REVIEW: Splintered by A. G. Howard
Fair warning before I begin: I'm trying out a new review style for this, so we'll see how it goes!
I honestly did expect to like this book, if not love it! I'm not the biggest Alice in Wonderland fan, but I do love retellings of all stripes, and this one seemed particularly unique, so I was looking forward to it.
Sadly, I was disappointed. I did stop reading this book on page 194 of the paperback edition, so keep that in mind throughout this review!
There are several things I took issue with, so let's jump in, shall we?
First: the love triangle. Because this book is YA, so it has to have a love triangle, apparently. Now, I'm not a big fan of love triangles, but I don't mind them if they're handled well and the love interests are actually worth it. In this case, neither is true. The triangle itself seems thrown in just for the fun of it, and because love triangles are popular. What I'm more concerned with is the love interests themselves.
First, we have Jeb - which is short for Jebediah, yes that is his actual name. He's been Alyssa's best friend for years, and she's been crushing on him for a while. He seems like he's present to fulfill the "boy next door" sort of trope, as seen with Gale in The Hunger Games. However, this trope only works for him in terms of physical location - his family lives in the other half of the duplex Alyssa and her dad live in. In terms of personality, Jeb is extremely controlling. He acts like he's completely in control of her life - from convincing her dad that she shouldn't go to London with him, like he has any say in what her father allows her to do, to literally picking her up and pinning her against a wall while shouting at her that she can't continue into Wonderland. Jeb is super controlling, and it is very not attractive. In fact, Jeb's controlling nature is what I would consider abusive.
Then there's Morpheus. He's somewhat otherworldly, a nether creature, as the book calls inhabitants of Wonderland, and fills the traditional role of the Caterpillar. He's also an entirely ageless being who can shapeshift into a moth and has been conditioning Alyssa to journey into Wonderland her whole life. Grooming, much? I would also call Morpheus abusive, though in a different way than Jeb. Morpheus is manipulative, picking and choosing what to tell Alyssa - who I kept forgetting wasn't actually called Alice - about Wonderland and his true intentions. Morpheus is marginally interesting, as far as the plot of the novel is concerned, as I was wondering what he did really want from Alyssa, but otherwise, I liked him no more than I did Jeb.
It is not okay to give these sorts of boys/men (in Morpheus' case) to young girls and say they are sexy, they are romantic, they are desirable. Because they are abusive, and no more girls need to go through that sort of relationship. It's not okay, and I won't let it slide, not even a little. We can - and should - do better.
Next, I want to talk about how mental illness is handled in this book. It's revealed pretty early on that Alyssa's mother, Alison, is in a mental hospital for having delusions - talking to plants and bugs. However, long before the actual meat of the story, the reader (and Alyssa) finds out that these delusions aren't a real mental illness at all, but a magical connection to Wonderland through Alyssa's great-great-grandmother, Alice Liddell. While I didn't like that the mental illness wasn't real, just Alison pretending, that's not the real gripe I have here. No, I'm here to talk about the fact that no mental health institution in real life functions the way the one in this book does. For one thing: Alison wouldn't even be in a mental institution indefinitely for what seems like some mild delusions/schizophrenia. She may have been hospitalized for a while, but it is more likely that she would have been seen by a psychologist, prescribed medication, and allowed to live her life normally. She should not have been in a hospital for over ten years. Another problem is the hospital itself. Alison is put into a straitjacket (no longer done), and put into a padded room, heavily drugged in a wily-nily manner, and basically treated as though this entire mental hospital exists in the 1950's. Not good, for a story set in 2013.
I have one last thing to talk about that I disliked about Splintered, and it's not as big a problem as the previous two, but more of a pet peeve of mine! Alyssa spends paragraphs describing outfits every time someone changes clothes. It got very frustrating to me, as I wasn't reading this book for Hot Topic-esque costume description.
However, on the flip side of this point, I really enjoyed Howard's writing. It was descriptive and engaging. I could picture every scene and action, and I found this to be a plus for the novel. The world felt real and unique, even with the given Wonderland tropes. It was easy to read, but not simplistic in the least. I would have loved to explore more of Howard's Wonderland, it really captured my attention and kept me reading. I also found the plot engaging, and was happy being along for the ride...until Morpheus showed up, and things got worse.
I'm rating this two stars, and I don't recommend it. I find it not worth the hype - or the really pretty cover!
I honestly did expect to like this book, if not love it! I'm not the biggest Alice in Wonderland fan, but I do love retellings of all stripes, and this one seemed particularly unique, so I was looking forward to it.
Sadly, I was disappointed. I did stop reading this book on page 194 of the paperback edition, so keep that in mind throughout this review!
There are several things I took issue with, so let's jump in, shall we?
First: the love triangle. Because this book is YA, so it has to have a love triangle, apparently. Now, I'm not a big fan of love triangles, but I don't mind them if they're handled well and the love interests are actually worth it. In this case, neither is true. The triangle itself seems thrown in just for the fun of it, and because love triangles are popular. What I'm more concerned with is the love interests themselves.
First, we have Jeb - which is short for Jebediah, yes that is his actual name. He's been Alyssa's best friend for years, and she's been crushing on him for a while. He seems like he's present to fulfill the "boy next door" sort of trope, as seen with Gale in The Hunger Games. However, this trope only works for him in terms of physical location - his family lives in the other half of the duplex Alyssa and her dad live in. In terms of personality, Jeb is extremely controlling. He acts like he's completely in control of her life - from convincing her dad that she shouldn't go to London with him, like he has any say in what her father allows her to do, to literally picking her up and pinning her against a wall while shouting at her that she can't continue into Wonderland. Jeb is super controlling, and it is very not attractive. In fact, Jeb's controlling nature is what I would consider abusive.
Then there's Morpheus. He's somewhat otherworldly, a nether creature, as the book calls inhabitants of Wonderland, and fills the traditional role of the Caterpillar. He's also an entirely ageless being who can shapeshift into a moth and has been conditioning Alyssa to journey into Wonderland her whole life. Grooming, much? I would also call Morpheus abusive, though in a different way than Jeb. Morpheus is manipulative, picking and choosing what to tell Alyssa - who I kept forgetting wasn't actually called Alice - about Wonderland and his true intentions. Morpheus is marginally interesting, as far as the plot of the novel is concerned, as I was wondering what he did really want from Alyssa, but otherwise, I liked him no more than I did Jeb.
It is not okay to give these sorts of boys/men (in Morpheus' case) to young girls and say they are sexy, they are romantic, they are desirable. Because they are abusive, and no more girls need to go through that sort of relationship. It's not okay, and I won't let it slide, not even a little. We can - and should - do better.
Next, I want to talk about how mental illness is handled in this book. It's revealed pretty early on that Alyssa's mother, Alison, is in a mental hospital for having delusions - talking to plants and bugs. However, long before the actual meat of the story, the reader (and Alyssa) finds out that these delusions aren't a real mental illness at all, but a magical connection to Wonderland through Alyssa's great-great-grandmother, Alice Liddell. While I didn't like that the mental illness wasn't real, just Alison pretending, that's not the real gripe I have here. No, I'm here to talk about the fact that no mental health institution in real life functions the way the one in this book does. For one thing: Alison wouldn't even be in a mental institution indefinitely for what seems like some mild delusions/schizophrenia. She may have been hospitalized for a while, but it is more likely that she would have been seen by a psychologist, prescribed medication, and allowed to live her life normally. She should not have been in a hospital for over ten years. Another problem is the hospital itself. Alison is put into a straitjacket (no longer done), and put into a padded room, heavily drugged in a wily-nily manner, and basically treated as though this entire mental hospital exists in the 1950's. Not good, for a story set in 2013.
I have one last thing to talk about that I disliked about Splintered, and it's not as big a problem as the previous two, but more of a pet peeve of mine! Alyssa spends paragraphs describing outfits every time someone changes clothes. It got very frustrating to me, as I wasn't reading this book for Hot Topic-esque costume description.
However, on the flip side of this point, I really enjoyed Howard's writing. It was descriptive and engaging. I could picture every scene and action, and I found this to be a plus for the novel. The world felt real and unique, even with the given Wonderland tropes. It was easy to read, but not simplistic in the least. I would have loved to explore more of Howard's Wonderland, it really captured my attention and kept me reading. I also found the plot engaging, and was happy being along for the ride...until Morpheus showed up, and things got worse.
I'm rating this two stars, and I don't recommend it. I find it not worth the hype - or the really pretty cover!
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