look at him. I’m trying to be your friend. You’re not ready to move so far from your dad … you’ll have no one to look out for you.

You’ll be there.

But I can’t be with you every second. My schedule’s going to be insane.

I don’t need someone with me every second. I’m not a kid.

Never said you were a kid. But you don’t always make the best decisions. Case in point. He pinches my shin, popping the torn knit leggings with a snap.

A jolt of excitement runs through my leg. I frown, convincing myself I’m just ticklish. So, I’m not allowed to make a few mistakes?

Not mistakes that can hurt you.

I shake my head. Like being stuck here doesn’t hurt. At a school I can’t stand, with classmates whose idea of fun is making cracks about the white rabbit tail I’m hiding. Thanks for that, Jeb.

He sighs and sits up. Right. Everything is my fault. I guess your eating cement in there was my fault, too.

The strain behind his voice tugs at my heart. "Well, the slam was kind of your fault. My voice softens, a conscious effort to ease the tension between us. I would’ve already aced an ollie if you were still teaching the skateboard class."

Jeb’s lips twitch. So, the new teacher, Hitch … he’s not doin’ it for ya?

I punch him, releasing some pent-up frustration. "No, he’s not doing it for me."

Jeb fakes a wince. He’d sure like to. But I told him I’d kick his—

As if you have a say. Hitch is nineteen and the go-to king for fake IDs and recreational drugs. He’s a prison sentence waiting to happen. I know better than to get tangled up with him, but that’s my call.

Jeb shoots me a look. I sense a talk coming on about the evils of dating players.

I flick a grasshopper off my leg with a blue fingernail, refusing to let its whispers make the moment any more awkward than it is.

Mercifully, the double doors swing open from behind. Jeb scoots away to let a couple of girls through. A cloud of powdery perfume wafts over us as they pass and wave at Jeb. He nods back. We watch them get into a car and peel out of the parking lot.

Hey, Jeb says. It’s Friday. Aren’t you supposed to visit your mom?

I jump on the subject change. Meeting Dad there. And then I promised Jen I’d take the last two hours of her shift. After looking at my torn clothes, I glance into the sky—the same striking blue as Alison’s eyes. I hope I have time to drop home and change before work.

Jeb stands. Let me clock out, he says. I’ll get your board and backpack and drive you to Soul’s.

That’s the last thing I need.

Neither Jeb nor his sister, Jenara, have ever met Alison; they’ve only seen pictures of her. They don’t even know the truth about my scars or why I wear the gloves. My friends all think I was in a car accident with my mom as a kid and that the windshield messed up my hands and injured her brain. Dad doesn’t like the lie, but the reality is so bizarre, he lets me embellish.

What about your bike? I’m grasping at straws, considering Jeb’s souped-up vintage Honda CT70 isn’t anywhere on the lot.

They predicted rain, so Jen dropped me off, he answers. Your dad can take you to work later, and I’ll drive your car home. It’s not like it’s out of my way.

Jeb’s family shares the other side of our duplex. Dad and I went over to introduce ourselves one summer morning after they first moved in. Jeb, Jenara, and I became tight before sixth grade started the next fall—tight enough that on the first day of school, Jeb beat up a guy in the breezeway for calling me the Mad Hatter’s love slave.

Jeb slides on some shades and repositions the bandana’s knot at the back of his head. Sunlight hits the shiny, round scars peppered along his forearms.

I turn to the cars in the lot. Gizmo—my 1975 Gremlin, named after a character in the eighties movie Dad took Alison to on their first date—is only a couple of yards away. There’s a chance Alison will be waiting in the lounge with Dad. If I can’t count on Jeb to back me up about London, I can’t trust him to meet the biggest nut who’s fallen from my family tree.

Uh-uh, Jeb says. I see that look. No way you can drive a standard with a sprained ankle. He holds out a palm. Fork ’em over.

With a roll of my eyes, I drop my keys into his hand.

He pushes his shades to the bandana at his hairline. Wait here and I’ll walk you.

A burst of air-conditioning hits my face as the door to the complex slams shut behind him. There’s a tickle on my leg. This time, I don’t swish the grasshopper away, and I hear its whisper loud and clear: Doomed.

