Unhinged (Splintered Series #2)

by A. G. Howard

Overview

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole. She was crowned Queen of the Red Court and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the boy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly appealing Morpheus. Now all she has to do is graduate high school. 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 Wonderlandùwhere she (partly) belongs. Could she leave Jeb and her parents behind again, for the sake of a man she knows has manipulated her before? Will her mother and Jeb trust her to do what's right? Readers will swoon over the satisfying return to Howard's bold, sensual reimagining of Carroll's classic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613125342
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	01/07/2014
Series:	New York Times Easy Crossword Puzzles , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	29,699
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

A. G. HowardáwroteáSplinteredáwhile working at a school library. She always wondered what would've happened had the subtle creepiness ofáAlice's Adventures in Wonderlandátaken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child. She lives in Amarillo, Texas.

Editorial Reviews

Alyssa Gardner has returned from the macabre and twisted world of Wonderland and now wants to focus on her last year of high school. She is looking forward to the prom and graduation, taking her relationship with brooding artist boyfriend Jeb to the next level and building a relationship with her mother who has returned from 11 years in an asylum. Peace is not to be with the arrival of Morpheus, the butterfly creature of her childhood and denizen of Wonderland. He implores Alyssa to return to Wonderland to defeat the Red Queen and take her rightful place as Queen before Red and her army enter the portal into Alyssa's world. As more netherlings appear, Alyssa begins to fear that the Red Queen herself may have entered her realm and putting friends and family in harm's way. While she tries to keep Jeb from repeating his dark and dangerous sojourn in Wonderland, she comes to learn that he is at the very heart of her latest trial. This second installment of the planned trilogy moves the menacing creatures from Wonderland into Alyssa's world where jealousy and betrayal are at the core. Morpheus evolves into a character that is not all black and white but one that is central to the future of Wonderland. Howard creates a malevolent alternate universe with complex inhabitants able to move between their own bizarre environment and the world of humans. The convoluted plot requires careful reading and it is advisable to read the first book in the series Splintered, Amulet Books, 2013 to fully grasp Alyssa and Jeb's precarious position and fully understand their backstory. The cover art will be a draw for those whose taste runs to the eerie and the terrifying. Reviewer: Beverley Fahey

Children's Literature - Beverley Fahey

2013-11-13
Alyssa has returned from Wonderland, but her adventures are far from over in this convoluted sequel to Splintered (2013). After defeating Queen Red and rescuing her artist boyfriend, Jeb, Alyssa hopes for a semi-normal finish to her high school career. With her mother back from the mental hospital after 11 years, prom and graduation on the horizon, and Jeb's burgeoning art career ahead, Alyssa works hard to forget about Wonderland and her netherling powers. Though jealous of Jeb's rich, young female patrons and worried about his memory loss, Alyssa believes they have a future together, even as Morpheus, her childhood tutor and creepy suitor, demands that she love him and fight Queen Red. But when Alyssa won't come to Wonderland, it comes to her, in a perverted medley of Carroll's creations. Howard excels in sensory and sensuous descriptions but prizes details over plot. Readers who appreciate a Gothic love triangle, body modification, eerie art and brooding-artist types will enjoy this colorful but creepy offering and await the next installment. Anyone seeking Alice will have to look elsewhere. A world of weirdness that, sadly, necessitates a sequel. (Fantasy. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews