Review: Splintered by A.G. Howard

Splintered by A.G. Howard
Release Date ~ 1/1/2013
Format ~ ARC
Publisher ~ Amulet
Source ~ Gifted

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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.

  

   Splintered is your classic case of amazing synopsis but a mediocre (at best) delivery. I know the entire book blogging community is in awe of this novel,  and if you asked me after a hundred pages, I would of been one of those people, but now after the entire novel,  I have to say I can't agree with them.

   The thing that kind of killed Splintered for me was how it was an idea so original and unique, but how over the course of the novel, Howard was able to turn it into your typical young adult paranormal/fantasy novel. Which isn't bad in some cases, but I really expected more from this book, and it felt flat.

The setting was pretty unique - which I liked. The setting was probably the only thing that lived up to expectation. It was weird and wacky, the way any Alice novel should be. Like I said, the rest on the other hand was a total drag.

 The characters were okay, but like most things in this book, mediocre at best. I didn't really feel any emotion towards them, which is never good. My favorite part of reading a novel is becoming emotionally invested in a character, and  Splintered failed to deliver that for me.

  Splintered had potential, but sadly did not deliver.