Yeah, I whisper back, stroking its veined wings and surrendering to my delusions. It’s all over once Jeb meets Alison.

Soul’s Asylum is a twenty-five-minute drive outside the city limits.

Afternoon sun beats down, glaring off the car’s hood. Once you get past the buildings, strip malls, and houses, there’s not much landscaping in Pleasance. Just flat, dry plains with sparse growths of shrubbery and spindly trees.

Each time Jeb starts to talk, I mumble a monosyllabic response, then crank up the volume on the newly installed CD player.

Finally, a song comes on—an acoustic, moody number I’ve heard Jeb listen to when he paints—and he drives in silent contemplation. The baggie of ice he brought for my swollen ankle has melted, and I move my foot to let it roll off.

I fight drowsiness, knowing what waits on the other side of sleep. I don’t need to revisit my Alice nightmare in midafternoon.

As a teenager,

Reviews for Splintered

[vishae-330728 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Definitely enjoyed the ride. Loved the imagery, especially the darker side of things. Love the stuff the MC wears...

However, I have to say that the book was darker before she stepped into Wonderland. Sure some of the creatures she meet and the things that happens was pretty dark, like the dinner with the mallet scene, but Alyssa's state of mind - which seemed quite dark and thoughtful at the start as she methodically stabs at the dead bugs seems to regress to that of a fairly normal flighty teenage girl after she went down the rabbit hole.

Her ability to problem solve also goes downhill as the book progress. At the start of her adventure, she works out where the rabbit hole is and how to open the rabbit hole. But the moment Jeb appears, she regulates all the decision-making to him.

Morpheus is the love interest I want to root for, but it's very hard to do. He's constantly manipulative, and lacks any kind of vulnerability that makes you think he has any feelings toward Alyssa at all. This does change towards the end of the book, and I have to admit to completely cheering for him in the kitchen scene.

As for Jeb... *meh*

I know that others feel differently, and to each their own. I still like this book and would be continuing with the series.

Re-think: After thinking about it for a couple of days, I realise I'm not really that interested in the second book. I'm still interested in Morpheus, sure, but the whole Jeb-not-remembering-anything is not something I look forward to reading about. We'll see how it shakes out.

[melrailey-412132 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't know much going into this audiobook except that it was based off Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It took me a bit of time to get into the story. I wasn't sure about Alyssa and none of the characters really caught my attention at first. Then as the book went on and it shifted over to Wonderland, I got interested in what was happening. I liked seeing how Howard used the setting from Carroll's Wonderland and, like Carroll, played with words and showed how at first the words you read can be deceptive and mean something totally different than what you can expect. So, in the end, Howard pulled me in.

[mrnattania72 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not a fan. I do not think , because of the one line reference to a possible sequel, that I will bother with the next book. I will recommend this for my girlie girls but but the BAD aSS Tough girls in my classroom

[linyarai · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this for the "A Retelling Of A Well-Known Story" part of my 2019 reading challenge. I liked it, the twists from the original Alice In Wonderland were well done, and I enjoyed the trials she had to face. The ending felt a bit rushed to me after how long the rest of the book took, and it doesn't leave me desperate for book 2.

[larissabookgirl_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Alyssa has always hated the story of Alice In Wonderland, not because of its confounded whimsy and ridiculous fantasy, but because of Alice herself. The story of her great great great grandmother's adventures down a rabbit hole is more than just a fairytale; it is a curse to every female born after her.All the women in Alyssa's family have been a little crazy; her own mother is in an institution for refusing to eat anything not served in a tea cup, and for having conversations with flowers and insects. But more worrying is that Alyssa is also able to hear the insects speak. So if she is to save her mother and break the curse on her family, she will have to venture down the rabbit hole.Splintered returns to Wonderland, only not as you may have imagined it. A dangerous place, darker and more chaotic then anyone was ever led to believe. This twisted wonderland is Alyssa's only hope to break a family curse and save her mother from a torturous fate. A fanciful story that turns a much loved fairytale classic onto its head, creating something new, crazy and romantic.

