Title: Splintered
Genre: Fantasy, YA, Retelling, Adventure, & Fiction
Pages: ebook
First Published: Janurary 2013
Where I Got It: My shelf (Borrowed from friend)
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.
*Sorry I could not make it to the meeting. :/*
Soooo addicting! From page one, I could not put the book down! In one sitting, I fly through 80% of the book. Luckily, I had the day off in order to not feel guilty. haha. I love the original tale, but this was a nice "sequel"/remake of it! I loved how things in Wonderland are little different then what an innocent 8 year old recounts; its a wee bit darker, but her innocence would be blind to that. LOVE it!
Now...the last 20% of the book did slow me down. It was still fast-paced and lots going on, but it never seemed to end. It is hard to explain, but the last little chunk just was not as good as the rest of the book. I was NOT happy with what happened. I cannot say, but I was not pleased with what happened to Jeb and how Alyssa used her tear wish. That should've never happened, because I felt like the last 80% was for naught. *SPOILER ALERT* She wished that he never even came on the adventure at all, so time was reversed and he did not step through with her. So he is all safe and at home, so everything they went through was for nothing! UGH! Frustrating *SPOILER ENDED (I had to use black instead of white bc you can totally see the white with the new look of the blog - haha)
ANYWAYS...
I was not a huge fan of Jeb OR Morpheus as suitors for Alyssa's love. If I was her, I would say no to both of them. I can see why she was attracted to both of them and why they liked her. However, Jeb is a control freak to her, even when he is dating Taelor! They are "best friends", but he tries to control her and it made me shake my head. I get that Alyssa loves him, but I would not stand up for controlling ways and I would be blunt with him, "You are not my father or my boyfriend - you have no say what I do. You can give me your opinion, but DO NOT go to my dad and try and control my life with him." Then slap his hand, "BAD FRIEND, BAD!" Bleurgh.
And then there is Morpheus...selfish, selfish man. Hot? Yes, but not someone to trust. Jeb can see through his string of lies, but Alyssa is as naive as her great-great etc grandmother. At first I didn't mind him too much (I get it...everyone has their own motives and they want what they want), but then there was a reveal and nope...bad guy. A good bad guy? Yes and I applaud how bad he was. However, I hate how many characters he represents. Can't he just represent the Wise Caterpillar? It was annoying.
Overall, this was such a fun ride! The writing style was amazing (even with the last 20% and a certain event that made me shake my head - too easy of a fix), the characters were SO 3D and intriguing, the twists were awesome, and I was in love with Alyssa and her adventure. I totally recommend this to those that like a little dark in their YA and retellings of Alice in Wonderland. So fun. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 4.
Favorite Character(s): Alyssa, Alyson (her mom), Morpheus (a complex baddie...I like it), and Queen Ivory
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Taelor (snot), Red Queen, Morpheus (meh) & Jeb
I agree that it was pretty addicting, I read through it pretty quickly, and probably would have been quicker if I had a little less time at the office lol
ReplyDeleteI agree that the last 20% of the book seemed rushed, but Courtney said that initially this wasn't supposed to be a series, it just turned out to be one later lol
I don't think the way she handled the Jeb situation at the end was "too easy" but that's my personal opinion. Or maybe I'm just a sap and that's why I liked it.
I agree with your opinion of Morpheus, I hated him for who he was but I was still seriously impressed by him. Also, I'm glad you agree that he shouldn't have represented so many of the different characters.
At book club, and maybe in my review I don't remember, I did also mention how I loved how vividly descriptive this book was, I felt very immersed in the setting. I still feel the book would have been improved by pictures, because It Is and Alice in Wonderland adaptation, but she still did an excellent job painting word pictures :)