Name: Splintered
ISBN: 9780606352352

A. G. Howard

A descendant of Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 16-year-old Alyssa Gardner fears she is mentally ill like her mother and predecessors until she discovers that Wonderland is real and, if s

Splintered

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.

Zahra

Imaginative, dark and twistedly good. But not good enough to keep my interest, sadly. Skimmed the last half of the book.

Briar's Reviews

Alice in Wonderland is retold in this fantastic, addicting Young Adult novel! 

Alyssa Gardner is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Alice. It seems the woman put a curse on the women of the family, since they can talk to plants and insects. Since madness has ran in her family, Alyssa decides to try to stop the curse, and go to Wonderland. With the help of her life long crush Jeb, and the caterpillar Morpheus, she must try to stop the curse that has ruined her family's lives. 

The twists and turns are delightful! During the entire book, I couldn't guess the next twist! And seeing all of the changes AG Howard made to the story, making Alice in Wonderland seem like a much darker tale than it was made the book very interesting! All of the changes made the story seem darker, and somehow more realistic.

I really enjoyed this novel! I saw nothing wrong with it in any way. It was a perfect retelling, with the perfect mix of similar themes but new changes. The novel left on a note that another book could be made (and two more has!), but still ends in a way that could make it be just a stand alone novel as well. 

I couldn't get enough of this book! 

Five out of five stars! I can't wait to read the sequel!

Zaira A 

Such a great retelling to Alice in wonderland. I love the fact that this Wonderland was more dark and twisted. I completely enjoyed Howard interpretation of the character that we all grow up knowing and loving. Alyssa journey in wonderland was so full of adventures and twist, you get completely immersed in this world. So you might ask yourself if you loved it so much why the 4 stars missy? Well dear friend as twisted as this world was, the storyline is 4 times more confusing. I had to re read a lot passage and pages to grasp key elements and plot twist in the story. I felt that certain things could had been explained a little bit better, it would had aid the reader lot. Besides that great story with very unexpected turn of events.

Nessa Luna

Read this review, and many more on my blog October Tune!

I have to admit, I have never read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I have watched the Disney movie (quite recently) and the one made by Tim Burton, and I have ordered the book a couple of days ago, though, because this story made me want to read the original one.

In this book, the Wonderland creatures are described to be quite a lot different from the ones you meet in the original story. Quite a bit more creepy. A white rabbit that isn’t quite a rabbit at all. A bandersnatch that looks NOTHING like the one from the Burton movie. There were a lot of creatures described in the book, and I would have loved for this book to have pictures in them, because I found it a bit hard to imagine some of the creatures, or places that were described.

I liked Alyssa, and Jeb, though I was a bit annoyed by the way he treated Alyssa, as if she was a little girl who couldn’t make up her mind herself. I kinda like it when a boy is protective over a girl, in a story, but Jeb took it a bit too far. He hardly ever let Alyssa make her own choices (though usually, she’d do it her way anyway), and I do hope he gets over it in the second book (because yay, there’s a sequel coming!). I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Morpheus, because though he’s quite protective over Alyssa, and he wanted to help her, he was also (a bit of) an arse.

In the end, I’d give the book three ‘planets’, out of five, because though I liked the story, and the concept (I just really like Alice in Wonderland), there were some things (like Morpheus’ behaviour, and the lack of images) that I didn’t like. The big thing was the love-triangle-thing, which you could read about in the description already, so I don’t really think that’s a spoiler).

Marie

I love the twist on wonderland story and how it's about her daughter going back to save wonderland.

Briar Rose

** spoiler alert **
           *Review also posted at Briar Rose Reads

I did not like this book. I did not like it at all. That is disappointing, because I was very excited about reading it. (I am a pretty-cover junkie, and just LOOK at that cover!)

Details:

1) Love triangle (please God, make authors just stop already) in which both of the main character's options are controlling jerks. One of them (Jeb, her childhood friend) is also rather bland and undercharacterized; the other (Morpheus, the shape-changing moth creature) is outright evil, with rapey overtones. I cannot articulate the depths of my hatred for the latter character, so I will not even try. Most of his actions are indefensible to a point that I cannot imagine how anyone, including Alyssa, could ever care for him at all. 

