Book Review: Splintered by A.G. Howard

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. 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.

I feel like I should preface this with the tweet that I posted as soon as I finished the book: 

That’s right.  To be honest, I was extremely skeptical of this book when I first read the synopsis due to the dark description of Wonderland and how much I’ve loved the original two books with all my heart. However, I finally gave in to my curiosity (tee hee) and immediately fell in love. 

Not only is Howard’s prose indicative of serious writing prowess, but the word choice and diction is perfect to fit such a magical story and the brilliantly written characters. Oh, and the plot?  Genius. Not only does it involve a fair amount of specific details from Carroll’s original story, but they are distorted just enough to fit with the theme and the idea that a little girl could have gotten some of the details incorrect (fitting with the idea that Alice shared her experience with Carroll upon her return from Wonderland).

Specific things I really enjoyed about the manuscript.  The character of Morpheus, because it seemed very much like an homage to The Matrix’s Morpheus (see the gif): 

The description of the card soldiers immediately made me think of the soldiers in Alice: Madness Returns.  Their metal husks, etc. And it really helped me visualize the fight scene.  Another detail that really stuck out to me was the use of the Vorpal Sword on the bandersnatch and the description of it as more of a hand-held knife (something else that reminded me of the amazing Alice: Madness Returns game):

Overall, I think that Howard has provided readers with a unique outlook on a classic story, a creative plot with room for expansion and additional tales (oh, I mean there WILL be another installment: titled Unhinged), and characters so believable and relatable that you will be so invested in their stories.  Don’t forget that there is a love story. 

So please, for me, for yourself, and for the love of Alice, go pick up a copy of Splintered by A.G. Howard. I don’t want to say too much else, or summarize too much because I’d much rather you read it and then gush about it to your friends as well. 

5 Bards for ingenuity, prose, entertainment value, and sheer awesomeness. 

A few of my favorite quotes:  

“I scroll past images every bit as violent and beautiful as Jeb’s paintings: luminious, rainbow-skinned creatures with bulbous eyes and sparkly, silken wings who carry knives and swords; hideous, naked hobgoblins in chains who crawl on all fours and have corkscrew tails and cloven feet like pigs; silvery pixielike beings trapped in cages and crying oily black tears.” 

“He’s a contradiction: taut magic coiled to strike, gentleness at war with severity, a tongue as sharp as a whip’s edge, yet skin so soft he could be swathed in clouds.” 

Now go pick up a copy!