[moniquesnyman-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Of all the fairy tales I read as a child, Alice in Wonderland was always my favourite. Yes, I enjoyed stories of princesses and I absolutely adore Beauty and the Beast, but for some reason I always related more to Alice in Wonderland than any other story. So, when this trilogy was released I ached to read it. Unfortunately, the Splintered trilogy are import books for South Africans, and there was Alice in Zombieland on the shelves here, so I put it on my wishlist and somehow forgot it existed. That is until my fiance decided to buy me some books from my wishlist for Christmas, of course ...

I finished reading Splintered in one sitting, enjoying this new, modernised, dark and twisted rendition of a tale I enjoyed as a child. I loved how A.G. Howard played with the characters and developed on the original plot, somehow not creating a sequel but a reboot of sorts. It was rather ingenious in my opinion, especially for a YA novel.

As for the characters, Alyssa and Jeb are cute, but I have to say I liked Morpheus the most - not because he's dark and weird, but because he's such a crafty guy. Also, I feel employing the "fairy" elements into the story was a risk, but somehow A.G. Howard succeeded in writing a fun read that I enjoyed far more than some of the other Alice in Wonderland spin-offs.

The only thing I didn't like was the love triangle trope. This, unfortunately, is one of my biggest peeves in YA books. That said, I will happily forgive it in Splintered, simply because the rest of the book was such a superbly thought out (and written) novel. Honestly, I can't wait to start my reading of Unhinged (Splintered #2).

Furthermore, this is one of the most beautiful books on my shelf! Look at that cover, folks. Look at it and know that it is not only a masterpiece by itself, but it binds together the whole tale. The bugs ... yeah, that's important ... very important. The title's font, with its whimsical curls, is well picked. And the formatting inside the book is magnifique!

Basically, this is worth every penny you spend, and I will definitely reread this book in the future. So, if you have a love of all things Alice in Wonderland, a tendency to enjoy YA novels, love a pretty book and a good story, then Splintered is for you. Or, if you know anyone who loves those things and you're looking to buy them a gift, then now you know what to get them. :-)

[ecmross · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, this book is splendiforous! This is a darker, creepier twist on Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland and it was amazing! Alyssa is the 3x great granddaughter of The Alice who went down the rabbit hole. Ever since Alice's return her female descendants have been going mad at some point in their lives. Alyssa's mother, Alison, has been locked in the looney bin for quite some time because she hears and speaks to bugs and plants. Alyssa is also suffering the same fate, but are she and her mother really crazy or is there some other explanation for these incidents? Vividly crafted characters and scenes made for an exciting read! Dive into this extraordinary debut novel by A. G. Howard and perhaps you will also fall down the rabbit hole.

[starknits_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So I almost didn't finish this book. I really really don't like Jeb. I don't like how he treats Alyssa and I don't like how she is around him. Until the end that is. That redeemed it a bit. But I still don't like him much. I really enjoyed the underland imagery and how the Alice story was changed.

[roses7184_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When I first laid eyes on the loveliness that is A.G. Howard's Splintered, I knew that it would be in my reading pile. I am an avid fan of retellings of fairy tales and classic stories! Especially when they put a twist on what has already been written. I opened this book looking for something unique. Something new. I couldn't wait to be swept away into a new version of Alice's story.

My initial reaction was one of pure delight. Alyssa Gardner is a wonderful main character, and you can easily see the thin line she walks between her supposed madness and reality. I adored the way that A.G. Howard so easily built a background for Alyssa's family, and tied it into the original story. When the time finally came for her to descend into Wonderland I was sitting on the edge of my seat. What would she find there? Would it be the same? Different? Unique? Lucky for me, it was everything I was hoping for.

Howard builds a Wonderland that is dark, vicious and deceptive. Madness rules the day here, and the more that Alyssa allows herself to succumb to it, the easier things get for her. I couldn't stop myself from making a slight comparison here and there to the American McGee world, but the twisted creatures in this story are in a category all their own. I was totally immersed in the world built for me, and I didn't want to surface.

My love ended rather abruptly though, as soon as the love triangle came into play. I'll be the first to admit that it drove me completely mad. Essentially Alyssa is given the choice between two men who are both just terrible for her. One who treats her like a child, and the other who is a manipulative creep. For a long while I admired and loved Alyssa's tenacity and intelligence. However once these two came into the picture together? She totally changed. It was maddening. Sadly, I almost didn't finish the book. Although I can say I'm glad I did.

