Splintered (Splintered, #1) in Audiobook Junkies

Jan 10, 2013 Carmel (Rabid Reads) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of my all-time favourite fairy tales so when I had the opportunity to review A.G. Howard’s spin-off I just couldn’t resist. I prefer Lewis Carroll’s original dark and twisted version over the Disney-fied one which worried me some because Splintered is shelved as Young Adult. Thankfully, the author is a fan of the classics and opted to take a walk on the morbid side of this genre. I enjoyed everything about this book; from Howard’s p Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of my all-time favourite fairy tales so when I had the opportunity to review A.G. Howard’s spin-off I just couldn’t resist. I prefer Lewis Carroll’s original dark and twisted version over the Disney-fied one which worried me some because Splintered is shelved as Young Adult. Thankfully, the author is a fan of the classics and opted to take a walk on the morbid side of this genre. I enjoyed everything about this book; from Howard’s poetic writing style to her unexpected plot twists.

For me, it was the writing that took center stage in this novel. Howard’s vivid descriptions and lyrical style are mesmerizing. The ebb and flow of her words really brought this story to life in my mind’s eye. Also, my hat goes off to Rebecca Gibel for nailing the rhythmic tongue twisters and the odd song too. Narrating this book couldn’t have been easy but her skillful use of tone and pitch was impressive. My only complaint is that her pacing was a little on the slow side which made this audiobook slightly longer than it needed to be.

I loved the way that the author incorporated elements from the original tale by having Alyssa pass a series of tests which involved righting Alice’s wrongs. I liked that there were both old and new aspects weaved into the story; it helped create links to the original while still adding a fresh perspective. Most of Carroll’s characters made appearances but there were also a couple of interesting additions including Humpty Dumpty from Through the Looking-Glass! I kept holding out hope that Tweedledum and Tweedledee would make appearances but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

The conclusion seemed obvious from the get-go: Alyssa would successfully pass all of the tests and return to her old life. I should have known that that was too obvious! Instead, Howard goes off in a completely unexpected direction which left me reeling. The final twist is where she really takes ownership of this story and makes it her own. My only complaint was the weird love triangle; it was unnecessary and a little creepy. I liked Jeb’s character but I think that this book would have been just as good, if not better, had he not followed Alyssa down the rabbit hole. And kissing a moth is just plain yucky!

Splintered is sinister, unpredictable and disturbing which is exactly how I like my YA!

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May 08, 2012 Julie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, 2014-audiobook-challenge, 2014-series-challenge, 2014-ya-audiobook-challenge

Splintered is kind of hard for me to review because I both found it unique and exciting, but at times a little overwhelming. Maybe that’s why I only rated it 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the premise and thought the idea to have the modern day retelling be centered around the descendants of Alice Liddell to be really clever. I also liked how the book kept you guessing about who to trust and what the true story really was. I liked the characters quite a bit. Alyssa, who always thought her family had a his Splintered is kind of hard for me to review because I both found it unique and exciting, but at times a little overwhelming. Maybe that’s why I only rated it 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the premise and thought the idea to have the modern day retelling be centered around the descendants of Alice Liddell to be really clever. I also liked how the book kept you guessing about who to trust and what the true story really was. I liked the characters quite a bit. Alyssa, who always thought her family had a history of mental illness, who goes on her quest to help save her mother. Jeb, who goes above and beyond to help Alyssa. And then there’s Morpheus. He definitely does everything to help Alyssa on her quest, but the whole time leaves you wondering whether he has ulterior motives. The characters are likeable and interesting. I also liked how the story wrapped up nicely and left me wondering what happens next since this is a trilogy. I like when books in a trilogy do not end in a massive cliffy.
What I think gave me trouble and what I called overwhelming were all the things that happened in Wonderland. Some of it was cool, and I enjoyed seeing the Alice story in a new light. But while the Alice story can get a bit weird and a little boring at times, this plot line had similar issues for me. Some of the trials that Alyssa went through were just eye rollingly weird to me. I can only handle so much before my attention starts to wander. Then there’s a potential plot hole that kind of bugged me. Alyssa goes through a lot of trials to prove herself, and each trial fulfills a prophesy. Well there is one specific prophesy that was fulfilled with the help of a friend, and without going into details and giving anything away, when Alyssa makes a wish to help save her friend, she still ends up in the same place with all the tests passed. But that one specific prophesy should not be possible to pass by herself, so um, it was either not explained well, or that’s a plot hole. Also, I’m just not a fan of this particular audio narrator. Her voice just kind of grates on my nerves.
So, overall, it is an interesting story, but I had some issues with some plot points.

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Apr 17, 2013 Linda (un)Conventional Bookworms rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2013, 2013-releases, paranormal-ya, won-from-blog-giveaway

*I won an ARC of Splintered from The Midnight Garden and I'm really excited to read it!*

ARC received on 26 April 2013 - bit thanks to Wendy Darling and the rest of the wonderful ladies on her blog!

This and other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

Splintered is an amazing mixture of a re-telling and a totally new story featuring Alice in Wonderland! I am still within the confines of the story, and I truly loved both Alyssa and Jeb, even Morpheus somehow managed ...more

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May 15, 2012 Darlene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review, audiobook, 2013-ya-audiobook-challenge, young-adult, 2013-debut-author-challenge

Alyssa Victoria Gardner is a 16 year-old teenager from Pleasance, Texas, whose great-great-great-grandmother was Lewis Carroll’s inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa’s childhood has been far from perfect. Her mother, Alice, was admitted to a mental institution when she was just five years old. Her best friend is the older boy, Jebediah Holt, who lives in the attached side-by-side and whose father is an abusive alcoholic. Jeb has always been like a protective older brother to Alyssa Victoria Gardner is a 16 year-old teenager from Pleasance, Texas, whose great-great-great-grandmother was Lewis Carroll’s inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa’s childhood has been far from perfect. Her mother, Alice, was admitted to a mental institution when she was just five years old. Her best friend is the older boy, Jebediah Holt, who lives in the attached side-by-side and whose father is an abusive alcoholic. Jeb has always been like a protective older brother to Alyssa, but she yearns to be more.

Alice, whose family has a long history of mental illness, warned her daughter that the voices would start when she became a woman. Alyssa didn’t want to believe it at first, but she soon learned that she could hear the bugs and flowers. To shut out their incessant chatter, she always kept her earbuds in her ears and developed a macabre artistic sense. She would catch bugs, such as beetles or moths, and use their dead bodies to create artwork.

During one visit to her mother, she hears her mother talking to an insect and is shocked to hear it talking back! She always ignored the voices and treated it like “white noise.” However, if both she and her mother are hearing the same thing, then what does that mean? Either she is crazy as well, or her mother isn’t crazy at all! Alyssa learns about the family curse that all Liddell women have been afflicted with and that the only way to break the curse is to go down the rabbit hole. Alyssa has to figure out how to do that to save her mother from being subjected to electroshock therapy.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this modern-day retelling of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Carroll’s classic is one of the more bizarre tales, and I was a little worried how a modern spin on such a unique story would fare. My worry was all for naught because Howard meshed the original story with her own fantastical thoughts and brought a different kind of flavour. She made it more dark and, if it’s possible, even more peculiar. I really liked where Howard went with the story, and I fell in love with the characters she created. Alyssa is a strong survivor, and I loved her father’s loyalty and devotion to her mother after so many years. It was so touching to see her parents’ love for one another, and it really was heart-warming as well to see Alyssa enjoy such a close relationship with her father. Jeb and also Morpheus, the moth who lures Alyssa to Wonderland, are both brooding contenders for Alyssa’s heart.

Memorable quote:

"No matter what happens, we'll find each other again, You're my lifeline. You always will be." - Jeb to Alyssa

Overall, I really enjoyed Howard’s debut and look forward to reading more of her work!

I was already a fan of narrator Rebecca Gibel, and this audiobook is an excellent showcase of her talent! She brought the story to life with her distinctive vocalizations, and this is definitely a piece of ear candy!

I received this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed herein are my own. ...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Leana (Flickering Fandom) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Review also published on my blog StudentSpyglass

Source: Review copy from NetGalley

Plot: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Readability: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★

When I signed up to cover Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for Project Fairytale, I knew Splintered would have to be on my list of books to read. A dark, twisted wonderland, much more Tim Burton than Disney, it sounded like a fantastic read, and I knew I couldn’t possibly pass it up! The book follows Alyssa Gardner, a girl who can hear bugs talking, and worri Review also published on my blog StudentSpyglass

Source: Review copy from NetGalley

Plot: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Readability: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★

When I signed up to cover Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for Project Fairytale, I knew Splintered would have to be on my list of books to read. A dark, twisted wonderland, much more Tim Burton than Disney, it sounded like a fantastic read, and I knew I couldn’t possibly pass it up! The book follows Alyssa Gardner, a girl who can hear bugs talking, and worries she’ll end up in an asylum like her mother. After discovering that she is actually a descendent of Alice Liddell, Alyssa sets off in search of Wonderland to find out the truth about Alice and her family’s madness.

The plot was fascinating, and I loved the beginning of the book, when we find out about Alyssa’s mother’s illness. The use of a mental illness could have quite easily gone wrong, but it was handled wonderfully, and the explanation later in the book was a great, original concept. More of a spin-off than a true retelling, there are references to the original Lewis Carroll story the whole way through. Slight twists and changes to characters such as the White Rabbit, the caterpillar, the walrus and the talking flowers means you can recognise the original characters without feeling bored.

Splintered is one of those books that seems to have taken over my RSS reader the last few months. Like Pushing the Limits & Crewel, it felt like I could barely turn around without seeing another glowing review for it! Whilst that sort of publicity and public appreciation is probably great for sales, and for getting a book noticed, I think it can do a lot of harm in the book blogging community. I know for me personally, when a book gets fantastic reviews, it never seems to quite live up to them in reality, because the expectations were just so high.

I think this is definitely true for Splintered, which seems to have opinions divided drastically based on how you personally feel about the romance, and particularly about Jeb. Some people absolutely loved him, others thought he was controlling and that the book would have improved if you cut him out completely! I quite liked him, but I just wasn’t a fan of the love triangle. Like so many other bloggers, I feel like YA has been taken over by love triangles and enough is enough! I can understand the logic behind the triangle in this, since Alyssa is torn between Wonderland and Reality, but I just wasn’t drawn to either of the love interests. Morpheus, who is somewhat creepy and hasn’t been around for years, just held no draw for me. Jeb seemed nice enough, and he seemed to be all Alyssa could think about. Her mixed feelings just felt a bit overdone, and I’d have loved to spend more time exploring the rest of Wonderland!

Despite my issues with the love-triangle, it didn’t dominate the story, and I really enjoyed this book. A.G. Howard’s imagery is beautiful (though obviously dark too), and the world really comes through in the writing style – it’s like you can literally see the locations in the book. The formatting of the book, as well as that stunning cover, just add to Howard’s powerful imagery, making you feel like you’ve picked up something really special before you even start. All in all, the characters were interesting enough, but the world-building is definitely the big seller for this book. This is a wonderful twist from the original tale, and a gripping read I couldn’t put down. I’ll definitely be looking for more from A.G. Howard in future! ...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Kathy Martin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was an amazing debut paranormal story about a girl named Alyssa who must travel to Wunderland to defeat a curse that has been in her family for generations which causes the women to go mad. Alyssa fears that she will be next. She is already hearing what insects and plants have to say. She is also torn between her best friend Jeb and the mysterious Morpheus who haunts her dreams.

The story is filled with wonder and magic and dark and light. Alyssa has many hard choices to make. Her choices ar This was an amazing debut paranormal story about a girl named Alyssa who must travel to Wunderland to defeat a curse that has been in her family for generations which causes the women to go mad. Alyssa fears that she will be next. She is already hearing what insects and plants have to say. She is also torn between her best friend Jeb and the mysterious Morpheus who haunts her dreams.

