Ensnared (Splintered Series #3)

by A. G. Howard

Overview

After surviving a disastrous battle at prom, Alyssa has embraced her madness and gained perspective. She’s determined to rescue her two worlds and the people and netherlings she loves. Even if it means challenging Queen Red to a final battle of wills and wiles . . . and even if the only way to Wonderland, now that the rabbit hole is closed, is through the looking-glass world—a parallel dimension filled with mutated and violent netherling outcasts.
In the final installment of the wildly popular Splintered trilogy, Alyssa and her dad journey into the heart of magic and mayhem in search of her mom and to set right all that’s gone wrong. Together with Jeb and Morpheus, they must salvage Wonderland from the decay and destruction that has ensnared it. But if they succeed and come out alive, can everyone truly have their happily ever after?

Read all the books in the New York Times bestselling Splintered series: Splintered (Book 1), Unhinged (Book 2), Ensnared (Book 3), and Untamed (The Companion Novel).
Get books 1 through 3 in the Splintered boxed set, available now!

Praise for Splintered:
STARRED REVIEW

"Fans of dark fantasy, as well as of Carroll’s Alice in all her revisionings (especially Tim Burton’s), will find a lot to love in this compelling and imaginative novel."
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Alyssa is one of the most unique protagonists I've come across in a while. Splintered is dark, twisted, entirely riveting, and a truly romantic tale."
—USA Today

"Brilliant, because it is ambitious, inventive, and often surprising — a contemporary reworking of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,’’ with a deep bow toward Tim Burton’s 2010 film version."
—The Boston Globe

"It’s a deft, complex metamorphosis of this children’s fantasy made more enticing by competing romantic interests, a psychedelic setting, and more mad violence than its original."
—Booklist

" Protagonist Alyssa...is an original. Howard's visual imagination is superior. The story's creepiness is intriguing as horror, and its hypnotic tone and setting, at the intersection of madness and creativity, should sweep readers down the rabbit hole."
—Publishers Weekly

"While readers will delight in such recognizable scenes as Alyssa drinking from a bottle to shrink, the richly detailed scenes that stray from the original will entice the imagination. These adventures are indeed wonderful."
—BookPage

"Attention to costume and setting render this a visually rich read..."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Wonderland is filled with much that is not as wonderful as might be expected, and yet, it is in Wonderland that Alyssa accepts her true nature. The cover with its swirling tendrils and insects surrounding Alyssa will surely attract teen readers who will not disappointed with this magical, edgy tale."
—Reading Today Online

"Creepy, descriptive read with a generous dollop of romance."
—School Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419716751
Publisher:	Amulet Paperbacks
Publication date:	12/15/2015
Series:	Splintered Series , #3
Pages:	410
Sales rank:	80,150
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

A. G. Howard is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of RoseBlood and the Splintered series. She lives and writes in Amarillo, Texas.

Editorial Reviews

"Howard’s weird and wonderful trilogy comes to an excellent close in this final volume...and a satisfying conclusion that will please fans of both romantic heroes gives this strong fantasy heroine the happy ending she deserves."

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"The devoted fans of this goth fairy series will find that this last book brings the story to a satisfying conclusion."

VOYA - Pat Clingman

01/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—Alyssa may have survived the epic battle at end of Unhinged (Abrams, 2014), but things are still looking grim. Her mom is trapped in Wonderland while both of her love interests, human Jeb and magical Morpheus, are stuck in AnyElsewhere, a horrifying in-between world full of outcasts and mutants. Accompanied by her father, Alyssa must prepare to do final battle with the Red Queen while rescuing her loves. But when it turns out that Jeb and Morpheus have their own agendas, Alyssa is heartbroken by each in turn, leaving her unhinged as she enters the final ordeal. Though the story is convoluted and the writing overblown, this series has gained traction among teens. Fans are highly invested in the Morpheus-Alyssa-Jeb love triangle, and most should be happy with how Howard resolves the series. Librarians feeding a strong interest in goth-fantasy-romances may wish to take a second look at the trilogy. Otherwise, this conclusion is recommended only where the first books were popular.—Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

2014-11-04
Alyssa Gardner prepares to wage war on mad Queen Red, rescue her two loves and restore weirdness to Wonderland in this third and final book.With her mom trapped in a diseased Wonderland and her loves—human Jeb and netherling Morpheus—sucked into the prison-world AnyElsewhere with her enemy, Queen Red, Alyssa simultaneously tries to resolve her relationship woes and save the world. After restoring her father's memories and meeting his gatekeeping brothers, Alyssa and her father dive into the mutant-filled, landscape-shifting AnyElsewhere. But rescue proves difficult as artistic, tattooed and pierced, abuse survivor Jeb proves addicted to his new powers of creation and reluctant to hurt or be hurt by Alyssa again. Erratically English and sinisterly seductive Morpheus further complicates matters with his continual striving to wed Alyssa and rule Wonderland. Alyssa suffers literal heartbreak over Jeb and Morpheus and goes power mad while fighting Red but does so in trademark sartorial splendor. Alyssa's observation, "how convoluted the rules are. Nothing in Wonderland is simple," also applies to the novel, which is rife with unnecessary and nonsensical plot twists, darker than its predecessors—more gory than Gorey—and filled with unsettling sadism and borderline erotica. A visually rich but tortuous conclusion meant for hard-core fans of the goth-chic series. (Fantasy. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews