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.
***
I've been collecting bugs since I was ten; it's the only way I can stop their whispers. ONE WAY TICKET TO UNDERLAND
***
(@CorvusBooks, 2 November 2017, 367 pages, ebook, borrowed from @GlasgowLib via @OverDriveLibs)
***
***
I'm a rabid fan of Alice in Wonderland and love reading retellings and different versions. This has been on my radar for a long time but it was always on loan at the library so I was delighted to finally get a chance to read Splintered. This is quite a dark book and focuses on the dark and menacing undertones in Lewis Carroll's book, similar to other retellings. Splintered takes the premise that the main character is descended from Alice Liddell, the real person who inspired the author and the family have a history of mental illness which Alyssa discovers is linked to the fact Wonderland is a real place and her family were cursed by its evil queen. Splintered is a great book, original, well-written and totally engrossing. I have borrowed other books in the series and can't wait to get stuck in.
