Splintered (Splintered #1) - A.G. Howard
Book Synopsis: 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.
So, this whole fairytale/classic retelling is slowly becoming a thing again, right? I'm a bit sour grapes over this book, and debating on whether or not to continue reading it.
Let's start out with what seems to be the general consensus...
1 Star reviews (plenty). And then a couple or more of 4 to 5 Star: ones gushing about how much they liked the book and giving it a shining recommendation.
Me? Did I happen to enjoy this book? To be honest, it started out really good, but then everything just hit the fan. One aspect of many that I hated was the fact that mental illness seemed like a joke for the author. I for one, have no sympathy for people who use any illness or disease as a laughing matter. She poked fun at schizophrenia in Alyssa's mom and Alyssa was very insensitive and aloof for anyone who is in that situation. Unfortunately, that is just the beginning of where things went wrong in this book.
Redeeming qualities, for me, the cover is stunning, but I thought it just didn't fit in with the story, perhaps the girl is supposed to be Alice or Alyssa, I'm not certain, but it didn't mesh well. Forgot to mention that the font of the book is purple - a deep violet color that almost looks like black ink when you see it at first glance.
Back to what I disliked... Jeb is an okay character. He's an interesting love interest, I suppose, but this book needed diversity, I didn't see any. Morpheus is what we're all here for, from what I saw on the comments and reviews of others.
However, I do applaud A.G. Howard for making the unique concept, but it doesn't change the fact that Alice In Wonderland is a story that should not be messed with. Howard did attempt to make something new about Wonderland, but it fell short.
If she had more time and perhaps better beta readers, this story could have been something wondrous.
Television series or a short movie adaptation would make this book more appealing and maybe even better to read, I think it would be a great idea to somehow turn this into a film or a Netflix special.
It'll be weird enough to be a hit.
Sadly, I could not or would not give this book a high enough rating, though I am generous considering the review.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2/5 Stars