The story is filled with wonder and magic and dark and light. Alyssa has many hard choices to make. Her choices are even more difficult because Morpheus has his own agenda and is constantly lying to Alyssa. The novel is loosely based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland but this one emphasizes the creepy and deals with one of Alice's descendants who is a young adult.

I loved Alyssa's relationship with Jeb who has been her protector for years. Their families live in adjoining duplexes. Both have had hard childhoods. Alyssa has had to deal with a mother in an insane asylum who cut her hands with hedge clippers and left her terribly scarred. Jeb's father was an abusive alcoholic who left masses of burn scars all over Jeb's body. But both Alyssa and Jeb are talented artists. Alyssa's medium is a little weird. She does mosaics made from dead bugs. And, unknown to Alyssa, Jeb's favorite model is Alyssa who he consistently draws as though she were from Wunderland.

Morpheus is the more complex character of the two boys. His hidden agenda and constant manipulation of Alyssa makes it hard to like him. But Alyssa comes to remember the childhood they had together in Wunderland and is always making allowances for him. Yet Alyssa isn't following his path blindly. She is making decisions that she must according to her own sense of right and wrong. She is a strong character who can make good choices.

The magical world that Howard created was vivid and amazing. I loved her take on the characters from Alice in Wonderland. Fantasy lovers will enjoy this story and might even be tempted to pick up the original Alice in Wonderland to see how Howard transformed it.
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Aug 16, 2013 Kathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, 2016, audiobooks-challenge-2016

Splintered is a dark and wild ride down the rabbit hole. I’m so glad I finally made time to read this.

Splintered is a unique and gothic version of Alice in Wonderland. The main character Alyssa Victoria Gardner is a descendant of Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale. Alyssa’s mother has been in a mental institute for most of her life, suffering from the family curse of hearing the whispers of bugs and flowers. But Alyssa has also been hearing the voices and th Splintered is a dark and wild ride down the rabbit hole. I’m so glad I finally made time to read this.

Splintered is a unique and gothic version of Alice in Wonderland. The main character Alyssa Victoria Gardner is a descendant of Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale. Alyssa’s mother has been in a mental institute for most of her life, suffering from the family curse of hearing the whispers of bugs and flowers. But Alyssa has also been hearing the voices and the only way to save her and her mother is to take a dangerous trip to Wonderland.

What did I like?

I enjoyed how the author took the classic tale and made it her own. You still meet the Wonderland characters we have grown up with but their roles are surprisingly twisted.
What stands out is the imagery. The setting, characters and scenes were so well described I was able to visualize them clearly. The authors’ writing is amazing and the story is the perfect mix of romance, suspense and action.

I also liked Alyssa. She is a strong female character who wants to protect everyone she cares about. But her Dad and best friend Jeb treat her as if she is a fragile little girl. Alyssa takes action in her own hands but her best friend Jeb gets mixed in with her journey. Jeb is a great guy but overprotective. And while in Wonderland they meet Morpheus, the sexy and suspicious hookah-smoking caterpillar. A love triangle develops between these characters but it doesn’t take away the focus of Alyssa’s mission to save her mother. The triangle does add some tensions between the characters but I thought it worked well with the story.

What didn’t I like?

At times I thought the story dragged. There is so much going on that I felt them more an interruptions instead of vital events for the story.

Overall I thought this is an impressive debut for author A.G. Howard. It is written well and very creative. For me this wasn’t a retelling of the classic but more an extension of the Lewis Carroll’s series. I can’t wait to start the next book.

Audiobook review

This is my first time listening to narrator Rebecca Gibel and she did a great job at bringing this book to life. Her voices for all the characters were distinctive and had the right emotion. Since Splintered is a dark story she gave the Wonderland characters a creepy feel to them. And her voice for Morpheus was so sexy I completely understood why Alyssa couldn’t ignore her attraction to him. A great performance and I can’t wait to listen to the next book!
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Jan 10, 2013 Lupdilup rated it really liked it · review of another edition

With a fresh and imaginative twists the author take us on a different path that feels darker and creepy, but no less entertaining than the original Alice in Wonderland - nicely narrated by Rebecca Gibel.
Review to come.

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