Splintered

   I've always been a fan of Alice in Wonderland. When I heard S

   I've always been a fan of Alice in Wonderland. When I heard SPLINTERED was Wonderland, only darker and a lot more delicious, I was dying to get my hands on it. 

   Lucky for me, SPLINTERED is just as good as I expected. No, not just as good. It exceeded my expectations and topped my list of requirements. It was incredibly good. Dark and delicious. Totally awesome. 

   Yes. That good. 

   A.G. Howard knows how to keep the words flowing, the world growing, and the characters living. I'm not normally a fan of pony-tailed guys, but Jebediah Holt is an exception. I mean, come on, isn't his name hot enough? And then there's Alyssa Gardener - daughter of a madwoman who sips pot roast from a tea cup. She's a skateboarder, a bug artist, and an all around unique protagonist you won't find anywhere else. 

   And then there's Morpheus - the bad guy with a soft side and an amazing accent and fashion sense. He also happens to be a moth. I especially loved him in the end. 

   SPLINTERED is a whirlwind of fun. Dangerously thrilling tea parties, flesh-eating flowers, walrus eating clams (no, it isn't the other way around) - SPLINTERED has the whole shebang. Including a story that will make you feel all the feels and end with your heart racing. In a good way. 

   Rest assured, there isn't a cliff hanger ending, though I would love to see more of Alyssa, Jeb, and Morpheus. In fact, the ending is perfect. From start to finish, SPLINTERED is a must-read. Trust me when I say it's as gorgeous inside as it is on the outside. A.G. Howard is an author to watch. 

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Sometimes a book comes along that grabs hold of you with every q

Sometimes a book comes along that grabs hold of you with every quirky, wonderful thing it has and doesn't let go.  You become completely engrossed in the author's world and when you have to come back down from your cloud  it's completely disorienting.  Splintered is that book.  Like many of you I grew up loving Alice In Wonderland.  I'll admit it gave me some pretty interesting nightmares as a kid but mostly I fell in love with curious Alice, the goofy Mad Hatter and especially that clever albeit creepy Cheshire Cat.  So, with that being said, I'm always apprehensive when a re-telling or continuation comes along.  Luckily Splintered does real justice to our Alice.  Howard pays tribute to Carroll's story while at the same time creating her own version.  The mixture of Carrollian nonsense and whimsy mixed with real emotion and depth of character make this the perfect companion to the original tale.  I think Mr. Carroll would be proud.




LIKES:




Wonderfully dark - Howard definitely does not shy away from the unsettling and morbid.  That's part of what makes this such a cool reading experience.  Alyssa, our heroine, is an artist.  Her medium: dead bugs.  This could be considered just gross until you find out that she can speak to bugs.  Just as a little taste here's the first couple of lines of Splintered:
"I've been collecting bugs since I was ten; it's the only way I can stop their whispers. Sticking a pin through the gut of an insect shuts it up pretty quick."
          And we're off to a running start.  Wow.  Now, I admit that I have an aversion to bugs so I feel no sympathy for them.  Had this been a sentence about puppies I would have shut the book immediately.  However, bugs are fair game and this line is just so raw and full of angst and ick that it sucked me right in.  This darkness follows throughout the whole story.  One of the best parts about this book is Alyssa having to face her own darkness.  It really enhances the story and makes it a lot of fun to read.
I actually like the (sort of) love triangle -  Okay, so I don't know if this can actually be considered a love triangle, but that's probably why I enjoyed it.  Alyssa loves Jeb.  They are obviously meant to be together.  He's sweet, trustworthy, fun and super duper hot, also human.  Then there's Mothra *cough* I mean Morpheus.  Also hot, and snarky, amazing and magical.  But her love for Morpheus seems more platonic.  They have a mutual admiration for one another and an unbreakable bond.  Even if he wants more.  Still, I loved the back and forth between the guys.  It added a lot of humor to the story.
MORPHEUS!!! -  Three things you need to know about this guy: he is the ultimate bad boy, he has an adorable British accent, and he has an insurrection hat.  I'm sold.  The only problem was that I couldn't picture him as he was described.  I adore Once Upon a Time and all I could picture when reading this was Jefferson.  But I'm cool with that.




I mean seriously how can I not?  Good grief.




