Splintered by A.G. Howard

A.G. Howard's Website

I picked this book up in the break room when it arrived as an A.R.C., and honestly while the book teaser intrigued me, the cover also captured my attention. They say don't judge a book by it's cover, but who could pass up something this pretty?

It started off fairly slowly, laying down the backstory of the main character, Alyssa, who is a many-times descendent of Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. There is a family curse that has passed through the female line where the women can hear bugs and flowers talking to them. Alyssa is taken care of by her father since her mother is in a mental hospital because of she can talk to flowers and bugs, and because (as we find out), she attacked Alyssa when she was younger. The reader can feel the very real fear that Alyssa has that she too is going crazy, and when she finds out that the doctors want to give her mother experimental treatment to try and cure her, she takes charge and tries to find out more about why the females in her line are cursed...

Her desire to fix her mother and herself lead her to find a way into Wonderland, where she finds out that the original Alice created much destruction when she was there, from creating an ocean with her tears, etc. The Wonderland that we see now is much different from the whimsical version of Carroll's book, or of any of the movies. It's lead for us to believe that a small child would not see the horrors of what Wonderland really looks like, so her account to Carroll was seen through the eyes of a naive child. (This is slightly conflicted later, but you'll see). Before she leaves for Wonderland, she finds several items that had been passed down through the female line, and that her mother left for her to find. When she takes them with her, they end up being crucial to her finding out the terrible truth behind her family curse, and about herself.

I don't want to spoil any of the surprises (of which there are MANY!!!), so I won't go into too much detail, but the ending of the book is fantastic, and one that I didn't see coming at all. Alyssa is forced to make several hard decisions, as well as harder her resolve (like all good protagonists) in order to succeed in her quest.

While at time the book did get a little confusing for me, so that I had to read over certain passages a few times, I did like it overall and was saddened when it ended. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy novel with a bit of mystery added into the mix. It's a great book for teens and adults, and not too quick of a read, which is always important for me.


Final Report:
Splintered by A.G. Howard
377 pages
$17.95 (Hardcover)
$10.98 (online Hardcover)
$9.99 (Nook)
7/10

Available at your local Barnes and Noble and Barnes and Noble online  for purchase