As you can see my thoughts on this book were rather split! Or Splintered perhaps? Ha. Sorry about the pun. Anyway I could go on and on about how I felt, but I really think this is a book that you need to experience for yourself. The beginning held a ton of promise, and I know that I'd happily read anything else that A.G. Howard puts out in the future. Perhaps this wasn't my favorite read of the year, but I did enjoy it! I recommend you give it a shot.

[karenvg3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was okay

I bought the book for the cover. I was intrigued by the premise of the book. The book started out very slow and I had to make myself keep reading. I'm glad I did because it did pick up near the 3/4 mark and the action is what saved the book. To those who are contemplating it, give it a chance and read to the end.

[benuathanasia · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Imagine Hot Topic were a book. This is that book. It is "I am unique and special while being exactly the same as everyone else!" turned into a novel. Wildly mediocre.

[mindea_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I quite liked this version of Alice in Wonderland. I thought it was unique and interesting.

[ishanella · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It took me a while to finish this book, partly because I kept loosing interest. I couldn't figure out why; I mean the story was fast paced and often times engaging. I think I'm so against love triangles that at the slightest smell of one I get turned off. There was definitely a whiff of one and it was enough to give me pause in getting too attached to the story.

For what it's worth, it was a good read. It kept moving, lots of reveals, and a really interesting twist on the Alice in Wonderland story. Very imaginative. But, love triangles kills stories for me, so I'm most likely not going to read the rest of the trilogy. If it's something you don't mind, then you should read this book.

[composingcomposer · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Very exciting plot, but weak characters.
I really wanted to know what happened because the plot was so good, but Alyssa really irritated me. I couldn't identify with her at all. It's too bad, because I do want to know what happens next, but I'm not willing to suffer through another bookfull of these unpleasant characters, so I'm not going to bother.

[itsbookishme · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

When I was a little girl I was always very scared to watch Alice In Wonderland, it was always my least favorite fairy tale. Only because I thought it was so scary. Maybe I was too young to appreciate the beauty and the meaning behind the story. Although, to this day I never forgot how creepy it was to me that I'm still a little gun shy at watching or reading the original or anything close to the original story.

Splintered should have been my chance to embrace the story of Alice as a grown up reminiscing, to experience this retelling with the fear of a little girl scared out of her wits. Unfortunately things did not go as I had hoped. I did not connect with this story and the characters at all, I found myself wishing to be creeped out of my mind. I just wanted to feel something for a memorable story from my childhood, even though those memories might not have been so fond.

Certainly Splintered was very well written, the writing was imaginative, fantastical, and very colorful but for me that's where the best thing about this book ends. I struggled to get through this book, I just couldn't connect with it and it's characters.

There is a negative with continuing to read a book your not liking very much as well as a positive. The positive was ever so often and very rarely but briefly, I did crack a smile or got hastily excited that maybe the story was taking a turn for the better, alas that was not so, it was short lived. And the negatives were that I started to dislike the characters more and more. At first I thought they're not so bad, but then the more I'm with them the more unlikable traits I see in them. I thought Jeb's character was very flat and didn't have any depth to him. It was like he just existed to be Alyssa's long time secret love. And Alyssa was too unresolved and too indecisive on her feelings for Morpheus. Speaking of Morpheus, I thought he would have been the one to make the story more interesting and he did at times but he made me second guess myself too much that I was over him pretty quickly.

All that being said I thought the cover was beautiful so I splurged for the hardback. It was almost a year since it was released so when the second book was available I decided to continue the collection; since the cover was equally as beautiful. So now I'm hoping that maybe the story will take a path that it more captivating than it's predecessor.

While an eloquently written story, Splintered left me unsatisfied, and disappointed. I was hoping to be spirited away to a magical, yet scary place that the kid in me wanted to revisit with the older me as a guide and come out with a newer appreciation for a well loved and popular fairy tale. Personally, I didn't get that from this book.

[rosa.mill · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

That was an interesting take on Alice in Wonderland. Not sure yet if I'm up for the sequels but I'm going to think about it.

[all_hail_grimlock · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book almost made it to five stars, although there were enough moments when the writing didn't make sense - eyes doing things that eyes can't do - that I took off one half star. Basically, there were some issues that I don't think people will see, or care about, but that I did see, and did care about, and that dampened my enjoyment slightly. Like when a wave of frustration ripples through some knights. Frustration that Alyssa feels, although she doesn't see it on their faces. (No explanation of how she feels what they feel, either.) Overall, however, this book was amazing. It's a modern day, twisted retelling of Alice in Wonderland; it acknowledges it's predecessor in almost every way, in almost every scene, and yet manages to remain original at the same time. There is enough that is new, and that is Howard's as opposed to Carroll's, that it kept me guessing until the end. There is a new plot intertwined with the new reincarnations of Carroll's characters. Alyssa comes from the Liddell family lineage, and the women in her family are crazy, to the point where her mother is in an asylum. Alyssa sees her future in Alison, her mother, while also deflecting the taunts of her schoolmates about her family history. It doesn't help that her nemesis, Tealor, is dating Jeb, the boy that Alyssa has been in love with forever. Or that Tealor's family owns the sports park, Underland. Add to the fact that there are monetary issues, and Alyssa's life is about as chaotic as you can get. It all gets so much worse when her mother's mental state gets even more compromised, prompting Alyssa to find a way into Wonderland. Her past, Alice's mistakes, and Morpheus - a winged man who can turn into a moth - all come back to haunt her. And because nothing can be straightforward with Alyssa, Jeb follows her into Wonderland. The story is, more of less, them trying to get back home. Because it seems as if no teen book is complete without a love triangle these days, I present Jeb/Alyssa/Morpheus. Now, I've read a couple reviews, and yes, they forced me to think about this triangle while I was reading. One of the complaints is about Jeb - he's controlling, to the point where he physically keeps Alyssa from doing some of the things she wants. Morpheus is, on the other hand, almost a trickster, forcing things to play out according to his will, but this means that he's manipulative and a liar. On the other hand, Alyssa shows loyalty and affection for both Jeb and Morpheus, and they both show loyalty and affection for her, both sacrificing to the point where I was unable to doubt their feelings for her. As far as they both go, I can understand their actions, due to their past histories. Jeb's father was abusive, and while he does carry Alyssa out of a skate park after she's injured herself to prevent further injury, and physically restrain her during parts of the novel, they're only when logic tells him that she'll hurt herself. And not 'me-big-cavemen, me-protect-woman' logic. Actual logic. Add this to the fact that he knows that her mother is in an asylum, and that mental illness can be hereditary, and there is an actual basis for his concerns, and his need to be her, quite literally, white knight. Do I agree with his actions? No. Did I think he was an ass sometimes? Yes. But I can't say I can't understand, or that I can't sympathize with the choices he has to make. He's not my first choice as a love interest, but I'm not sure he's as bad as he'd made out to be at first glance, especially given the last couple pages of the novel. Morpheus is also one of those nebulous characters, that seems like a total douchecanoe, but who redeems himself. Given the situation he finds himself in, the slow revelations of the hard choices he has to make, I can at least understand why he sees these manipulations as his only choice. (I also liked him more as a love interest throughout the novel.) His history, the truth of who he is, and why he does what he does are given in insanely small bits and pieces. I just wanted to know more about him the more I got to know him. And like Jeb, there are a couple of pages - a little before Jeb's redemption - where Morpheus becomes likable. Morpheus is, in the end, a complex character, a shade of gray that I appreciate. Even Taelor has her reasons for being nasty. Another complaint I read was about digs about Taelor. However, there was no slut shaming that I can remember. Yes, Alyssa wanted Jeb, but she didn't call Taelor a slut or a whore. She didn't think Taelor stole Jeb; she acknowledges that she never said anything about wanting him, and lost out on that opportunity. Taelor is nasty to Alyssa, for a multitude of reasons, ranging from her dad ignores her so she's got an attitude to everyone, to the fact that she realizes that Jeb may be in love with Alyssa and feels insecure about the fact. Alyssa's family history, and her mother, make her an easy target as well. Of course Alyssa and Jen (Jeb's sister and Alyssa's best friend) make digs at Taelor, although not to her face. They do it because they're lashing out, just like Taelor is. It's human nature. I didn't find it particularly bitchy. I found it human. I'd find it more odd if they didn't say anything, and I found it quite compassionate that they didn't do it to her face, to anyone else, and that they only vented about Taelor's actual personality and didn't resort to slut shaming, which could be done so easily given the other Taelor/Jeb/Alyssa triangle. (There is a moment where Alyssa tells Taelor off at the end, and I found it slightly unconvincing how easy it was to make a connection.) I could go on and on, about how I felt each character was complex, real, how they had faults and made mistakes, but tried to redeem themselves by being smarter, better, and by trying to help the people around them. Instead, I'll leave you with two other thoughts. Alyssa was strong when she needed to be, and learned how to be stronger as this novel went on. I personally thought she was pretty badass, even facing off against one of her childhood fears. (Yes, she screamed, but I think most of us would if our childhood nightmares suddenly towered over us. She still faced it, which was impressive!) And Jen, while a minor character, is actually one of Alyssa's only friend, a friend that Alyssa considers kind, talented, and creative. And Jen does show herself to be these things in the short time we see her. I wish we'd gotten to know her a little bit better. Mutual respectful friendships between two girls are rare in teen books these days, at least a lot of the fantasy books.

[glitzandshadows · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was just so delightfully wyrd!goth. I loved Allison a lot. I had little issues like clunky writing every so often and the fact that I REALLY didn't like Jeb at all.

But Morpheus though.

Morpheus was all of my favourite things.

[dkgarner95 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

(2/28/15) This book makes me SO HAPPY! I emphatically stand by my original 5 Stars! I love that Howard includes enough Carrollisms in her story to make Wonderland recognizable, but even more than that, I LOVE that her version of it is dark and twisty and SO CREATIVE---I could barely contain my glee!I'm really glad that I decided to reread Splintered before starting the last two books in the series, because it was just as good as I remember it being, if not better :)(3/23/13) Can I give this more than 5 Stars? I want to give this more than 5 Stars. In fact, I would give this book all the stars in the sky if I could. No joke. This is by far the best book I've read so far this year and it has raised the bar ridiculously high for those that follow.

[joeydag · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An intriguing result of mixing modern YA themes and Lewis Carroll's Alice books, Adventures Underground and Through the Looking Glass. "Skate Girl" Alyssa is a strong character and at 16 she faces her YA challenges.

[mariannelee_0902 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’m so glad I got the opportunity to read Splintered. This is such a wildly imaginative story.A.G. Howard’s writing is captivating, haunting and evocative. You’re sucked in from the very beginning and won’t be able to stop until you’ve finished the whole book.I think Alyssa was a wonderful main character. Weighed down by her family’s past, she’s constantly worried about going insane like her mother. Bugs talk to her, and moths constantly follow her around. How can she think she’s normal?She hides behind her art, in the safety of her own room, even inside of her own mind. She even hides herself from Jeb, her best friend.For the first time in forever, I actually enjoyed the idea of a love triangle.We have two potential candidates:Jeb & Morpheus.Jeb is Alyssa’s knight in shining armor; always defending her, always trying to protect her. Meanwhile, Morpheus is evil, wicked, treacherous, manipulative, and mean.You would think that this triangle is easily solved, but it’s not. They both care immensely for Alyssa and Alyssa truly has feelings for both.My personal choice is Morpheus.Despite him being all these ugly traits, Morpheus stole my heart. I feel like Morpheus loved Alyssa more (in my honest opinion). Jeb always doubted Alyssa and assumed she couldn’t defend herself. Morpheus did not. Morpheus let her be herself, Jeb (albeit loving her), seemed to weigh her down.Anyways, Rebecca Gibel is a wonderful narrator for this audiobook. She captures the whimsical nature of a Wonderland fairy, and the dark mysteriousness of Morpheus. I honestly cannot imagine Morpheus’s voice any other way. She describes the gruesome parts with a chilling voice, and portrays Alyssa as you would imagine her voice would be.Overall, this gothic fairy tale is one you have to read. You’ll be wanting to read more of Morpheus um Alyssa’s story once you read the last page.

