Splintered Read-A-Thon Wrap-Up

Whew!  What an amazing and heart-pounding ending to this book!  I hoped that Splintered would be good, but it surpassed my expectations.  I am so glad that Monica and I hosted this read-a-thon, because Splintered is one book you don't want to miss out on reading.

So here's what all happened.

Jeb and Alyssa attempt to ride their makeshift skateboards across this fissure in the ground, but fail.  Turns out Alyssa's got wings, but has to abandon Jeb and gets kidnapped by these ugly creature things.  Alyssa meets Twid Sisters One and Two, gets Red's soul trapped in hers, and receives Chessie's smile.

Alyssa travels through a mirror portal to the castle and discovers some ugly truths about Morpheus, like the fact that Alyssa is only in Wonderland to perform these tests to become queen so that he can be free of a curse that was invoked on him through Deathspeak when Queen Red was dying.  So in all, the whole Liddell curse was sham. BOOSH.

Alyssa braves herself for the final test which is to distract the jabberwock long enough to put Chessie back into one piece and retrieve the vorpal sword.  Things happen where we all discover that Jeb sacrificed himself for Alyssa to escape out of Wonderland and that Morpheus never planned on letting Alyssa go.  But Alyssa has that tear wish thing that the ferret had gifted her with and she wishes that she had never opened the door for Jeb before she ventured to Wonderland.

However, she's still in the same situation she was in, only Jeb isn't with her and Morpheus knows what she did.  Now, the Red King has his head bobbing like an apple in water in that box because he saved Grenadine.  They all leave and--WHAM--Queen Red's soul comes to life--vines and all--and tries to take over Alyssa's body.  Obviously, Alyssa aint' having any of this, and fights off Red until all those vines and stuff are out of her body. (Which was extremely gross!)

But things aren't over yet, because Red decides to take over the jabberwock's body instead and gobbles up Morpheus.  Alyssa ties a few loose ends in Wonderland, and returns to the real world.  She decides to keep her netherling wings and wicked awesome eye bling, but they fade when in the human world, so the idea that she'll have to return to Wonderland is always with her.  Alyssa goes straight to her mother at the asylum and tells her that the entire Liddell curse was fake and that she can stop pretending that she's all crazy.

She goes home and awakes to the news that Jeb and Tailor broke up--on prom night no less!  Jeb doesn't remember anything that went on in Wonderland at all, which was a bit saddening, but whatcha gonna do?  He invites Alyssa to go to London with him, and while I don't ship them, I may have gotten all warm inside because JEB COULD FINALLY SEE WHAT WAS IN FRONT OF HIM HIS ENTIRE LIFE.  It was a nice ending to a fantastic story!  I loved it so much!


Thanks to everyone that participated in this!  The Twitter chat was so much fun, and I hope that the winners will enjoy their new goodies!  I hope everyone else enjoyed the book as much as I did!

Splintered Chapters 1-7 Wrap-Up

Woo! We're one week down!  How did everyone's reading go?  Everyone finished their goal for last week, right?  

So what are everyone's thoughts on the chapters?  Honestly, I'm enjoying it so far.  I'm super curious to see how things are going to turn out for Al and Jeb.

We're introduced to Alyssa who can hear bugs and flowers talk.  Her mother is sentenced to life in an asylum, and Alyssa spends her time either skating, pinning bugs into works of art, or trying to convince herself that she's not crazy, like her mother and her grandmother and her great grandmother and so on.  Her great-great-great grandmother is Alice Liddell, the Alice in Wonderland.

We're introduced to Alyssa's best friend Jeb and Jenara, who are brother and sister and Alyssa's neighbors.  And there's possibly something going on between Alyssa and Jeb, I'm certain.  Oh, yes....

Things happen, but it's a little complicated for me to explain here, but both Jeb and Alyssa end up going down the rabbit hole and come across Rabid White and fight off these zombie flowers.  And that's where chapter seven left us!

And here are some questions to think of:

• Why do you think that Alison, Alyssa's mother, is keeping up that act at the asylum?
• What do you think of Jeb so far? Do we ship him with Alyssa?
• Why do you think Alyssa calls her mother Alison instead of  Mom?
• Do you think that this skater punk style that Alyssa has going on is the real her or is it part of her act to not be like her mother?

Comment your thoughts!  And don't forget to read chapters 8-14 for this week!

Splintered Read-A-Thon Sign-Ups

 

Woohoo! Hey, guys!  Monica over at  Cover Analysis and I will be hosting this AMAZINGLY AWESOME read-a-thon!  For this read-a-thon, we've chosen Splintered by A.G Howard.  For the month of March, we will be reading and hopefully very much enjoying Splintered! 

Splintered by A.G Howard

Publication: January 1st, 2013

Publisher: Amulet Books

Page Count: 371

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. 

Starting Monday the 11th, we will begin reading the first 7 chapters of the book.  Then on next Monday, we'll read the next 7 chapters.  And on the next Monday after that, we'll all finish up the book. 

Monica and I both highly encourage all who join to tweet, take pictures, and blog about this read-a-thon!  Use the #SplintRAT hashtag and have a blast interacting with other participants!  There will be a Twitter chat and a giveaway going on, so make sure to participate in any way that you can!  Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

Sign up for the Splintered Read-A-Thon below