moonchild_88's review against another edition
Mí yo adolescente lo hubiera amado, pero lo yo adulta lo odió. Este es uno de esos libros que tenía ganas de leer cuando estaba en el liceo, pero nunca llegué a hacerlo. Pero escuché hace poco que estaba bueno así que decidí darle una oportunidad. Es malísimo, pésimo. Está plagado de " I'm not like other girls". La representación de enfermedades mentales es malísima. El chico es un machorulo tóxico. Al parecer más adelante aparece otro que está inspirado en el sombrerero loco que incluso a los que odiaron el libro les gustó, pero no le voy a quedar para averiguarlo.
"A bleeding heart wrapped in barbed wire, might aswell be an x-ray of my chest" LMAO
"He's always teased that I'm a mix between skate glam and American sweetheart" PLEASEEEEE
"A bleeding heart wrapped in barbed wire, might aswell be an x-ray of my chest" LMAO
"He's always teased that I'm a mix between skate glam and American sweetheart" PLEASEEEEE
buffywnabe's review against another edition
5.0
I love, love, love this book! If you like fairy tale retellings, or other story retellings, then you have to read this. What are you waiting for? Oh yeah, it won't be published till January. But put it on your TBR list, you'll want to read it!
If you want to read the rest of my thoughts, go HERE.
If you want to read the rest of my thoughts, go HERE.
burniereads's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5/5
This book was a ride. Not the best thing I've ever read, but definitely not the worst. Jeb is definitely better than Morpheus, just putting it out there. He's like the right amount of possessive without it being creepy whilst Morpheus just kind of pisses me off. Alyssa was an interesting character at points, and just plain unbearable at others. The ending kind of ruined it for me but I'll definitely be continuing just to see where it goes.
This book was a ride. Not the best thing I've ever read, but definitely not the worst. Jeb is definitely better than Morpheus, just putting it out there. He's like the right amount of possessive without it being creepy whilst Morpheus just kind of pisses me off. Alyssa was an interesting character at points, and just plain unbearable at others. The ending kind of ruined it for me but I'll definitely be continuing just to see where it goes.
amkago2008's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed how this book showed the darker side of Wonderland. The characters were a bit annoying at times and I usually hate "love triangles" in books but overall the story made up for it. The adventure was fast paced and kept my interest throughout the book.
juliwi's review against another edition
3.0
This book I one I spotted over on Cornerfolds and Tracy was really enthusiastic about it which really made me want to read it! And I am so glad I took the indirect recommendation because Splintered was a great read.
Adaptations can be tricky. They can be hit and severe miss and often it depends on whether the author manages to reinvent or add to the story. Stories such as Alice in Wonderland are the kind of stories which facts are known: she falls through a hole, there is a rabbit and bandersnatches. I myself have, as of yet, not read any of Lewis Caroll's Alice books so I only had a very rudimentary understanding of the story. Howard, however, managed to shift everything I knew about it and make it into something completely new. Splintered uses Lewis Caroll's books as a starting point and then writes a story that feels completely original. Howard clearly put a lot of thought into working out her own Wonderland and it really shows in her descriptions of the world her characters live in. The descriptions are some of the strongest parts of the book for exactly that reason. Howard's Wonderland is genuinely different from any world I have read recently and are beautifully dark and Gothic.
There is a great grungy and gothic feel to the book. Although at times it feels like Howard overdoes
it a bit with presenting her main character as "edgy". Alyssa is, in some ways, your typical teenager. She is balancing her social life with personal issues and manages to fall into some typical YA traps such as self-esteem issues, love triangles and worried parents. On the one hand this alls truck me as very typical, but on the other hand Howard added in little snippets which made Splintered still really fun to read. At times I wanted a bit more "power" out of Alyssa, but on the other hand I felt that most of her actions are quite well-explained. I loved how active her role was in getting herself out of the situation she found herself in, despite having people around constantly trying to save her. The other "normal world" characters apart from Jeb are almost non-existent which is understandable considering most of this book is set in Wonderland. Perhaps Howard was almost too indulgent with her characters in the sense that it's all so pretty that we almost forget to look at everything else. Overall there was nothing that I thought was ridiculous and there are definitely well-used tropes that Howard writes better than a lot of other authors.
A first book in a series always has to struggle with setting up characters and plot lines for the sequels. With Splintered I didn't have the feeling that Howard was only stringing the reader along until she hit a cliff-hanger. The use of the supernatural in this book is also something I really enjoyed. Although there is an element of discovery to it there is no unnecessary drama around it. There are some great dynamics in the book, between different characters and between different ideas. Splintered makes you want to disappear off to Wonderland, not because it's pretty but because it's so exciting! There's something quite riveting about the world Howard creates and it's amazing that she managed to come up with something so different from the source material I am hoping more of her Wonderland will be worked out in the next book, Unhinged. Guessing by the title, I see bad things in Alyssa's future. I can't wait to read it.
