Splintered by A.G. Howard

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.

My Review:
I was so excited to read this book. The cover is awesome so of course I got the hardcover! I'm not going to lie I loved Alice and Wonderland as a kid. I watched it as an adult not to long ago and I realized how weird it actually was. I understood it better as an adult...Anyway, I loved A.G. Howard's viewpoint on the story. It was a new on the story. I am really into these stories right now. Alyssa lives in a normal world but, have a very abnormal life. She hears bugs and flowers talking to her. Also her Mom is in an asylum because she kind of "lives" in Wonderland. Alyssa starts to think that she is slowly starting to go crazy too. 

The only way she gets a little relief is from skateboarding, her ipod, and with Jeb. Jeb is a friend of Alyssa's. She has known him forever and is basically in love with him. She gets made fun of by her peers because of the Alice and Wonderland thing. Little do they know how close the story actually is to Alyssa's life. Eventually a string of events take place and Alyssa realizes that she must venture down the rabbit hole to try to save her mother and her future from ending in an asylum. This road leads through a mirror, down a rabbit hole, and into a world Alyssa can only dream of. Someone else accidentally tags along on this magical journey as well. 

Jeb and Alyssa then go through one heck of an adventure. Alyssa tries to compare the Wonderland she is in to the book she grew up with. But, this Wonderland is not the same. Dark things are going on behind the scenes. There is a web of lies and manipulation. Alyssa is also dealing with some changes to herself the longer she is in Wonderland. There is a reason the woman in her family can hear bugs and flowers. It goes back many generations. Things are never what they seem, especially in Wonderland. 

There are two potential love interests in this story. Jeb, the human love of her life. He does have a girlfriend who is absolutely awful! I really don't like her. After Jeb goes to check on Alyssa and sees her walk into a mirror he does the only thing he can think of to keep her safe...follow her of course. He gets sucked into the Wonderland. He is willing to do just about anything to keep Alyssa safe. The second guy is Morpheus. He is the guy who has led Alyssa to Wonderland. He is not human. He has blue hair and black eyes. He is a very cunning and mysterious guy. And even though he was secretive and didn't fully tell Alyssa everything I still liked him. Even at the end. I was pulling for Jeb the whole time. He seemed like kind of an underdog. You will have to read to see who she picked! 

If you are looking for a fun read that is a different take on a classical story then this is the one for you. I really enjoyed Splintered. It kept me guessing the whole time. I had no idea how it was going to end. There was so much going on behind the scenes that this review was kind of hard because I didn't want to give to much away. I would recommend this book!