2) Shallow female characters. We have: bland, swept along by others' decisions, largely lacking in agency (Alyssa); locked up in a mental institution (Alyssa's mother); jealous (Gossamer); heartbroken and imprisoned (Ivory Queen); evil and manipulative (Red Queen); beautiful bitchy prep (Taelor).

3) It wasn't all bad. The twisted take on Wonderland had its moments of beautiful, sparkling prose, and some of the creatures were interesting. I was fairly indifferent on the plot; neither memorable nor terrible, in my opinion. But the characters were a deadly hybrid of bland and utterly unlikeable, and that killed the story for me.

Ofelia

Nel sogno mi vedo avanzare faticosamente attraverso una schacchiere nel Paese delle Meraviglie, inciampando su grossi riquadri bianchi e neri. Solo che non sono io. Sono Alice, con tanto di abito azzurro e grembiule bianco e sto cercando di sfuggire al tic tac dell'orologio da taschino del coniglio bianco che ha l'aspetto di un coniglio scuoiato: non è altro che ossa ed orecchie giganti.
E' tutto inutile. Le carte da gioco non hanno orecchie. E io non ho più la testa.

Che cosa succederebbe se una fan di Alice in Wonderland di Tim Burton scrivesse un libro su Alice? esattamente questo.
E' inutile che continui a citare Lewis Carroll ovunque all'intero di questo libro, anche uno stupido avrebbe capito ben prima dei ringraziamenti finali (in cui insiste a ringraziare Lewis Carroll da cui non ha preso niente e si vede) che è tutto palesemente scopiazzato e pure male dal film di Tim Burton, non si ispira praticamente affatto alla favola di Lewis Carroll.
Qualcuno mi spiega esattamente poi come "Splintered" sia magicamente diventato nella versione italiana nel "Il mio splendido migliore amico"? le solite traduzioni fatte con i piedi. Un titolo del genere scoraggerebbe chiunque dal cominciare a leggerlo.

Il libro di A.G. Howard in generale poteva essere molto meglio, non decolla mai secondo me se non sul finale con come unico colpo di scena il non essere veramente erede di Alice ma piuttosto della Regina Rossa ma molte cose stonano davvero troppo per farmi dare un voto più alto di tre (e dire che da grande fan di Alice speravo di arrotondare in quattro, ed invece niente). Tra parentesi Alyssa è parente della regina rossa e come rappresentano tutto questo? alla fine del libro tutti i tratti del paese delle meraviglie spariscono tranne le ciocche rosse nei suoi capelli, si perché ovviamente quelle rimangono perché fanno fashion? perché l'unico modo che avevate di far capire che non è parente di alice veramente ma della regina rossa era quello? mettetegli una maglietta 'regina rossa wannabe' la prossima volta.

La Regina Rossa viene nel nostro mondo e vive da bambina fino ad adulta, innamorandosi di un essere umano e decidendo che si effettivamente se ne può tornare nel paese delle meraviglie solo una volta anziana. Fatemi capire: perché dovrebbe ridare il posto ad Alice quando Alice quella vita non l'ha in realtà mai vissuta? "Così Alice sarà circondata dalla sua famiglia!" si, solo che Alice è una bambina quando entra nel paese delle meraviglie ed una signora anziana quando ne esce quindi quella NON è la sua famiglia. Quale folle avrebbe potuto pensare che sarebbe stata felice lì?
La Regina Rossa poi racconta la storia di Alice in quel modo fiabesco, tralasciando tutto l'horror perché la vede con occhi da bambina. Infatti anche Morpheus dice che quando hanno l'aspetto di bambini loro sono realmente bambini. Aspetta, questo non ha senso. Morpheus è un bambino quindi quando parla con Alyssa? eppure ha tutto il piano in testa, la stessa Allyssa dice che non si comporta come un bambino normale. Questa è una contraddizione bella e buona.
La madre vuole salvare la figlia standole il più lontano possibile, ma non è disposta a prendere tutto e fuggire lontana dalla famiglia. Che senso ha?! ovviamente così non le starai mai veramente distante, se vuoi fare un sacrificio allora fallo per bene. 
Il pezzo del cappellaio... no.
Fanno uscire di testa Alyssa solo perché nel thé del cappellaio matto deve uscire di testa, no? o per darci almeno un punto in comune con la Regina Rossa. E' un pezzo che a me è sembrato solamente forzato e per niente scorrevole da leggere, bocciato su tutta la linea ed è dura bocciare il capellaio matto.
Il pezzo del tricheco è il motivo per cui non posso più vedere la versione Disney quindi è un enorme NOPE pure qui, come è un enorme NOPE quello di inseguire un'anatra VIVA e staccarle pezzi mentre questa corre via. Se volevate farmi diventare vegetariana complimenti, ci siete quasi riusciti. Comunque questi sono gli unici pezzi gothic horror che hanno funzionato su di me, facendomi schifo in realtà ma non paura. Se A.G. Howard voleva infatti ricopiare le atmosfere horror di Tim Burton non ci è affatto riuscita. I suoi personaggi sono caricaturali, non spaventosi: con questo voler sempre descrivere che sono scheletri, che si vedono i cervelli, gli organi, le ossa ma poi? beh niente, tutto qui. Quando aprono bocca non fanno paura, non sono inquietanti sono solo banali. In generale i personaggi, tanto per riassumerla in breve, sono completamente privi di spessore psicologico protagonista compresa.
Alyssa in generale è un personaggio piatto. Trovo assurdo farla soffrire di vertigini quando poi, una volta avute le ali, è tutta 'oooh come è bello volare!'. In generale comunque il suo lanciarsi nella tana del coniglio non è geniale fatto da una persona che giura di soffrire di vertigini anche se non è molto logica nell'analizzare la sua paura. Dice di non soffrire molto di vertigini, solo un po' perché ha paura di fare i salti con lo skate. Ora, io non ho idea di che razza di salti faccia questa donna con lo skate ma di solito ci si alza solamente di alcuni cm (ammesso che tu non sia marty mcfly) e non ho mai sentito nessuno avere le vertigini per un paio di cm di altezza! Poi però viene fuori che una volta ha fatto l'arrampicata di un canyon e non è riuscita a scendere, l'hanno dovuta portare giù mentre lei non riusciva a guardare (ma quale idiota che ha paura di un salto di 2 cm sale un canyon?!) e poi quando scende con Morpheus che vola non riesce a tenere gli occhi aperti e per le vertigini SVIENE! Assurdo a dire poco.
Fa tanto la paladina dei deboli e degli oppressi, animali ovviamente nel paese delle meraviglie, ma non si ricorda che LEI uccide insetti e li mette VIVI nei suoi quadri? non puntiamo il dito così a caso, anche io uccido le zanzare che cercano di succhiarmi il sangue ma non metto trappole nel garage per prendere insetti che nemmeno avrei mai notato, e non li metto vivi nei miei quadri guardando con entusiasmo come è bello che si contorcano per il dolore nel mio capolavoro.

Il personaggio di Jeb, che tecnicamente dovrebbe essere il love interest della protagonista, è solo abbozzato. Non si fida di Alyssa ma imrpovvisamente alla fine del libro fa un sogno e quindi "sai difenderti da sola, beh da adesso in poi mi fido!" beh alla faccia delle prese di posizioni che proprio non si cambiano. Non è sincero con lei mai, ma non che lei sia mai sincera con lui quindi direi che sono esattamente alla pari. La segue attraverso lo specchio non si sa nemmeno come, lei dice di averlo tirato dentro senza volerlo a me sa più di "non sapevo come giustificare la cosa quindi boh!". La relazione di Alyssa con Jeb passa da "ti amo" "beh io amo un'altra" a "ti amo" "anche io ti ho sempre amata" ma wtf?
E' la classica storia comunque in cui lei è la verginella pudica e lui è l'uomo navigato, fare il contrario per una volta era sbagliato eh? 
Il discorso finale tra Alyssa e Taelor è da fare cadere le braccia con un: ti ho appena fregato il ragazzo, che oltretutto probabilemnte fino ad adesso stava con te solo per soldi visto che sei ricca, ma parlo dei nostri comuni problemi familiari anche se la mia famiglia non c'entra assolutamente niente con la tua ma butto lì un po' di buoni sentimenti così da passare dalla buona eronia di libri YA. Patetico.
Morpheus avrebbe potuto essere un personaggio migliore se non avesse fatto per forza l'innamorato di Alyssa, scadendo nel ridicolo. Alyssa sa che lui l'ha usata per spezzare la maledizione, sa di tutte le cose che ha fatto tipo metterla vicino ad un mostro che avrebbe potuto ucciderla al 99% ma uscendone poi con "non ti avevo detto niente Alyssa ma SAPEVO che avresti fatto la cosa giusta perché io ho fiducia in te, non come Jeb" è come mettere un fungo velenoso nel piatto di una persona e poi dire "sapevo che non lo avresti mangiato, non perché sapessi che era velenoso ovviamente ma perché lo sapevi e basta!" oook. In generale Morpheus passa il libro a cercare di palpare Alyssa e di portarsela a letto, oopure mentendole ovviamente cosa che lei comunque perdona sempre e comunque perché "mi volevi bene da piccola" vabbè.
Esilarante il bacio tra Alyssa e Morpheus che la scrittrice proprio non sa come giustificare, visto che Alyssa ha rotto le scatole per pagine e pagine sulla relazione di Taelor con il suo amatissimo Jeb (che lei ama dalle medie, non ha mai amato nessun altro, sogna solamente lui, bla bla) non può dire che Alyssa deve ficcare la lingua in gola anche a Morpheus, no? infatti no! lei deve recuperare il desiderio che è nella tasca di Morpheus, per fare questo lo deve limonare duro ovviamente. Il desiderio poi non lo riprende tra parentesi, non ci va nemmeno lontanamente vicina. Brava Alyssa sei la fiera dell'inutilità!
Le spiegazioni poi sono di solito esilaranti
"Perché la maledizione si passa solamente tra femmine della tua famiglia?"
"Perché Alice era una femmina"
Oh. Geniale guarda. Ma che razza di senso ha?!

La cosa migliore però è il pezzo in cui Alyssa va nel paese delle meraviglie. La scrittrice chiaramente non ci ha fatto per niente caso, ma io non ho potuto non notare quanto fosse assurdo. Si perché Alyssa torna a casa e trova il padre che piange, lui la vede e quindi si alza dicendo 'vado a comprare degli hamburger!' e se ne va. Ecco, ciao papà! Si perché da quel momento in poi il padre non tornerà più fino alla fine del libro, verrà risucchiato in un buco nero inspiegabile. Non conosco bene la geografia della zona in cui vive Alyssa, ma il padre esce a comprare la cena e lei:
- Prende la poltrona e scute una per una tutte le margherite che la decorano, tirando fuori tutti gli oggetti che non sono pochi ed avendo il tempo di controllarli uno per uno
- Ha lunghe allucinazioni sul Paese delle meraviglie che lei rivive completamente
- Arriva Jeb e loro parlano di Taelor, del ballo, del loro rapporto, del passaporto falso, della borsa di Taelor e di un milione di altre cose
- Jeb se ne va e Allyson inizia a entrare nello specchio
Dov'è il padre dopo tutto questo? Non è ancora tornato. Sarà passata più di un'ora ed il padre è semplicemente sparito nel nulla. Ho capito che voleva dare tempo ad Alyssa di fare tutto ma trovare una scusa più credibile per allontanare il padre non c'era proprio?

Gisela Ayala 

A complete review wouldn't do this book justice. All I can say is that A.G. Howard created this fantastical yet macabre Wonderland, a Wonderland that no one could even begin to imagine. 

There are so many details in this book, so many hidden agendas, and characters it is a miracle I was able to keep them straight! There were a few times I had to re-read a passage just to make sure I grasped exactly what was happening, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book. 

Alyssa's journey through Wonderland is dark and twisted and I was delighted the whole time. 

Side Note: I hope I'm not the only one with mixed feelings about Morpheus. I feel like I was swooning everytime he talked and then shortly after I wanted to kick him in the neck!

Annie

"No one knows what he or she is capable of until things are at their darkest." - A. G. Howard, Splintered 
3:5/5 ⭐️ Read #110 this year. 
I'm addicted to this book series already. This is an Alice in Wonderland retelling based around the ancestors of Alice Liddel who are cursed. Alyssa, our main character, goes back into Wonderland to fix their curse. There she finds Wonderland is creepy and not near as endearing as the childhood book. This is a very creepy and Tim Burtonesque retelling. I loved it. The writing was not all that great and at times it reminded me of one of those guilty pleasure reads. At points the plot was confusing and it was constantly changing and evolving. It got hard to follow at times especially when involved with a certain character. Alyssa, as a heroine, I did find wonderful. She grows through this book and shows bravery and determination. She was not problematic nor annoying as some teenage girl protagonist can be. I can see her as this realm's Celena Sardothein in confidence and ability to get things done. The ending and the major plot twist I did not see coming, and was something else I really liked about all of it. I throughly enjoyed this book and do plan on continuing with the series.

Sonja H

Ich habe dieses Buch als Hörbuch gehört. Die Sprecherin ist sehr gut, aber für die Story bin ich wohl die falsche Zielgruppe. Typische Teenagergeschichte: 2 Jungs, ein Mädel, Abenteuer, die mal den einen, mal den anderen gut dastehen lassen. Dass es im Wunderland spielt, macht es zwar ein wenig interessanter, aber es gibt bessere Neuinterpretationen des Klassikers...

Lauryn Jackson

I’ve just finished the entire series and it literally took my breath away. This cheesy young adult story is magnificent (although I’m an adult and a sucker for cheesy stuff). As a little girl, I’ve always been obsessed with the story of Alice and the whimsical madness of wonderland. The story telling of this series is absolutely magnificent and captures the readers attention. Although I’ve seen that other people find Jeb, one of the main chars, heart warming and dedication, I have to disagree. As Alyssa struggles between herself and the two important people in her life, it takes a lot to realize that she’s not alone. I absolutely adored this book, and the two that follow it.

cora rolfes 

a classic in my library, just for the nostalgia it gives me, Jeb literally is trash and i read only for Morpheus 🙈

Beautiful descriptions and such an interesting darker retelling of a classic

Kindal Comeaux

Maria Banning

A wonderfully wicked take on Alice in Wonderland. Kept me on my toes the entire time. Loved it!

Eleanor Luhar

I first read this book earlier this year, and loved it so much that I went and ordered the whole series.

Look at that cover. Isn’t it gorgeous?! I absolutely adore it, along with everything else about this book. The purple font, the pattern at each chapter’s start, absolutely everything. It’s easily one of my favourite books, and I am dying to read the rest of the series!

Splintered is basically a modern, punky twist on the classic Alice in Wonderland. I’m in love with everything to do with Carroll’s novel – I’ve even seen Alice Lidell’s grave, and am thinking of basing my bedroom on the novel – so when I saw this book in the library I just had to read it.

Alyssa is an almost-normal teenage girl. She’s a descendant of Alice from Lewis Carroll’s book, with a mother who’s trapped in a mental asylum. Her dad provides sporting gear for the inside skate park where Alyssa spends most of her free time, Underland. Her closest friend, Jebediah, also happens to work there. Oh, and Jeb’s girlfriend is the daughter of Underland’s owner (not to mention a major bitch).

For years, Alyssa has been able to hear the voices of bugs and plants around her. Afraid of suffering the same fate as her mother Alison, she’s kept this ability to herself, silencing the insects with death and using them in her artwork.

But one day she puts the pieces together, and realises that Alison isn’t all that insane after all. With a little help from her moth-like friend, Alyssa finds her way through the mirror and down the rabbit hole.

The tasks she completes with Jeb are just as eccentric as Carroll’s fairytale, with dark and strange twists on his characters and ideas. Zombie flowers, Rabid White, the octobenus, and, of course, Morpheus. Battling her mixed emotions, Alyssa is determined to do anything it takes to help her mother.

Little does she know, Morpheus is actually setting her up for the role of queen, not helping her escape Wonderland at all. Her final hope is her wish – a solidified tear given to her by a powerful netherling creature – but when she sees who freed Queen Ivory from the eternal imprisonment of the jabberlock box (therefore suffering that fate themselves) she is forced to rethink her plan.

I simply love this book. Alyssa is such a strong, funky character, and both guys are so different. Morpheus is full of tricks and deceives Alyssa on more than one occasion, but she still can’t let go of the admiration she’s held since the childhood they shared in her dreams. As for Jeb, Alyssa just can’t rid herself of her emotions toward him. He’s a sort of grunge/punk figure, who’s incredibly protective of his friend. When he finally admits his feelings for her, Alyssa can’t help but think of the girlfriend he’s left behind in the human realm.

Everything about this book is just so unique and quirky. Chessie, Rabid White, Grenadine, Ivory, the Twid sisters, Morpheus… Despite all the dangers Wonderland holds, I honestly want to go there even more since I read this boits,

I found this book so easy to read both times, and am simply in love with it. It’s funky, it’s full of amazing descriptions and imagery, and it’s a wonderful tribute to a fantastic novel. An easy 5 stars. I am so excited to read the rest of the series, it’s unbelievable!

Toni Turner

The beginning was so super interesting but the more and more the book went on I weirdly just didn;t want to read this genre anymore. There were lovely scenes that I feel I would usually love but they just made me mad. I needed something more real. Plus this was the second first book of a trilogy I had started IN A ROW whose series I don't want to finish. So I returned it to the library and am moving on with my life. Probably at another date and time I'll be in a better mood to read it because I liked the characters and the plot was super interesting. I just don't have the time to invest in a series I don't 100% adore. Which sucks. Come on college.

Angelique Dvali

Jane The Bookaholic

A really nice Alice in Wonderland retelling.

Becca Leigh

UPDATE: I was intrigued enough by this book to continue the series. However, upon trying out the second book in the series, I have decided not to continue on after all. These books just aren’t my cup of tea, all pun intended, of course!

I. Am. So. Torn.

I want to give it five stars for the idea, but I also want to give it zero stars for the execution.

Now hear me out. I was in love with this book when I read it a couple of years ago, back in time when Twilight was still a thing. But I think I just skipped the parts that were awfully cringey (since I do not remember reading about half of these things) and fell in love with the idea of a messed-up Wonderland.

Now that I read it in my "old" age -early 20s (you know what I mean - the too old for YA trope) - I honestly don't know what the hell was I thinking. 
Yeah I still find the idea really cool. But the writing... oh my God.. it's beyond bad. 
And that's not the only bad thing. There are really some issues with the story. Romanticising mental illness, unhealthy relationships... plus this is targeted for girls around fifteen.. it's just not what I would want my fifteen year old cousins to read and get their perfect idea of romance or mental health from.
Seriously. This needs to stop. YA shouldn't be like this.

Christina Baltimore 

This is a great book that uses Alice In Wonderland as a starter for an entirely different story. It is a really well developed concept that is respectfully of the original. It is not a retelling it is it's own story and a very interesting one. 

A romance blooms between Alyssa and Jeb. It's a sweet romance but things are never that easy. There is also the drama aspect and that brings in Morpheus. He and Jeb make up a good boy, bad boy love triangle with Alyssa. The love triangle doesn't reduce the reader intrigue with the underlying story. 

All and all it is another wonderful adventure into the craziness of Wonderland.

Kaeli Wolf 

Oh. My. God. Read it, you will not regret it. Though the main character makes some questionable choices (I'm talking Morpheus and Jeb), she is a very well-developed character, and the writing kept me entranced throughout the whole thing! I love this book, I just hope the sequel will be as good!

Chantale

What a fantastic book! 
I have always loved Alice In Wonderland and I have to say I love this book just as much. 

This is one I know I will read again.

Jessica Nottingham

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.