Splintered is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland. Well, maybe not quite a retelling. It's a revisit of Alice in Wonderland, generations later. It's also a beautiful blend of Lewis Carroll's warm fuzzy characters and Tim Burton's not so warm fuzzy characters, leaning more towards Tim Burton's vision of Wonderland.
Alyssa is, and will never be, a typical teen. Most of the town knows she is a descendent of Alice, the girl who initially went down the rabbit hole. Only a few of her peers doesn't use it against her in some way, shape, or form. If only they all knew Alyssa could hear bugs and flowers talk, the results would be devastating. Alyssa's mother is already locked up in a looney bin for the same reason. *sigh*
Enter best friend since childhood, who happens to have grown into a handsome guy who is, of course, perfect for Alyssa. Jeb is abnormally conflicted for a love interest. When the reason comes out that he's dating another girl, I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't a typical reason.
So then Alyssa heads into Wonderland. I won't get into the voices in her head, the visions, the nightmares, the repressed memories, but that's all there. I won't spoil the beauty and horror of Wonderland because it's more fun to let Howard tell you in her straightforward way. When I was finished reading Splintered, I wanted to rush to watch Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland to remember how he portrayed the characters because although Splintered isn't pulled straight from his vision, it definitely blurs the lines.
I will recommend this book to students who enjoy thrillers/horrors, paranormal, and romance novels, so long as those who enjoy romance novels don't mind dead bugs. :-)