Splinterd

Alyssa Gardner is trying to hide from the no so secret fact that she is a distant relative of Alice Liddell, the girl who inspired Alice In Wonderland, as well as the whispers of the insects that inspire her beautifully morbid artwork.    While on a visit to her mom, she learns of a family curse and decides to find a way to break the curse.  She soon finds herself in Wonderland itself along with the boy of her dreams.  Throughout the novel they fight to discover the truth and lies being told by everyone in Wonderland.  She soon finds out the Alice who returned from Wonderland was in fact an imposter.  Alyssa is thrown into a whirlwind of adventure and emotional battles as she discovers her true identity and desires for life.

This novel is an interesting twist to a classic tale.  I admit when I picked up the book I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Many twists to classic tales always fall short or don’t seem to be their “own” story.  Splintered is different; it is in fact it’s own story with slight elements from the classic tale (but slightly altered).   Howard does a phenomenal job at throwing his readers into the world he created; a new wonderland.  The images of the characters we once loved have altered but in a way that makes a new generation love them all the same along with new creations to these characters such as caterpillar evolving into a beautiful mysterious moth.

The descriptions of the characters are beautifully well done that as you are reading the novel you can picture each unique character.  Alyssa’s development through the novel flows beautifully as she learns new things about her family, herself and wonderland itself.  You open the book and know immediately it is a story based off of Alice in Wonderland but can clearly see differences between the two stories that make each their own but also tie the two together.  It was enjoyable to have the story be generations in the future rather than Alice Liddell’s daughter or even granddaughter, but a distant relative.  The novel is marketed towards young adults, but I can see many adults enjoying this novel (series) as well.  I for one will be looking for the next book.

Pros: Unique take on a classic tale
Cons: Moments the story drags on

Bottom line: if you enjoy Alice in Wonderland or other stories like that then check it out.  It is a great novel.

Rating 4 out of 5 stars.