I really enjoyed Splintered, although I'm withholding my final judgement until I've gotten to the next book. I really want to see how the different arcs develop that Howard set up in this book and I hope that it continues to be so inventive. I would definitely recommend this to readers of YA and those who like adaptations in general.
Adaptations can be tricky. They can be hit and severe miss and often it depends on whether the author manages to reinvent or add to the story. Stories such as Alice in Wonderland are the kind of stories which facts are known: she falls through a hole, there is a rabbit and bandersnatches. I myself have, as of yet, not read any of Lewis Caroll's Alice books so I only had a very rudimentary understanding of the story. Howard, however, managed to shift everything I knew about it and make it into something completely new. Splintered uses Lewis Caroll's books as a starting point and then writes a story that feels completely original. Howard clearly put a lot of thought into working out her own Wonderland and it really shows in her descriptions of the world her characters live in. The descriptions are some of the strongest parts of the book for exactly that reason. Howard's Wonderland is genuinely different from any world I have read recently and are beautifully dark and Gothic.
There is a great grungy and gothic feel to the book. Although at times it feels like Howard overdoes
it a bit with presenting her main character as "edgy". Alyssa is, in some ways, your typical teenager. She is balancing her social life with personal issues and manages to fall into some typical YA traps such as self-esteem issues, love triangles and worried parents. On the one hand this alls truck me as very typical, but on the other hand Howard added in little snippets which made Splintered still really fun to read. At times I wanted a bit more "power" out of Alyssa, but on the other hand I felt that most of her actions are quite well-explained. I loved how active her role was in getting herself out of the situation she found herself in, despite having people around constantly trying to save her. The other "normal world" characters apart from Jeb are almost non-existent which is understandable considering most of this book is set in Wonderland. Perhaps Howard was almost too indulgent with her characters in the sense that it's all so pretty that we almost forget to look at everything else. Overall there was nothing that I thought was ridiculous and there are definitely well-used tropes that Howard writes better than a lot of other authors.
A first book in a series always has to struggle with setting up characters and plot lines for the sequels. With Splintered I didn't have the feeling that Howard was only stringing the reader along until she hit a cliff-hanger. The use of the supernatural in this book is also something I really enjoyed. Although there is an element of discovery to it there is no unnecessary drama around it. There are some great dynamics in the book, between different characters and between different ideas. Splintered makes you want to disappear off to Wonderland, not because it's pretty but because it's so exciting! There's something quite riveting about the world Howard creates and it's amazing that she managed to come up with something so different from the source material I am hoping more of her Wonderland will be worked out in the next book, Unhinged. Guessing by the title, I see bad things in Alyssa's future. I can't wait to read it.
I really enjoyed Splintered, although I'm withholding my final judgement until I've gotten to the next book. I really want to see how the different arcs develop that Howard set up in this book and I hope that it continues to be so inventive. I would definitely recommend this to readers of YA and those who like adaptations in general.
toxicmasquerade's review against another edition
5.0
Because I love everything 'Alice in Wonderland,' I decided to read 'Splintered' when I was putting up new books at work. I saw the cover and thought it was absolutely beautiful. After reading the inside cover, I knew I had to read the book. I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it. I didn't want to put it down. It has been awhile since I've been able to see every detail of a book so clearly. But, it came so easily to me while reading 'Splintered.' It was a great twist on 'Alice in Wonderland.' Something I may reread one day.
jacquilynn's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 by 3/4 of the way through I was over it. Too much pining with a love triangle/square.
c0urtn3yy's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 i super loved this. i tried to read "The Looking Glass Wars" which is another Alice in Wonderland re-telling; but i could not finish it. i'd be surprised if i even hit 50 pages -- it was terrible. but this one was pretty phenomenal in my opinion. the way the plot is set up let's it stay true to Lewis Carroll's version, but because of certain events passing, we find out that Mr. Carroll may have been exaggerating things a bit. this is like Alice's Adventures In Wonderland's dark, creepy cousin; with a little love twist that i didn't see coming. and i loved it -- can't wait to read the next one.
arianamilo's review against another edition
1.0
I'm going to try to be nice. I'm going to try to not let my anger and complete dislike of this book take me over. I don't know how easy that's going to be, but I'll try.
Alice in Wonderland has to be my favorite classic book ever. It's weird, wacky, and I absolutely love it. But I did not like Splintered. Like, at all. I stopped reading it halfway through because I was not into it.
My first problem was with the historical accuracy: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was not written because a little girl spewed an absurd story about falling down a rabbit hole to an author. The real life Alice Liddell asked Charles Dodgson (aka. Lewis Carroll) to tell her a story on a boating trip to Oxford. I get that the author needed a gateway into the whole "Liddell Family Curse" concept, but it just really bugged me that it wasn't accurate.
I didn't like Alyssa's character. She was kind of clueless, and to be frank, weak. She did whatever Jeb told her to do. Though she did sometimes step up for herself, she was quickly shut up by Jeb with either a kiss, or a simple touch on the shoulder. She went weak at the knees for him, and I didn't like that at all, because he always treated her like a child, not a capable person who can do things for herself. It was an abusive relationship that wanted to come across as simply being protective, but it wasn't.
This is more of just a complaint, but I absolutely loved the idea of Alyssa's art medium being making portraits with bug corpses, as morbid as it sounds. She only does that like, once, and I was really disappointed with that. I would have loved it if the author explored that side of her more.
My next problem with this book was the speed that the book was going. I got like, two or three chapters in and they were already in Wonderland. I would have liked some more development than just jumping right in.
Another problem with the speed was this: the characters would be doing one thing during one paragraph, and then a sentence later, they're doing something else. To put it simply, it confused the heck out of me. THAT BEING SAID, I love the concept of this book, it just could have been executed so much better if put into the right hands. An Alice in Wonderland retelling sounds like the best thing in the world to me. This book wasn't.
Don't even get me started on how it completely glorifies mental illnesses. It's disgusting.
I honestly don't know how this book went past all those editors and beta readers and still came out like this. It was confusing and disappointing. I'm am definitely not planning on finishing Splintered or reading the next books, unless someone pays me to. Even then I probably won't. Like I always say, if this book looks appealing to you, then have at it. I'm not going to dictate what books you read, because that's your choice, but just know that there is a good chance you'll be disappointed by this book.
Thanks for reading,
-Ari
Alice in Wonderland has to be my favorite classic book ever. It's weird, wacky, and I absolutely love it. But I did not like Splintered. Like, at all. I stopped reading it halfway through because I was not into it.
My first problem was with the historical accuracy: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was not written because a little girl spewed an absurd story about falling down a rabbit hole to an author. The real life Alice Liddell asked Charles Dodgson (aka. Lewis Carroll) to tell her a story on a boating trip to Oxford. I get that the author needed a gateway into the whole "Liddell Family Curse" concept, but it just really bugged me that it wasn't accurate.
I didn't like Alyssa's character. She was kind of clueless, and to be frank, weak. She did whatever Jeb told her to do. Though she did sometimes step up for herself, she was quickly shut up by Jeb with either a kiss, or a simple touch on the shoulder. She went weak at the knees for him, and I didn't like that at all, because he always treated her like a child, not a capable person who can do things for herself. It was an abusive relationship that wanted to come across as simply being protective, but it wasn't.
This is more of just a complaint, but I absolutely loved the idea of Alyssa's art medium being making portraits with bug corpses, as morbid as it sounds. She only does that like, once, and I was really disappointed with that. I would have loved it if the author explored that side of her more.
My next problem with this book was the speed that the book was going. I got like, two or three chapters in and they were already in Wonderland. I would have liked some more development than just jumping right in.
Another problem with the speed was this: the characters would be doing one thing during one paragraph, and then a sentence later, they're doing something else. To put it simply, it confused the heck out of me. THAT BEING SAID, I love the concept of this book, it just could have been executed so much better if put into the right hands. An Alice in Wonderland retelling sounds like the best thing in the world to me. This book wasn't.
Don't even get me started on how it completely glorifies mental illnesses. It's disgusting.
I honestly don't know how this book went past all those editors and beta readers and still came out like this. It was confusing and disappointing. I'm am definitely not planning on finishing Splintered or reading the next books, unless someone pays me to. Even then I probably won't. Like I always say, if this book looks appealing to you, then have at it. I'm not going to dictate what books you read, because that's your choice, but just know that there is a good chance you'll be disappointed by this book.
Thanks for reading,
-Ari
pixelski's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. I'm finally done with this OMG. This could have been a 4/5 with the spectacular world building and Howard's lovely writing. But Jeb ruined it all. Jeb this, Jeb that; "Jeb's with Tae in real life but here with me now so he gets away with everything but oh wait I can't have him" < Alyssa basically throughout the whole book and this pissed me off to no end. I'm definitely Team Morpheus.