Review: Splintered

Goodreads 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.

First off, I just have to say it, this cover is CREEPTASTICALLY GORGEOUS. Seriously in cover love here. I mean, the cover fits the synopsis SO WELL. Brilliantly done.  [It also captures the novel as a whole brilliantly!]

You guys may remember me falling in love with retellings in 2012. I wanted to devour them all and every single one that I came across thrilled me. So when I saw Splintered pop up on my radar I knew we were a match made in heaven. A retelling of Alice in Wonderland? What is perhaps my most favorite of tales? I was psyched. I was thrilled. I was...well, I am seriously lacking in words. 

Oh, Alyssa. I liked your character from the moment we first met. You're so obscure, so unique, so perfectly mad in the best possible way. And while you may not be fearless, you are fierce. You hold your own no matter what is thrown at you. You're clever. You're tough. You're an awesome heroine. I look forward to reading more about you!

Morpheus, Morpheus, where art thou Morpheus? Seriously, peeps, was there ever any doubt that I would fall headfirst and deep into love with "the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own"? Of course not. I'm a sucker for the bad boy. And you just don't get "boys" badder than my Morpheus. Needless to say I loved his character. 

Despite my immense love and favoritism for Morpheus, Jeb managed to make himself a contender. His own bad-esque image, his word-smithing and his just general Jeb-ness managed to win me over though I fought it tooth and nail [and am still resoundingly Team Morpheus!] which makes this one of those rare love triangles that I can live with. In my eyes for a love triangle to be good I have to love both boys, I have to see why the main character is torn. I have to feel for them both. And I do in this case, though I do have my Team that I'm rooting for. Splintered has such a love triangle.

I absolutely LOVED this portrayal of Wonderland. It was dark. It was twisted. It was terrifying. It kept me on the edge of my seat and desperate for more. I was alternately devouring the pages and setting it aside so as to not be freed from Wonderland too soon. I love how Splintered blended together the story of Alice Liddell [the real-life Alice], the story of Wonderland that we all know and love from the mind of Lewis Carroll and made it fit together so wonderfully with the story of Alyssa. This one is a brilliant tale for fans of the grotesque, of Wonderland and of fantasy alike.