Howard, A.G. Splintered. New York: Amulet Books, 2013. 978-14197-04284. 371 p.  $17.95 Gr. 7-12.

Alyssa Gardner is afraid.  As the great-great-great-granddaughter of Alice Liddell, or “Alice in Wonderland,” she’s spent her life knowing that her family is not quite right.  In fact, her mother has been institutionalized since Alyssa was five, after injuring Alyssa’s hands with scissors, cutting flower-tops while declaring “off with their heads!”  Now Alyssa is hearing—and desperately trying to drown out—the voices of ordinary insects and flowers, too.  She’s afraid she will share her mother’s fate, or worse.  But she catches enough of the voices to realize that if she can locate the door to Wonderland and go “down the rabbit hole,” she may be able to find the cure for the curse that is upon her family.  It could mean freedom for herself and her mother.  Sprinkle in Jeb, a devoted semi-boyfriend, and Morpheus, a dark new love interest in Wonderland, and you add romance to the spooky, surprising twists on a well-established favorite.  Buy where fantasy and romance are desired in one novel.

Fantasy (Alice in Wonderland); Romance                 Melissa Scott, Shenango High School