Book Review by Laura the Book Enthusiast
So, a few months back, I reviewed the novel Heartless by Marissa Meyers. Well, allow me to guide you once again into the Wonderland world. This time, however, we are not learning about who the Queen of Hearts was before she became the notorious head chopper. A.G. Howard introduces us to Alyssa Gardner, the great-great-great granddaughter of Alice Liddell, the star character of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Alyssa’s mother is in a mental institution, however, this grim fate seems to be in store for Alyssa, as she can now hear plants and bugs talking, the same affliction her mother, Alison has. Desperate to save her mother from electric shock therapy, and preserve her own sanity, Alyssa takes her own leap of faith down the rabbit hole. She discovers Wonderland, a far darker world than Lewis Carrol’s fairly-tame version. Alyssa, and her friend, Jeb, journey through the disturbing paths of wonderland, often encountering Morpheus, the mysterious, shapeshifting moth, who has an agenda of his own. Alyssa soon discovers that her destiny is far more connected to Wonderland than she first thought.
Splintered is an engrossing series, with a well-paced plot, and interesting characters. My favorite character has to be Morpheus. He feeds my love of layered characters. Morpheus is mischievous, manipulative, and witty. Paradoxically, Morpheus has intense loyalty to people he cares about, and to Wonderland. Howard, does a great job of showing Morpheus’ subtle compassion, a quality he intensely attempts to hide, but doesn’t quite succeed in.
If you love Alice in Wonderland, dark and intriguing worlds to escape into, and the idea of good vs evil (even within characters), you will enjoy A.G. Howard’s, Splintered trilogy. As Morpheus said to Alyssa: “You crave chaos. Your happiest when the world is in an uproar. You thrive on madness.” If you agree with this assessment, then leap into the rabbit hole, and grab a copy of Splintered at your local library or bookstore. After all, you don’t want to be late for such an important date.
Side Note: There is also two accompanying novels to this series you may want to check out. The Moth in the Mirror, mostly Jeb’s point of view of the events in the first novel. Return to Wonderland, which I have not read yet, is apparently a book of short stories that take place after events in Ensnared.
Advertisements Share this:
