"After surviving a disastrous battle at prom, Alyssa has embraced her madness and gained perspective. She's determined to rescue her two worlds and the people and netherlings she loves. Even if it means challenging Queen Red to a final battle of wills and wiles . . . and even if the only way to Wonderland, now that the rabbit hole is closed, is through the looking-glass world--a parallel dimension filled with mutated and violent netherling outcasts. In the final installment of the wildly popular Splintered trilogy, Alyssa and her dad journey into the heart of magic and mayhem in search of her mom and to set right all that's gone wrong. Together with Jeb and Morpheus, they must salvage Wonderland from the decay and destruction that has ensnared it. But if they succeed and come out alive, can everyone truly have their happily ever after?"
"Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.
That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.
As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.
If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head."
I have a very favorite part in Unhinged. It ends with this: "The Red King. My king." Of course, I wouldn't include every word, because it's a major spoiler alert. BTW, it's also part of Queen Ivory's prediction for the future of Alyssa and Morpheus (and someone else, of course; someone very special).
Morpheus is increasingly using his loopholes to manipulate Alyssa. As much as I hate seeing people manipulate people, Morpheus' ability to manipulate Alyssa is pretty much essential to the future of Wonderland. I can get why Morpheus is doing all of this, but I'm like...really? Seriously, manipulation and games? Gosh, he's a nasty fellow. But I can't help but sympathize with him. He's doing all of this to make his future with Alyssa come true (isn't that adorable? I think so too). Now, I'm totally on Morpheus' side (despite his really ugly games and terrible skills at fooling other people).
Jeb is more truthful and honorable than the other guy. He's the white knight, the mortal knight. Morpheus is the dark knight (I'm Batman; just kidding, but it's a funny joke), and the trickster knight. Of course, for most of the book, it feels as if he's losing his attention on Alyssa. He's more focused on his art rather than Alyssa. I don't blame Alyssa for going to Morpheus instead of Jeb because of his busy hours with some woman.
And Alyssa. She's becoming much more cruel and nasty. A deadly creature, she's more netherling than human. I have to admit that she's becoming a good Red Queen. By the end of the book, you can totally see which side she's on. (I mean, Wonderland side or human world).
After a terrible reading experience of the first book, I'm so thrilled once I finished the second book, Unhinged. It's crazy and totally nonsense. I just love it. I'm not so happy about the start of the first book, but the second? It's OMG moment. I can't wait for the next book. 2015 is too far away. Ah! I will have to read other books in order to wait for it!
What totally improved is the plot. I can understand it! The author must had gotten a better translator because somehow my mind is actually able to read it! I love how Morpheus takes Alyssa on a wild ride. Oh, Alyssa, you are going to be insane by the end of this trilogy (yes, trilogy; one more book to go!)
Please published even earlier than 2015! Early Christmas gift! I'm, of course, talking about the last installment of the series! I'm stuck on the cliff! With Alyssa's dad! And Alyssa! Ahhhh! #Somanyfeelings
Rating: Four out of Five (with a touch of madness)
"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."
Ah... This is one of those books people call 'amazing' but I just don't get what they are saying. I don't get it. It think that this is perhaps the weirdest, strangest, and maddest book I've ever seen. (Actually no. I've seen some books that are much worst than this.) Splintered is a strange book that I don't understand. (If I don't understand, that means there are other people out there who don't understand either. Like one ant, there's always another.)
Splintered is recommended to twelve and up. There's some inappropriate stuff, but parents shouldn't be too concern about it. Wow, that has to be the craziest sentence that I have ever typed that doesn't make sense. (How about logic?) Anyway Splintered is an okay book. An okay book. Empathized on the "okay" part, okay?
Splintered's plot is rather boring. It reminds me of Alice In Wonderland without the innocent girl inputs. (For most part. Some parts the characters are so naive which annoyed me like crazy. The Red Queen screams "Off with your head!" and these characters aren't afraid of Wonderland? That's messed up to a crazy degree.) The writing of Splintered is exciting and entertaining. It is the one of the only factors pushing me into the book.
The beginning of Splintered is another interesting part of the book. It's interesting for the most part. But when there's positive, there's negative. There's a little of girl stuff like that thing that happens whenever it is that girl's time of the month. (Guys, I hope you're not blushing when you read this part.) Then again, I find that part the most useless piece of information in this book. I don't care about Alyssa having her period! I care more about the damn book! Damn it, authors. Useless information that doesn't change the story in whatever way isn't suppose to be plug into the book. Get to the program.
Characters:
Alyssa, I don't know what to say to you. When a guy like Morpheus comes along (and he's a bad boy too), you run the opposite direction! Even a girl like Alice knows to do that. (Actually, that's a bad example. She didn't ran from those people who I suspected were drinking tea with rum and moonshine.) Anyway, I don't like her innocent girl act. Morpheus has been teaching you all about Wonderland and you conveniently play innocent girl (Alice). Damn it, Alyssa. Stop being an idiot. I don't care about your boy-boy situation; you have a game to play, a game that can get you killed and you worry about boys!
Jeb is smarter and naive like Alyssa. I'm not even going to start on him.
Rating: Two out of Five