Plenty of Wonderland for purists - One of the things I was most worried about was how Wonderland would be portrayed.  Would it be recognizable?  Gladly, Splintered is filled with allusions to the original book.  One of the most fun parts of reading this book was finding all of the little Alice Easter eggs hidden inside its pages.  Although all of the characters have been changed in some way, they are still recognizable and Howard ties the stories together brilliantly.




DISLIKES:




Sometimes Alyssa makes me shake my head - Okay so it's not like Alyssa is stupid by any means but some of her decisions can be filed under "things that make me go 'hmm'".  A great example is when she decides to get a forged passport and fly to England by herself.  Apparently our heroine has never seen Locked Up Abroad.  
Too much explanation of things we should be able to figure out on our own - this is probably the only thing that really bothered me about this book.  Although they were relatively few, there were several instances where the author explained too much about the plot, when it would have been more fun to figure it out on my own.  Luckily this didn't happen too often and it didn't really damage the reading experience.
Even with the couple of flaws that I found I have to give this book five stars.  I was completely captivated by Alyssa, Jeb and all of the netherlings.  Howard has managed to create a new version of Wonderland that is just as exciting, enticing and mad as the original.  I know it may only be January but I would be surprised if this one doesn't end up on my best of 2013 list.  It was just that good.  I can't wait to see what else A.G. Howard does with her writing. I'll certainly be first in line to read her next book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Well this is what I was looking for! If you have every read A

Well this is what I was looking for! If you have every read Alice and Wonderland and enjoyed it, then I highly recommend that you read this book. It's every bit as crazy as the original!
I particularly enjoyed the fact that Alyssa is trying so hard to be normal. It can't be easy when you are the relative of Alice Liddell and everything is joke in reference to the original story. She's in love with her best friend who happens to be dating the queen bee of Alyssa's tormentors. It's no wonder she doesn't want people to think she might be following the family tradition. But, when she discovers that Wonderland might actually be real, she stops at nothing to figure out how to get there. She has to find a way to save her family from the curse they are under.

The minute she enters Wonderland is when the really awesome part of the story starts. If you've read Alice in Wonderland, you know that the story is nothing like the Disney version. Take the original and add to it and you might have an idea of what the read Wonderland might be like. There were so many aspects of this story that I just latched on to. I loved how Alyssa has to correct the mistakes that Alice made that the characters have been living with. It never dawned on me that havoc Alice's visit might have created. I was completely taken with our wise caterpillar, despite that agenda he might have had. He was a surprising complex character.

The journey to correct those mistakes was interesting. I had forgotten how Wonderland is a little bit of a twisted place and nothing is as it seems. I loved how the author was able to incorporate those idiosyncrasies and add her own twist to the story. Everything seemed to be a riddle and need to be solved in a way the fit Wonderland and not the world we know.

This was really so close to a 5 star book for me. But, the end kind of lost me. I know what Alyssa was trying to do, but it was really too much. It felt like too much happened it just a couple pages and I was left to process it all. It was one of the instances were I had to go back and reread to make sure I had understood what had really just happened. I'm not sure there was another way to solve it though.

Overall, a fantastic add on to the story of Alice in Wonderland. If you've never read the original, you might be surprised by how dark Wonderland really is. I however, loved it!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I loved, loved this book!

This book consumed me, I just couldn't get enough. I loved it beginning to end! Poor Alyssa, she hears flowers and bugs talking and she's afraid she'll turn up like her mother. She tries hard to act sane so she doesn't end up in an asylum like Alison. Alison tells her it's the family curse that Alice created when she went to Wonderland. In order to break it Alyssa decides to go to fix it. Jeb her hot neighbor/friend/crush stumbles upon the journey also. So together they accomplish the tasks. We can't forget the mysterious Morpheus. He's her guide and ally down there, but he has his own motives.
Wonderland is completely different from the Disney version. It's more dark and creepy. If you like Alice in Wonderland re-tellings then you will definitely enjoy this.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a r

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Abrams and Netgalley.)
Alyssa is hiding a secret. For the past six years, ever since she got her first period she has been able to hear plants and bugs talking, sometimes to her and sometimes to each other. As mad as this sounds, what scares Alyssa most is that her mother has been in an asylum for years for exactly the same reason. That’s why she doesn’t let anyone know what she can hear for fear of being locked up too.

Alyssa has a legacy to uphold though, her ancestor was the real-life ‘Alice’ from the Alice in Wonderland story by Lewis Carroll, and now it seems that it is up to her to break the curse on her family, caused by the original Alice’s actions.

Desperate to save her mother more pain and unnecessary treatments, Alyssa searches desperately for a way back to Wonderland to break the curse, and eventually finds herself down the rabbit hole with her secret crush Jeb.

Alyssa doesn’t understand how things work in Wonderland though, and the man who guided her there – Morpheus may not be as trustworthy as he originally seemed.
Can Alyssa possibly break the curse? Can she right Alice’s wrongs and set Wonderland to rights? Or will she find herself tangled up in an even bigger mess?


This was a total fairy-tale, filled with evil queens and helpless flowers! Alyssa was a fantastic ‘Alice’, and Wonderland was just so utterly strange and intoxicating.
Wonderland was a work of art in its own right, with no attention to detail spared. I don’t remember ‘Alice in Wonderland’ all that well, but each event in this book seemed to echo Alice’s original adventures, just with the twist that Alyssa was trying to put Alice’s wrongs to rights. The world building was elaborate and imaginative, and the storyline was new. There were also plenty of extra little touches to take this story from a copy, to a complex story in its own right.

I really liked Alyssa, and her fashion sense made me an instant fan! Love the gothic fairy look! (Imagine the girl on the cover with a bit more black eye makeup and some blue dreds among the golden locks and that’s the Alyssa in the story). She obviously wanted to help her mom, but she wasn’t a martyr either, and she did make mistakes. She was sort-of unprepared for what Wonderland would throw at her, and there was an on-going theme throughout the book that in Wonderland nobody can be trusted, and nothing is what it seems.
Jeb was a welcome addition to the story, with his continuous jokes and name-calling at Morpheus’ expense, and a hidden alpha-male protectiveness of Alyssa. The little touch of romance was good too, although I wasn’t overly impressed by the Alyssa-Jeb-Morpheus love triangle.

On the negative side, I did get quite confused towards the end. I found all the different things that were going on, and all the different ideas and prophecy stuff hard to follow, and I’m still not sure I really get it now. The storyline was quite complex, especially towards the end, and trying to work out exactly who said what, when, where, and why and what effect that had upon Alyssa’s present day situation was a bit difficult to follow, I think I’d need a pen and paper to try and work it out.

Overall though, this was an interesting spin on the classic ‘Alice in Wonderland’ story, with depth and character of its own, and if you like fairy tales, you’ll like this.
7 out of 10.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Read Nov. 19th 2012 Splintered was enchanting and eerily dark.

Read Nov. 19th 2012

Splintered was enchanting and eerily dark. It took me a bit to get into it at the beginning, but it ended up pretty amazing. It's definitely not an everyday read, the details and descriptions are awesome and the dark insidious tale integrated into it makes the tale its own stand-alone story with Alice in Wonderland just a basis of it. I loved it!

Alyssa’s metamorphosis from grungy Goth teen to full blown Wonderland Netherling Queen was a painstaking journey, riddled with confusion, twists, scary characters and a world so different from Carroll’s classic tale, it can stand hauntingly on its own. The gruesome landscapes to the wondrous places Alyssa visits on her quest to free her family from the ‘Liddell Curse’ amplifies her hidden powers, suppressed memories and true self−bringing her to the conclusion that she and Queen Red are more similar than she ever would have thought.

I enjoyed how the author took this tale and spun it into her own. It had the right amount of darkness, turns and riddles to keep me wondering what the heck was going on, especially with the conniving Morpheus. I loved him, then hated him, then loved him again. He was that suave and he made Alyssa feel that way throughout the treacherous tasks she has to complete. I am amazed how things that didn’t make much sense at one point in the story, made absolute sense in the end. It was definitely a huge web of details that came into the heart of an unforgettable adventure. I wouldn’t mind a follow up of this at all, it would definitely be on my must read list.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wow. Splintered is one of the best debuts I've read all year. It

Wow. Splintered is one of the best debuts I've read all year. It seriously blew me away. I was scared to read it because it had such a gorgeous cover, and I've heard such great things about it, so I had really high expectations. I was not disappointed. Howard is a fantastic edition to the talented ranks of YA authors. The world-buliding was amazing, the characters were all unique and well-developed, and the plot was insane (in a good way). I'd recommend this book to anyone, and I know I will re-read it a billion times. Splintered cannot be missed. 

The thing that stood out the most in this book was the world-building. Howard did an outstanding job at painting the landscape of Wonderland. I felt like I was actually there. I could easily picture the craziness that constituted Wonderland, and the insanity that surrounded Alyssa's life before she went to Wonderland. Even though I have never (thankfully) had bugs or plants talk to me, I still felt like I could relate to Alyssa because Howard made things so easy to imagine. I haven't had a reading experience like that in a long time. 

The characters were unbelievably well-developed and unique, especially the Wonderland characters. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters, even though no one was what they seemed. Howard kept me guessing about everyone, even Alyssa. I trusted Alyssa as a narrator, but she didn't even know who or what she was... other than kick-ass. Okay, well she didn't realize she was kick-ass, but I did, She was a strong and independent lead. She wasn't bratty, emo, or selfish, even though she had a tough life. She grew even stronger over the course of the novel, too, which I liked. Jeb was a terrific love interest, and for once, I was on the side of the nice guy. Morpheus grew on me, but I still liked Jeb better. Jeb was also unique, and was a bit of a "rebel," but he was still sweet. Morpheus was extremely selfish for a good part of the book. However, both Jeb and Morpheus evolved throughout the course of the novel, too. You don't see the love interests growing in most books, so this was a pleasant surprise. The other secondary characters, from both Wonderland and the mortal realm, stood out, too. There were no filler characters in this book. 

The plot itself was non-stop suspense, but not a whole lot of action. There was tons of adventure, but not many "fight scenes" or anything like that. It was still impossible to put this book down, and the pacing was perfect. While there was a bit of love triangle, there was no insta-love, and there never was really any choice. Basically one guy served as a temptation while the other was the one Alyssa actually wanted. However, things got a bit complicated, and I'm curious to see if this will be a standalone novel or part of a series. The ending tied things up nicely, but there is room for a sequel if Howard and Amulet so choose. 

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone, especially if they loved Alice in Wonderland. The world Howard created is a bit darker than Carroll's, but I liked it more because of that. I don't know what else to say other than this book is amazing. Give it a try. You won't be sorry. 

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I've never had a good run when it comes to retellings. I've read

I've never had a good run when it comes to retellings. I've read a couple retellings of literary works, such as Jane Austen's books, and I've never really been that impressed. However when I picked up Splintered and read the synopsis, I was instantly enchanted. Yes, enchanted. I am not a big fan of Alice in Wonderland but A. G. Howard went all out on the creativity and trying to make it her own, and that she did. Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I couldn't get past the amount of details and characters so it wasn't that great of a read. I have to admit, Splintered started off great. A curse that is hereditary and a girl who is afraid she's next in line to the psych ward where her mother is at. Alyssa just turned 16, and from her mother's blabbers, the curse is activated then. She only started believing in her mother's hysteric ramblings when she started hearing voices, ones belonging to insects! That was when she started doing some digging. I loved how the premise was laid out and I also liked the brotherly figure that Jeb, her friend, took up. Also, what was original was that Alyssa is Alice's great granddaughter! However everything went downhill with the introduction of Morpheus. I automatically hated him. He was a pompous, over confident, sleazy jerk in my books. I didn't like how manipulative he was and how Alyssa somehow couldn't resist and stay away from him. As soon as Alyssa went down the rabbit hole, my interest went downhill with it. I grew tired and restless trying to keep up with all the characters as well as the details in the book. I feel like people who are fanatics of Alice in Wonderland wouldn't have a problem keeping up, but like I mentioned above, it wasn't one of my favorite fairytales and my memory of the story is almost nonexistent. I also didn't like how trusting Alyssa was of Morpheus. Even though he tricked her multiple times, she still wanted to see the good side of him. I really struggled with this novel and ended up skipping detailed paragraphs trying to reach the ending. I was also so confused with what went down in the end but I didn't have it in me to go back and reread and try to get it. In other words, I felt like I've spent too much time on this novel already and it was time to close that chapter. Needless to say, many bloggers that I trust in their bookish opinions have absolutely adored and loved this one. Which is why I'm chalking it up to another freak thing where I am the only one who didn't like a book between all the ones that did. Be sure to check it out and give it a try, I am sure you'll enjoy it way more than I did. 

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

hmmm.........

Looks haunting, creepy, warped, twisted, and hair-raising. In other words, I cant wait to read it!!!!!!!!!

¿Splintered¿ by, A.G. Howard Alyssa Gardner is a descendant

“Splintered” by, A.G. Howard




Alyssa Gardner is a descendant of Alice Liddell (The Alice from “Alice in Wonderland”) and her life has not been easy. Plants and insects talk to her and she is afraid that she will end up in a mental hospital just like her mother. When even stranger things begin happening to Alyssa, she finds out that she and her mother are cursed, not crazy. Relieved that she isn’t losing her mind, Alyssa decides that it’s up to her to break the curse and save her family.  




“Splintered” is a fantastic book. It has the perfect blend of realism and fantasy and I couldn’t put it down. I loved the author’s take on Wonderland and the characters that inhabit it. The people and places were dark, lovely, and at times frightening. 
Alyssa is a strong character with many different layers to her. I was pulling for her throughout the story. 
Jeb is Alyssa’s closest friend and she has been in love with him all her life. He is a knight on a skateboard and I was instantly charmed by him. Jeb is all things good and true. He is the boy that you want on your side in a crisis and the one you can’t help but like. 
Morpheus is the bad boy of this story. He is dark, seductive, and tempts Alyssa at every turn. Morpheus lies and can’t be trusted but I couldn’t get enough of him. I would love to read a story that is just about Morpheus and his life. (Love him, love him, love him.)
“Splintered” is a book that I think everyone will enjoy. The visuals are great, the characters are believable, and the writing flows perfectly.  (I can’t wait for A.G. Howard to publish something new.) Go out and buy this book today!

MUST READ!!"

U must read this book or it will drive u insain! Its soooo good u will never set it down! Only to laught, cry, or think!

Splintered by A.G. Howard is everything you want it to be ¿ from

Splintered by A.G. Howard is everything you want it to be – from the amazing cover art to the story of a modern-day Alice in Wonderland…in this case it is Alyssa (a descendant of the original Alice) who is thrust into Wonderland. But this girl is older and more prepared to handle this darker and crueller Wonderland. If you loved the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp version, you must read Splintered.

I loved the depth of the details that bring this story to life. A true YA, Alyssa deals with the fear she will end up like her institutionalized mother (she hears the flowers and bugs talking), a crush on the damaged but true boy she grew up with who happens to be dating her nemesis, and trying to fit in when she knows she is different.

There’s a slight feeling of deus ex machina towards the end, but that does not take away my overall love of the book.

This is an amazing book!

I've read a lot of teen fiction that follow along this storyline: a girl has a best guy-friend who she loves or is in love with her but she is distracted away from him by a mysterious other guy. A love-triangle is created and drama insures. Most of these books are "good" but are so banal and focus so heavily on the relationship aspect of the story that I forget them shortly after reading. Splintered is different. It was the first teen paranormal romance that I've truly LOVED in a long time. A.G. Howard does a good job balancing the "ewy-gooey" love stuff with exciting action and mysterious twists. The only problem (and the reason I can't give this book a five-star rating) is the ending. It was very anti-climatic and the author fell into the trap that many writers of teen fiction do by creating a very unrealistically happy ending.

Talk about a pleasant surprise!  I'm having trouble thinking of

Talk about a pleasant surprise!  I'm having trouble thinking of where to even begin with this review.  I have to say that this read was haunting, maddening, exhilarating and downright magical from start to finish!  Howard took a classic story that was always a favorite of mine and managed to have me falling in love with both the original story lines and this new twisted version as well.  The journey was a confusing (in the best possible way) and action packed, fast ride all the way through.  Readers will have a hard time separating reality from fiction and will feel like they're going through each and every obstacle and test right along side of Alyssa.




Jeb was endearing and wonderful.  Morpheus was downright addicting and dangerous.  He turned out to be a combination of characters with a few new additional characteristics as well that proved to be a winning combination.  I could only sympathize with Alyssa when she came face to face with all these decisions and revelations.  The Mad Hatter, Chessie, Red, and the white rabbit are all back and more interesting and surprising than ever!




With each turn of the page I found myself wanting to take up drinking tea instead of boring old coffee, avoid clams for dinner ever again, and watching my steps when coming close to any type of flower or insect.  I'm not quite sure I'll ever be able to look at these things the same way from here on out.




If you're a fan of the classic Carroll tale, there's no way you'll be able to resist this read, and if you're not or have never read the original class, I still find it hard to believe that readers won't find themselves falling in love with this unique and fresh new voice in YA literature!

After Alice left the rabbit hole she began a family...and had a

After Alice left the rabbit hole she began a family...and had a great-great-great-great-granddaughter...who was lured into following Alice's footsteps into Wonderland to fix Alice's mistakes...and break the curse that plagues her family...and she finds out that Wonderland isn't the childhood fairy tale everyone has read about...it is dark and it is twisted...and she begins to feel like it's where she belongs.

I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. I read it in one day. I just couldn't put it down! It's a fast read and will appeal to youth as well as adult readers.

Loved it.  I was hooked since reading the synopsis and could not

Loved it.  I was hooked since reading the synopsis and could not put it down (/^w^)/

Finally a Wonderland I enjoy I was given the opportunity to read

Finally a Wonderland I enjoy
I was given the opportunity to read and review “Splintered”. This has to be the prettiest book I've ever seen. The cover is brilliantly colored, the first and last pages are whimsically patterned, and every chapter page contains beautiful scroll work. Now for the story! I've never been a fan of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ but AG Howard’s version captivated me. I liked that it was centered on a descendant of the Alice character’s inspiration. Alyssa is a likable character. She has hidden strength and confidence that she eventually discovers within herself. At times this story was down-right creepy. I kept imagining standing in front of my mirror and seeing shadows moving behind me. I hate teen love triangles; they are so over-used in YA literature. Every time I read one it automatically lowers my opinion of a book. In this story, Morpheus and Jeb both love Alyssa in their own ways. Even though there is a triangle in the story it was different from most. I never had the worry of, “Who is she going to choose.” I knew once meeting these guys who she would end up with. The ending was a surprise. Alyssa uncovers the truth about her family in a big way. I was very disappointed to learn that this is the first book of a series. Sometimes a book ends perfectly without the need for a drawn-out continuance and this was one of them. I fear in the second book, Alyssa will succumb to that dreaded back and forth love triangle that I loathe so much. I give “Splintered” 4/5 stars. It’s a vividly, imaginative, splintered version of a tale.

I¿m not sure if I¿ve ever mentioned my utter love for Alice in W

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned my utter love for Alice in Wonderland retellings…I have no idea why I love them so much, since I have a love hate relationship with the actual book. I will watch, read, or play anything that is based on Alice no questions asked and I will absorb every detail. So perhaps it’s not really shocking that I ended up loving Splintered so much.

Having a dark Wonderland is nothing new, as the original was tinged with some dark moments, but the way Howard decided to incorporate the whole tale of Alice into the story is something I really appreciated. I love that Alice’s original visit to Wonderland did more than make her famous in the world, it left behind noticeable changes. Alyssa is thrust into the middle of all of it in order to try and save her mother, and she definitely has her work cut out for her. Wonderland is a dark place filled with puzzles, promises, and secrets; and watch Alyssa and Jeb try to navigate all of it is a joy.

The familiar characters from Wonderland get a slight revamp and while they are clearly recognizable they take one a whole different vibe than the one we are use to. For those of you who find this unappealing I can assure you that there is an actual reason behind the change. Normally my favorite character is the Cheshire Cat but Morpheus (the Caterpillar) takes the cake with this one. He’s suave, mysterious, and well dressed…I mean what more can a girl want? He is a tad damaged though and has a little issue with never giving the whole truth until convenient. Then of course there is Jeb, Alyssa’s best friend, who is incredibly loyal but unfortunately he got on my nerves because he’s over protective, even before they fall down the rabbit hole. You don’t have to take my word for it though, because there are plenty of people on Team Jeb. There is a slight love triangle but I personally didn’t mind it, given the different backgrounds/circumstances of the two boys it makes quite a bit of sense that there would be some attraction.

I think the best thing about this is the effect that Wonderland has on Alyssa. She tries so hard to avoid the things that make her think she’s loosing it, but when she’s surrounded by it she’s forced to deal and adapt. I love that there is more to her story than originally expressed and love that Wonderland appears to be a nightmare but has a lovely vibrancy to it. Given the rather closed yet open ending, I’m happy to see that there will be a sequel because I can’t wait to see what happens with everyone.

A to the mazing

A to the mazing

Amazing

I thought the story was brilliant and adorable, the characters relatable, and the love interest heart-pounding. Don't even get me started on Morpheus, I always love the bad boy, and this book even has two! I just loved the whole thing.