Unhinged by A.G. Howard - ADVISABLE

Howard, A.G. Unhinged, 387 p. Abrams, 2014.  $18.  

Violence: PG (lots of fighting and danger, not extremely graphic or bloody); Mature Content: G; Language: G. 

Even though Alyssa was crowned Queen of Wonderland, she has left the kingdom in the hands of Grenadine and Ivory so that she can go back home and spend her senior year pretending that Wonderland doesn’t even exist.  However, Morpheus, Red and Sister Two have very different plans for Alyssa.  They are more than happy to haunt her dreams and prepare for battle.  Red wants Alyssa’s body for her own so that she can rule Wonderland.  Sister Two wants Jeb, Alyssa’s boyfriend as payment for perceived wrongs.  Morpheus wants Alyssa’s heart and soul for his own.  All of three of htem have no problem bringing Wonderland to Alyssa’s world, even in sight of everyone she loves and hates. 

This book falls prey to second in the series syndrome – all set up for what is really going to be the action in book number three.  I wasn’t happy watching Alyssa dither cluelessly and childishly for more than 200 pages before things really started to happen.  I don’t feel a need to choose between Jeb and Morpheus – there’s another major male character whose history and fate intrigues me much more.  Instead of the book being about Wonderland and Alice versus the Red Queen, it is really about the love triangle; I wish authors would stop making every book a love story and write the real story instead, letting the romance be a secondary part of the narrative.  I will cross my fingers and hope for great things in book three, Splintered was so awesome.  The purple text was a very nice touch, though.  

MS, HS – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher.