Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the Bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.
That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn't show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland-where she (partly) belongs.
As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus's unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he's forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won't be far behind.
If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.
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My art teacher says that a real artist bleeds for her craft, but he never told us that blood can become your medium, can take on a life of its own and shape your art in vile and gruesome ways. BLOOD AND GLASS
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(Amulet Books, 7 January 2014, 387 pages, ebook, borrowed from @GlasgowLib via @OverDriveLibs)
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This picks up where Splintered left off, with Alyssa the newly-crowned Queen of Wonderland doing everything to make up for lost time with her mother, newly released from the Asylum because Alyssa is able 'cure her' using her powers. Alyssa thinks life will be easier but she couldn't be more wrong. Her mother is overly-protective, and she starts to think she's keeping things from her. She is torn between her attraction to both Jeb, adorably human and sinister yet beautiful Morpheus. Add to that, the fact she's started to make sinister mosaics using her own blood and things are a bit stressful. It's not helped when Morpheus turns up in the human realm, urging her to return to Wonderland to battle the Red Queen before the kingdom falls. Alyssa doesn't want to choose between the human realm and Wonderland and feels Morpheus kept things back from her when he talked her into putting on the crown. Which side of herself will she choose? This is a gripping read. I look forward to the conclusion, Ensnared.
