Because it turns out Alice’s adventures were true. This quest leads her to secret family heirlooms, which in turn send her back to Wonderland. When her mother’s condition deteriorates, she decides to find a way to break the curse. Ever since Alice, every woman has ended up in a mental institution. She has no desire to follow in her mother’s footsteps so she hides this fact from everyone.īut then Alyssa learns of the curse that afflicts the women in her family. It’s this sort of thing that led to the institutionalization of her mother years before. Alyssa can hear bugs and flowers talk, which is not considered normal by most of society. The jibes and insults are better than the reality, however.

She grew up amongst constant teasing from her peers. But because children are cruel, this has brought her nothing but grief. I was promised creepiness and Splintered delivered.Īlyssa Gardner is a descendant of Alice Liddell, the basis of Alice from Lewis Carroll’s work.

I’m sure there are plenty but I’ve never sought them out. Other than the original, I don’t think I’ve read a novel based on Alice in Wonderland. 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.Jia B- Reviews Faeries / Fantasy / friends-to-lovers / mental illness / Young-Adult 8 Comments 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. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. 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. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowersprecisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl's pangs of first love and independence.

Splintered by A.G. Howard