[e.a.walsh · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Good idea, horrible charters, I'm so done with this series that I have nothing to say.

[jljaina · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had mixed feeling going into this. I have been curious about it for some time but the feedback I kept hearing was very mixed. I ended up on the side to enjoy this twisted retelling, as additional telling to the story of Alice in Wonderland.

We should, by now, all know the story of Alice in Wonderland (if you do not go read the book or watch one of the many renditions of the movie). What we do not know is how some of the points are a bit...skewed, to say the least. There is no White Rabbit. There is a Rabid White. Yes, I said Rabid..you know the crazy, foaming at the mouth, don't let it bite you... Yep. and that is only the beginning as Alyssa finds herself traveling further into Wonderland.

She goes there to save her mother from a curse of madness laid upon their family. She is the descendant of the original Alice and her childhood friend Morpheus has beckoned her to his world. Her friend, and romantic interest, Jeb travels after her.

It was quick to see Alyssa is going to have guy trouble. On one hand we have Jeb. He is sweet, friend to the family and all around good guy. However he is also possessive and has a girlfriend even though he wants Alyssa more. Then there is Morpheus. Hot mothman of wonderland, childhood playmate of her dreams. He is the enigma of this book. And, like Alyssa, my feelings toward him are of hate and love. To understand this you will have to read the story. Regardless, he is a very interesting character and I cannot wait to read more about him in the next book.

Alyssa must set right the wrongs of the original Alice to save her mother. She meets many wild, crazy characters. if you thought the original story was wacky, you have read nothing yet.

At times this book read a bit slow and at others a bit fast but the adventure was fascinating! AG Howard has a unique voice and I have never read things described in a similar manner to how she pulls things off. A couple of my favorite short descriptions she has are:

"We turn to find Morpheus standing there with enough rage to send the Devil packing for heaven."

"I feel lost yet strangely at home, like a flea who has taken up residence on a zebra."

Some amusing, others bizarre, but they are all entertaining.

Last thing to discuss is the cover. This is what first drew me to the book. I love it. And when I took it off the hardback copy I have I found a lovely surprise! this inside is etched beautifully too in a title design! So either way, it is appealing to look at.

Overall I am pleased with this first book. While not the greatest writing in a literary sense, the story is twisted an draws you into the madness of it all. I am eager to read book two very soon.

[theindigoshelf-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Splintered was one of my favorite reads of 2013. It was just so exciting and wondrous. Howard is an extremely talented writer and has captured the world of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in a way that I hadn't thought possible. I feel like I could check off all of the things that I need in a novel- background story, exciting/complicated plot, visuals, likable & hate-able characters, engaging writing style, realistic dialogue, and so on. I really hope Howard writes more books with the same integrity.Howard's Wonderland:I feel like if I were to walk into a Hot Topic store and it changed into an Alice in Wonderland paradise, it would be how I imagined the Splintered universe. With skater/grunge appeal and over the top dark clothing and the zombie netherling flowers... it is not a stretch of imagination. It's as if Plants vs Zombies cracked out all over the shop.Before reading this I hadn't come across a book where I wasn't constantly finding plot-holes or asking major questions about the story since I read Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy or Allie Condie's Matched trilogy. (For the most part of the series, *cough* Reached *cough*) I was left feeling bitter for wasting my time with Lewis Caroll's originals right before I started Splintered. But I was so sucked into Splintered that I felt completely glad I did. The comparisons were great. Howard embellished pretty much every scene from those books.The story & characters:Splintered is a wildly entertaining re-telling of Lewis Caroll's Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. Alyssa is a 17-year old girl who is worried about facing mental issues like her mother and grandmother before her. She feels alone in her thoughts and has a unique ability to communicate with insects. As the story progresses we find out more about Alyssa; her relationship with her best friend Jeb, her mother's insanity, and where her obsession on her own mental health will take her in the future.Alyssa was likable- she was intelligent and thoughtful. But her rash decisions sometimes got the better of her.I hated Morpheus. I know there is a pretty sizable fan-base for him and Jeb, but I thought the romantic feelings for Morpheus were unnecessary. He is supposed to be the caterpillar from the original Alice's trip to Wonderland. To me, he doesn't seem like the real caterpillar at all. I didn't see the appeal behind their creepy relationship they shared in childhood. It could just be my hatred for moths. I at least tolerated him because he fit into the overall story. He follows her/visits her in the "real world" but attempts to keep his distance. I liked that he had a relationship with Alyssa but I thought the romantic feelings were disturbing.I am patiently awaiting the arrival of the sequel, Unhinged from my local library! Not really! I am constantly checking their website... ahh!It would be so great if Howard wrote another series based on a re-telling. Or anything for that matter. I really enjoyed her writing! (She does have a pretty epic collaboration coming up.)

[68papyrus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Splintered is such an exciting and imaginative look into the dark side of Wonderland. The author has created this whole world that is so outrageous and so intriguing. In this first book of a planned trilogy Alyssa is trying to break the curse that has put a dark cloud over her family's existence. Raised by her Dad because her mother has what appear to be mental health issues, Alyssa is a quiet girl, with quirky interests and few friends. She has a crush on her longtime friend, neighbor and protector, Jeb but hasn't had the courage to act on her feelings. However, that all changes when Jeb ends up accompanying Alyssa to Wonderland to keep her safe. This book is amazing! I loved the chemistry between Jeb and Alyssa and hope they end up together. Looking forward to reading Unhinged!

[destinyisntfree · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So, here is my guilty confession. I basically requested this book on Netgalley because of the cover. Yep, I can occasionally be "one of those people." But, really, look at it? Do you see the awesome artwork there? It is absolutely gorgeous. Now, sometimes, this practice will let me down. Sometimes there will be an amazingly beautiful cover, but a very poorly written book. That was not the case here. For Splintered, my only regret is that I don't have a paper copy so that I can sit and stare at the cover all day, and then pass it on to a lady who would probably love the book, but is legally blind so needs a paper copy and a magnifier to read.

I really enjoyed the spin on the classic tale of "Alice in Wonderland," having grown up with the traditional story. I am finding that I really enjoy when someone takes a classic and puts a bit of a spin on it (unless it is Shakespeare; you really shouldn't mess with the man).

I found this story heartbreaking at some points and exhilarating at others, keeping you on your toes and making your mind work through things as you read, trying to figure out what is to come only to be left shocked and awed because you were not even close!

Alyssa's circumstances and life situations are instantly relatable at least on some level to every reader. Everyone has that ONE family member that you really just don't talk about. From the author's descriptions, you find yourself drawn to Jeb, ever the knight in shining armor, but with the hint of the bad boy on the surface.

I found myself unable to walk away from the story, setting aside other reading obligations to be able to finish the story because I had to know what happened. I was not disappointed.

I did feel, however, that the way the story ended left it open for a sequel and I harbor the secret hope that the author will write more, but I also recognize that the fantastical elements just probably would not be the same, so I suppose I won't be too upset if the story ends here. I feel that we are going to see great things from A.G. Howard, and cannot wait to see what this thrilling debut author has up their sleeves next!

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Splintered is a vivid re-imagining of the Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland. Mixed with modern YA fantasy and a young girl's determination to break free from her family's (seeming) insanity. Alyssa ventures into Wonderland (a much darker Wonderland than in the original tale) in an attempt to save her mother (who has been institutionalized for years) and break a family curse that dooms the women in her family to madness and premature death. A compelling tale, one that (I daresay) I enjoyed more than the original Alice in Wonderland.

[sadiekaycarver · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is not a book I would normally pick. I saw a review written of this book in a magazine and decided to read it myself. I'm glad I did! It only took me 2 days to read this book! I could not put it down! A twisted take on the Alice in Wonderland story that we are so familiar with, Splintered is an absolute breath of fresh air!! I thoroughly enjoyed this book from cover to cover!

[mirandalg14 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

For those who like retold fairy tales, this is a great read. It takes Alice in Wonderland and turns in on its head, along with adding a great dark side to the story. And I love the cover. Awesomeness all over the place.

[morandia-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A dark and twisted Alice story. Love it!